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Ohio State basketball: As Big Ten teams reload, where do young Buckeyes fit in? | cleveland.com
Ohio State basketball: As Big Ten teams reload, where do young Buckeyes fit in?
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's reason for optimism is in Chicago. That's where D'Angelo Russell is this week for the NBA draft combine, trying to show why he left the Buckeyes basketball team after one season and why he's deserving of one of the top five picks in June's draft.
Under different circumstances -- the ideal situation for Ohio State -- Russell would be in Columbus, fine-tuning his game and preparing to be the leader of an intriguing blend of players from the Buckeyes' 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes.
On paper it looked like this coming season, or maybe the next, could set up nicely for Ohio State to make a deep run into March. The pieces appeared to be there.
But Russell was too good. That's why the kid Ohio State hoped was at least a two-and-done type of prospect is in Chicago after one year in Columbus. In a month he'll likely be in New York or Philadelphia or Los Angeles.
And while the basketball world waits to see where Russell ends up, Ohio State is left with questions as it enters a summer that once looked like one in which it would be gearing up for potentially its best season since reaching the Final Four in 2012.
While the Buckeyes were waiting for the official word on Russell's inevitable departure, the Big Ten was loading up on talent -- both in recruiting and by players opting to remain in college for at least another season.
So now among all the questions about Ohio State's new pieces is this: Where will the
Buckeyes fit in the Big Ten next season?
Ohio State has the top-ranked 2015 recruiting class in the conference according to 247Sports. The Buckeyes even got a late boost when four-star combo guard JaQuan Lyle was added to the fold in January.
Lyle joins point guard A.J. Harris, shooting guard Austin Grandstaff, forward Mickey Mitchell and center Daniel Giddens in a group that's going to give the Buckeyes roster a major facelift. An underachieving senior class is gone. Unless they add a graduate transfer like Seton Hall's Sterling Gibbs, the Buckeyes won't have a scholarship senior on the roster for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Instead they'll have the incoming freshmen, new big men in Virginia Tech transfer Trevor Thompson and redshirt freshman David Bell, and a quartet of returning players in Jae'Sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop, Kam Williams and Marc Loving.
Tate could end up being the most important piece as a four-year spark plug and leader. Bates-Diop saw limited time last season as a freshman, but the hope is that he builds off a solid performance against VCU in the NCAA Tournament. Williams and Loving are two guys the Buckeyes need to find their shots again after both fell off last season.
It won't be the first time in Thad Matta's tenure that the Buckeyes roster will be heavy on youth and light on senior leadership. But in every other instance he had either a dynamic freshman star, or an established player in the sophomore or junior classes.
Right now, success for the Buckeyes hinges on quite a bit of the unknown. Meanwhile some others in the conference seem to be working with more known commodities.
Maryland has dominated the Big Ten conversation since the season ended. The Terrapins first got big news when freshman guard Melo Trimble opted to return for his sophomore season after emerging as one of the league's best players last year. They have more in a strong returning core, and will add the Big Ten's best incoming recruit in five-star center Diamond Stone. And just this week, Maryland announced the addition of Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon.
Michigan State comes back from its unexpected run to the Final Four with some holes to fill, but has Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine and a possible freshman star in four-star forward Deyonta Davis. The Spartans were dealt a big blow when five-star center Caleb Swanigan decommitted last week, but reports have him possibly staying in the conference and committing to Purdue.
Indiana returns everyone from its NCAA Tournament team and adds five-star McDonald's All-American forward Thomas Bryant. Wisconsin loses Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, but keeps Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig and you can expect the Badgers to be in the thick of things as always come March.
Injuries hindered Michigan last year, but the Wolverines will have big-time guards returning in Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr. It was thought that LeVert might make a jump to the NBA even after missing half of last season with a broken foot, but he announced last month that he would return for another season.
Purdue might have one of the best front courts in the nation with centers A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas returning, and the possibility of adding a player like Swanigan.
For the first time since 2007, the Big Ten has seven teams with top-40 recruiting classes. That's tied with the SEC, and more than the Big 12 and ACC have this year. The conference is bringing in talent, and Ohio State is obviously part of that.
It's just that the Buckeyes don't have the established stars to build around with that talent. That young talent has to make the ship go next season, which makes it difficult to project just where Ohio State stands in this Big Ten landscape.
ESPN says the Buckeyes are seventh, which would be one spot worse than where Ohio State finished last year. The Buckeyes are not among the four Big Ten teams in ESPN's way-too-early top 25 for next season. Maryland seems to be everyone's favorite to win the league next year.
A seventh-place finish in the Big Ten would be Ohio State's worst under Matta. Anything near the top of the league might go down as Matta's best coaching job yet.
Ohio State basketball: As Big Ten teams reload, where do young Buckeyes fit in?
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's reason for optimism is in Chicago. That's where D'Angelo Russell is this week for the NBA draft combine, trying to show why he left the Buckeyes basketball team after one season and why he's deserving of one of the top five picks in June's draft.
Under different circumstances -- the ideal situation for Ohio State -- Russell would be in Columbus, fine-tuning his game and preparing to be the leader of an intriguing blend of players from the Buckeyes' 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes.
On paper it looked like this coming season, or maybe the next, could set up nicely for Ohio State to make a deep run into March. The pieces appeared to be there.
But Russell was too good. That's why the kid Ohio State hoped was at least a two-and-done type of prospect is in Chicago after one year in Columbus. In a month he'll likely be in New York or Philadelphia or Los Angeles.
And while the basketball world waits to see where Russell ends up, Ohio State is left with questions as it enters a summer that once looked like one in which it would be gearing up for potentially its best season since reaching the Final Four in 2012.
While the Buckeyes were waiting for the official word on Russell's inevitable departure, the Big Ten was loading up on talent -- both in recruiting and by players opting to remain in college for at least another season.
So now among all the questions about Ohio State's new pieces is this: Where will the
Buckeyes fit in the Big Ten next season?
Ohio State has the top-ranked 2015 recruiting class in the conference according to 247Sports. The Buckeyes even got a late boost when four-star combo guard JaQuan Lyle was added to the fold in January.
Lyle joins point guard A.J. Harris, shooting guard Austin Grandstaff, forward Mickey Mitchell and center Daniel Giddens in a group that's going to give the Buckeyes roster a major facelift. An underachieving senior class is gone. Unless they add a graduate transfer like Seton Hall's Sterling Gibbs, the Buckeyes won't have a scholarship senior on the roster for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
Instead they'll have the incoming freshmen, new big men in Virginia Tech transfer Trevor Thompson and redshirt freshman David Bell, and a quartet of returning players in Jae'Sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop, Kam Williams and Marc Loving.
Tate could end up being the most important piece as a four-year spark plug and leader. Bates-Diop saw limited time last season as a freshman, but the hope is that he builds off a solid performance against VCU in the NCAA Tournament. Williams and Loving are two guys the Buckeyes need to find their shots again after both fell off last season.
It won't be the first time in Thad Matta's tenure that the Buckeyes roster will be heavy on youth and light on senior leadership. But in every other instance he had either a dynamic freshman star, or an established player in the sophomore or junior classes.
Right now, success for the Buckeyes hinges on quite a bit of the unknown. Meanwhile some others in the conference seem to be working with more known commodities.
Maryland has dominated the Big Ten conversation since the season ended. The Terrapins first got big news when freshman guard Melo Trimble opted to return for his sophomore season after emerging as one of the league's best players last year. They have more in a strong returning core, and will add the Big Ten's best incoming recruit in five-star center Diamond Stone. And just this week, Maryland announced the addition of Duke transfer Rasheed Sulaimon.
Michigan State comes back from its unexpected run to the Final Four with some holes to fill, but has Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine and a possible freshman star in four-star forward Deyonta Davis. The Spartans were dealt a big blow when five-star center Caleb Swanigan decommitted last week, but reports have him possibly staying in the conference and committing to Purdue.
Indiana returns everyone from its NCAA Tournament team and adds five-star McDonald's All-American forward Thomas Bryant. Wisconsin loses Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, but keeps Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig and you can expect the Badgers to be in the thick of things as always come March.
Injuries hindered Michigan last year, but the Wolverines will have big-time guards returning in Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton Jr. It was thought that LeVert might make a jump to the NBA even after missing half of last season with a broken foot, but he announced last month that he would return for another season.
Purdue might have one of the best front courts in the nation with centers A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas returning, and the possibility of adding a player like Swanigan.
For the first time since 2007, the Big Ten has seven teams with top-40 recruiting classes. That's tied with the SEC, and more than the Big 12 and ACC have this year. The conference is bringing in talent, and Ohio State is obviously part of that.
It's just that the Buckeyes don't have the established stars to build around with that talent. That young talent has to make the ship go next season, which makes it difficult to project just where Ohio State stands in this Big Ten landscape.
ESPN says the Buckeyes are seventh, which would be one spot worse than where Ohio State finished last year. The Buckeyes are not among the four Big Ten teams in ESPN's way-too-early top 25 for next season. Maryland seems to be everyone's favorite to win the league next year.
A seventh-place finish in the Big Ten would be Ohio State's worst under Matta. Anything near the top of the league might go down as Matta's best coaching job yet.
