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Ohio State Needs Far Better Transfer Portal Additions, Late-Game Play Design for Better Close to 2026-27 Season
Ohio State took a step forward as a program by making the NCAA Tournament in its second year under Jake Diebler, the first time the Buckeyes went dancing in four years. But the expectation is not to make the NCAA Tournament, it’s to make runs in the NCAA Tournament. That’s what athletic director Ross Bjork said. That’s what Diebler himself has reiterated.
“We were able to battle through a lot to get to this point, but we're not leaving here satisfied as a program,” Diebler said after Ohio State’s NCAA Tournament loss to TCU on Thursday. “This was a great step for us, but we want more. We're going to fight all offseason up until games start to build that and take it up a level. That's what we're motivated by right now. I think you've got guys in (the locker room) that come back that are motivated by the same thing.”
For the Love of God, Get the Right Transfers
Two years in, here is the complete list of Diebler’s transfer portal acquisitions:
| 2024 |
C |
AARON BRADSHAW |
KENTUCKY |
| 2024 |
G |
QUES GLOVER |
KANSAS STATE |
| 2024 |
G |
MEECHIE JOHNSON |
SOUTH CAROLINA |
| 2024 |
G |
MICAH PARRISH |
SAN DIEGO STATE |
| 2024 |
F |
SEAN STEWART |
DUKE |
| 2025 |
G |
GABE CUPPS |
INDIANA |
| 2025 |
F |
BRANDON NOEL |
WRIGHT STATE |
| 2025 |
F |
JOSH OJIANWUNA |
BAYLOR |
| 2025 |
C |
CHRISTOPH TILLY |
SANTA CLARA |
Nine players. One, Micah Parrish, met or exceeded expectations at Ohio State. That’s an 11.1% hit rate. Unacceptable, unsustainable and if it keeps up, it will be Diebler’s undoing.
Meechie Johnson played 10 games, shot 35.6% from the field and returned to South Carolina after sitting out the rest of the season for mental health struggles. Aaron Bradshaw once showed a glimmer of what made him a five-star high school prospect in an 11-point game against his former Kentucky squad, but he mostly fell on his face as a 7-footer who averaged a meager 2.7 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game while playing some horrid defense.
Those flaws overlap with those of Christoph Tilly, though he gave Ohio State significantly more on the offensive end and held his starting center position throughout the year. His 11 points and 2.3 assists per game in 2025-26 were nice enough, but 4.7 rebounds per game from a starting 7-foot center is laughable. TCU forwards David Punch and Xavier Edmonds turned Tilly’s chest into a welcome mat whenever they wanted points at the rim, as did many Big Ten bigs.
Tilly’s greatest strength was that he gave Ohio State an extra guard at center. He fell short of what the Buckeyes needed him to be, though, because he played center like a guard. He’s still the second-best of Diebler’s nine portal acquisitions thus far in his coaching career.
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