2017-2018 Ohio State Men's Basketball (24-7, 15-3, #2 Seed in B1G Tourney)

[buckeyemania11]

David Bell transferring

http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...eport-ohio-state-center-dave-bell-to-transfer

Ohio State redshirt sophomore big man David Bell will transfer from the program, according to Brian Snow of scout.com. Snow cites Bell's high school coach, Sonny Johnson, in his report.

Will Bell's departure and Thompson's reported early exit, sophomore-to-be Micah Potter and incoming freshman Kaleb Wesson are the only two big men on the Buckeyes' roster.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

Will Bell's departure and Thompson's reported early exit, sophomore-to-be Micah Potter and incoming freshman Kaleb Wesson are the only two big men on the Buckeyes' roster.

funderburk is only slightly shorter than potter while likely having a longer wingspan and certainly having a greater vertical.

anyway, few teams will be envious of our frontcourt. we'll have three 6'9" players, with two of them playing shorter than their heights.

 

[baremu527]

Thad has to turn it around next year. He's done a hell of a lot raising the profile of the basketball program and is a victim of the standard he's set, but as many have pointed out, the program has been trending downward for 5-6 years with solid to very good recruiting classes (albeit on paper) during this period. Missed player evaluations, lack of player development, and kids transferring/leaving for the NBA before their potential is reached is not a good look. Bell leaving shouldn't be a huge blow and he was always a project, but I bet if I look at his recruiting class, I can find an Ohio kid of his height who is a contributor on a solid D1 team. As seen in the past couple of years, plenty of lesser programs have done more with less than Thad has. It's put up or shut up time.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

ohio state played 67 games between the '15-'16 and '16-'17 seasons. bell played a total of 216 minutes. that's 3.2 minutes per game for a player in his third year out of high school.

bell. giddens. grandstaff. mitchell. harris. della valle. mcdonald.

many say that matta should have gotten this player or should have gotten that player. yes, sometimes that's true. however, what hurts the program the most is not the player you miss but instead the player you get.

 

[MaxBuck]

ohio state played 67 games between the '15-'16 and '16-'17 seasons. bell played a total of 216 minutes. that's 3.2 minutes per game for a player in his third year out of high school.

bell. giddens. grandstaff. mitchell. harris. della valle. mcdonald.

many say that matta should have gotten this player or should have gotten that player. yes, sometimes that's true. however, what hurts the program the most is not the player you miss but instead the player you get.

What pisses me off the most is that Giddens can be really, really good. And I think he will be.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

Funderburk must be moving ahead of Bell, right? Bell wouldn't leave with Thompson gone unless the writing was on the wall, I'm guessing. Funderburk, hopefully, can give us some sort of presence for spells next year. Rebound, defend, and dunk once in a while is all we're asking!

I saw an article that says Ohio State has offered 6-7 Pitt Graduate transfer Cam Johnson. Averaged 11 ppg with 78 3's on the year. Does that help us? Probably not, but undoubtedly the staff is working on the grad-transfer route. They can play right away, obviously.

 

[LitlBuck]

Funderburk must be moving ahead of Bell, right? Bell wouldn't leave with Thompson gone unless the writing was on the wall, I'm guessing. Funderburk, hopefully, can give us some sort of presence for spells next year. Rebound, defend, and dunk once in a while is all we're asking!

I saw an article that says Ohio State has offered 6-7 Pitt Graduate transfer Cam Johnson. Averaged 11 ppg with 78 3's on the year. Does that help us? Probably not, but undoubtedly the staff is working on the grad-transfer route. They can play right away, obviously.

They have also offered James Daniel, a graduate from Howard. Do not start laughing because he is from Howard because he can score..

James Daniel, a guard from Howard University, has the Buckeyes in his top four, according to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Daniel also has Michigan, Tennessee and DePaul among his finalists.

Daniel, who would be immediately eligible, played just two games last season because of an ankle injury, but as a junior he led the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game. The 6-foot guard is originally from Hampton, Va.
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/2017/04/ohio_state_basketball_in_top_f.html

 

[MaxBuck]

They have also offered James Daniel, a graduate from Howard. Do not start laughing because he is from Howard because he can score..

James Daniel, a guard from Howard University, has the Buckeyes in his top four, according to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Daniel also has Michigan, Tennessee and DePaul among his finalists.

Daniel, who would be immediately eligible, played just two games last season because of an ankle injury, but as a junior he led the nation in scoring at 27.1 points per game. The 6-foot guard is originally from Hampton, Va.
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/2017/04/ohio_state_basketball_in_top_f.html

Daniel is without question a high D1 talent. He would immediately elevate the Buckeye team.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

during his sophomore and junior seasons, daniel shot 34% and 39% overall. he shot 29% and 33% from three. he averaged fewer assists per game than turnovers.

over his whole career, daniel has played 3 games against major conference teams. he shot 6/20 against pitt, 3/15 against miami, and 6/15 against rutgers. that's a combined 15/50 (30%).

at ohio state, the 6'0" daniel would be competing for playing time against lyle, jackson, williams, and beverly. excluding lyle, that means about a third of the roster would be shorter than 6'2". with potter and kaleb wesson playing shorter than their heights, the team will already be at a size disadvantage. heck, our best proven interior player (if thompson doesn't return) is 6'4".

in short, i don't understand the offer to daniel and don't think it would be a good fit. if matta offers anyone for next season, i hope the player is at least 6'7".

 

[flybuckeye]

Daniel could come in and start at PG and move Lyle to the 2 guard, much like the end of the year w CJ and Lyle on the court together. This would put CJ as the backup pg and Kam back in his 6th man role as just a shooter/microwave off the bench. Beverly will probably only play mop-up while he learns the system. KDB/Wesson at the 3, Tate/Funderburke at the 4, Wesson/Potter at the 5. Hopefully we can add 1 more player for depth in the frontcourt and we'd still only have 12 players on scholarship.

I read an article where Dave Bell was quoted as still being 3rd string behind Wesson and Potter. He'll probably go to a MAC school or mid-major where he can at least play in every game.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

Hopefully we can add 1 more player for depth in the frontcourt and we'd still only have 12 players on scholarship.

Probably going to see Thompson back for his senior year. Just not getting the vibe that it's worth it for him to jump ship. He's shown enough to intrigue some teams, but I can't possibly see the point in declaring and not getting drafted, which I'm 95% sure is what we're looking at here. This is a very deep draft with lots of projects throwing their names in the hat. He might work himself into a second round pick next draft, so why not give it a go? We'll see. I'm not even being "selfish" in wanting him to come back, because I just don't think he makes us that much better either way.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

I'm not even being "selfish" in wanting him to come back, because I just don't think he makes us that much better either way.

i don't disagree with the rest of the post, but i do disagree with this. the only factor impeding thompson from being a star last year was limited playing time due to foul trouble. on a per-possession basis, he was outstanding. consider:

1. only one major conference player (swanigan) had a better total rebounding percentage. that's nationally. among all conferences, thompson was 5th in total rebounding percentage.

2. thompson was 8th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage.

3. in the big ten, thompson was 2nd in defensive rebounding percentage. no other osu player was in the top 20.

4. in the big ten, thompson was 2nd in offensive rebounding percentage. no other osu player was in the top 20.

5. in the big ten, thompson was 3rd in block percentage. no other osu player was in the top 20.

6. in the big ten, thompson was 2nd in true shooting percentage (2, 3 & ft shooting efficency). at 16th, tate was the only other osu player in the top 20.

7. in the big ten, thompson was 6th in defensive rating (points allowed per possession). no other osu player was in the top 20.

8. in the big ten, thompson was 6th in offensive rating (points scored per possession). no other osu player was in the top 20.

9. in the big ten, thompson was 4th in win shares (multi-statistical representation of player's influence leading to wins). no other osu player was in the top 20.

10. in the big ten, thompson was in the top 20 in both offensive and defensive win shares. no other osu player was in the top 20 in either.



when on the court, thompson was the most proficient and most impactful player for ohio state. upon looking at per-possession (tempo-free) stats, he jumps off the page, especially compared to his teammates. heck... disregard the stats. the eye test difference between how the team played with thompson on the court and how the team played with potter was massive.

in my opinion, losing thompson has a substantial impact on the team. i'm optimistic that we'd be a tournament team with him. without him? well, kaleb better be matta's version of nick ward for us to have a shot.

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

also, consider thompson's progress from his lone season at vt to his first at osu. then consider his progress from his first season at osu to his second. now imagine what that trajectory could mean for next year. past performance is no guarantee of future results, but i sure do like the vector of trevor's career.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

I agree with you (and the stats) about Thompson. I even saw some leadership characteristics from him. He obviously wants to win. I was speaking about actual wins/losses contrasted with talent. He has talent. He has potential. I would even say we could expect a senior-year Terrence Dials type of performance out of him, but I'm just not ready to ascribe any leaps to him just yet. The talent and potential is there for Tate to be a 12-10 guy, for Lyle to average 15-4 apg, for KBD to average over 15....etc....I'm done projecting what they can be. I'm going to wait and see with all of them, Thompson included.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

I will say this about Tate: while looking up the final team stats, I observe his FT % went from 51.8 to 57.3 this year. Good year, overall, for Tate. Lyle's stats, as well, showed modest improvements. Loving, at 6-8, simply had no excuse for his 41 % shooting. Kam also had a substandard shooting season, due mostly to selection, I would say. There is definitely reason for optimism next year, from an offensive perspective.