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2024-2025 Ohio State Men's Basketball

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ScriptOhio

ScriptOhio

Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
SEREbuckeye said:
These guys are dialing in for some hardware in the NIT. They seems so much more focused as the games have went on under Deibs.

Diebler was asked Monday if conversations about players’ futures are ongoing during the Buckeyes’ NIT run.

“That’s been player-led that we’re gonna wait till after the season,” Diebler said. “I think our guys are really focused on what we have going on right now. And they want to get out there and win. We’ve done everything we can to just lock in on that.

“I think the way we finished the season, the way they performed in the postseason says a ton about who they are as people,” Diebler said. “It says a lot about the chemistry within this team and program and speaks to their pride for what’s on the chest of their jersey but also playing for guys who this is the end of their college basketball career and playing for each other.”

Diebler later noted: “I think our guys are motivated by the fact that there’s a there’s a game to be won, there’s a championship to be won, that we’re playing really good teams, and they’re motivated to play for each other.”
Click to expand...
11W's 2023-24 OHIO STATE BASKETBALL ROSTER

NO NAME POS HT WT YR HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL)
0 SCOTTY MIDDLETON G 6-7 190 FR Miami, Florida (Sunrise Christian)
1 RODDY GAYLE G 6-4 210 SO Niagara, N.Y. (Wasatch Academy)
2 BRUCE THORNTON G 6-2 215 SO Alpharetta, Ga. (Milton)
3 TAISON CHATMAN G 6-4 175 FR Minneapolis, Minn. (Totino-Grace)
4 DALE BONNER G 6-2 170 5TH Shaker Heights, Ohio (Baylor)
10 JAMISON BATTLE F 6-7 220 5TH Robbinsdale, Minn. (Minnesota)
12 EVAN MAHAFFEY G/F 6-6 200 SO Cincinnati, Ohio (Penn State)
15 BOWEN HARDMAN G 6-3 190 SO Cincinnati, Ohio (Princeton HS)
21 DEVIN ROYAL F 6-6 210 FR Pickerington, Ohio (Pickerington Central)
23 ZED KEY F 6-8 250 SR Bay Shore, N.Y. (Long Island Lutheran)
24 KALEN ETZLER F 6-8 190 RS SO Van Wert, Ohio (Crestview)
25 AUSTIN PARKS C 6-10 250 FR Saint Mary’s, Ohio (St. Mary’s Memorial)
34 FELIX OKPARA C 6-11 235 SO Lagos, Nigeria (Link Academy)
42 COLBY BAUMANN G 6-3 190 SO Houston, Texas (IMG Academy)
44 OWEN SPENCER F 6-9 230 SR Cincinnati, Ohio (Citadel)
11W's OHIO STATE BASKETBALL SCHOLARSHIP GRID

POS DEPARTURES SENIORS JUNIORS SOPHOMORES FRESHMEN
C – ZED KEY FELIX OKPARA AUSTIN PARKS –
PF JAMISON BATTLE – KALEN ETZLER (RS) DEVIN ROYAL –
SF – – EVAN MAHAFFEY SCOTTY MIDDLETON COLIN WHITE
SG – – RODDY GAYLE BOWEN HARDMAN – –
PG DALE BONNER – BRUCE THORNTON TAISON CHATMAN JUNI MOBLEY
TOTALS 2 1 6 4 2

NOTES​

  • Zed Key participated in Senior Day festivities but still has another year of eligibility.
Of the remaining scholarship players, it will be interesting to see who comes back (and who doesn't).

The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), which governs college sports in the United States, has set a limit on the number of scholarships that can be awarded by Division I schools. For men's basketball, there are 351 Division I teams and each team is allowed to offer up to 13 full scholarships per year.

DZ83CK said:
The more I think about OSU adding a guard through the portal, the more I think Meechie might not be the best move. Obviously Meechie has been outstanding for South Carolina and has a lot of talent, the NIL folks are drawn to him for good reason. At first glance it seems like a no-brainer to go for him, but we're talking about having a team, not just having the best collection of talent. One option is don't add any guards in the portal & rely on your current players and recruits there, but I doubt that everyone will want to stay. So probably someone will need to come through the portal at guard, the question is who would be best.

OSU already has very good starters at the 1 & 2 spots that you want to do your best to make sure they stay. I don't think Meechie is truly a better PG than Bruce. Areas of relative weakness with the roster as is are shooting, rebounding & physicality near the basket. So to me if you're adding a guard from the portal, you want to target a proven shooter who would accept & fit well in a reserve role at OSU. And of course make sure Bruce and Roddy stay. Meechie has shot under 40% from the field in college, and he'd be switching from PG to the 2, so I also worry that the team might not improve as much as people would hope even if everyone stays & he comes.

Right now there are 2 guys that are in the portal I'd be looking at for a backup guard role for OSU - Jalen Sullinger (Kent St) and Matt Allocco (Princeton). Both are from the Columbus area with just 1 year left, both have been great shooters. I have to say, with my college coach GM hat on, considering all the ramifications of adding aomeone in the portal, right now I'd be leaning to going after Matt Allocco. Both he and Jalen have been outstanding shooters & had similar stats. Allocco has been on better teams, playing slightly tougher competition, & has starting experience on a Sweet 16 team (2023 Princeton). He's 6-4 and has the size and strength to fit in the rugged Big 10. And perhaps if they don't spend the bulk of their resources on Meechie, the NIL people can use their money to add a starter that would be a legitimate upgrade from the talent currently on the roster at his position.
Click to expand...

You make a good point. Compare the stats of each guy:

Matt Allocco: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4898232/matt-allocco

Jalen Sullinger: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4898316/jalen-sullinger

Meechie Johnson: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4710770/meechie-johnson

If you could get just one; based on their stats, I'd probably take Matt Allocco too. However, (needless to say) there are other attributes that have to be considered too: like effect on team chemistry, being a team player, speed & quickness, playing defense, character issues, and academics, etc.
 
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Buckeyes In 2024-25: Diebler hopes to build off OSU's late-season success​

There is an air of hope and also some uncertainty as the Ohio State men's basketball program moves into the future with Jake Diebler as the team's full-time head coach.

The 37-year-old Diebler moved into the interim head coaching position on Feb. 14 when retiring athletic director Gene Smith made the decision to fire Chris Holtmann midway through his seventh season as the OSU head coach.

The team had opened the 2023-24 season with a 12-2 record through a Jan. 3 win over Rutgers. They then went on a 2-9 skid, culminating in a Feb. 13 loss at Wisconsin and the decision to fire Holtmann the next day. Diebler stepped into the role as the interim head coach and the Buckeyes promptly knocked off then-No. 2 Purdue 73-69 at home four days later.

That began a 6-2 run against Big Ten opponents, finishing with a win over Iowa and a loss to then-No. 13 Illinois in the Big Ten tournament. On March 16, a day after that loss, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork made the decision to elevate Diebler to the fulltime head coaching role. In effect, Diebler had crushed the audition.

Ohio State entered the NIT and took wins over Cornell and Virginia Tech before being upset at home by Georgia 79-77 in a heartbreaker Tuesday night. That capped the season at 22-14 with OSU going a combined 8-3 during Diebler's time as the head coach.

Following the loss, Diebler was asked to assess what the previous whirlwind six-week period had been about since he was pressed into duty as the head coach.

"The way our calendar is in college basketball right now there really is not time for that quite yet," Diebler said. "Eventually, we will get to that point."

Still, Diebler admitted he was proud of the way the team embraced his leadership and the way the players acquitted themselves on and off the court during a period of turmoil and adversity.

"The way we played, the urgency and the aggressiveness we played with, the togetherness we played with and the toughness we played with, those are things we want to be about moving forward," Diebler said. "We were able to see those things serve us well in the Big Ten and in the postseason. I think that is really valuable.

"We have to be able to bottle that up and as we transition to off-season work, we need to remember what that felt like and be able to keep taking it to another level."
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continued
 
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ScriptOhio said:

NOTES​

  • Zed Key participated in Senior Day festivities but still has another year of eligibility.
Of the remaining scholarship players, it will be interesting to see who comes back (and who doesn't).

The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), which governs college sports in the United States, has set a limit on the number of scholarships that can be awarded by Division I schools. For men's basketball, there are 351 Division I teams and each team is allowed to offer up to 13 full scholarships per year.



You make a good point. Compare the stats of each guy:

Matt Allocco: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4898232/matt-allocco

Jalen Sullinger: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4898316/jalen-sullinger

Meechie Johnson: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4710770/meechie-johnson

If you could get just one; based on their stats, I'd probably take Matt Allocco too. However, (needless to say) there are other attributes that have to be considered too: like effect on team chemistry, being a team player, speed & quickness, playing defense, character issues, and academics, etetc.
Click to expand...
Re: Allocco
Yes, plus the guys that project to be on the roster are more fits for backup PG than backup SG, especially now with Hardman in the portal. I would call Chatman more PG than SG, although he is considered a combo guard, they seemed to use him as a PG so far. Juni Mobley is a 6'0" guard also of slim build, and I'd call him a scoring point guard kind of like Chatman, only even more tied to the 1 due to his height. In other words, this team needs a true backup SG in the portal now.
 
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otisu said:
I'll take it as a good sign that no one other than Hardman was ready to hit the door immediately. That would indicate that they're at least talking through what their future looks like in the program with coach before making a decision.
Click to expand...
I agree with the sentiment. It's a positive sign that it seems like no one on this team was approaching the end of the season with one foot out the door. However, in recent years OSU has on average lost 3-4 players "early" whether it be to the pros or transfer, so I doubt that Hardman is gonna be the only one to make the move.
 
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I also wonder a bit about scheduling for this season. I believe by this point we have only heard of two marquee nonconference games - one is gonna be at Texas A&M and the other is gonna be a neutral site game vs either UNC or UK. That seems awfully light and weak for a program like OSU, and it'll be one of the weakest schedules we've seen if that holds.
 
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www.elevenwarriors.com

Meechie Johnson Brings Offensive Skill Set Distinct from Roddy Gayle Jr.'s, Adjusts Ohio State’s Portal Strategy Moving Forward

Meechie Johnson provides a distinct skill set from Roddy Gayle Jr. at shooting guard for Ohio State, which still has plenty of work to do in the transfer portal.
www.elevenwarriors.com www.elevenwarriors.com

CURRENT PROJECTED 2024-25 STARTING LINEUP
NAME POS HT WT 2023-24 STATS
Bruce Thornton G 6-2 215 15.7 PPG, 4.8 APG
Meechie Johnson G 6-2 170 14.1 PPG, 2.9 APG
Evan Mahaffey G 6-6 200 4.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Devin Royal F 6-6 210 4.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Felix Okpara C 6-11 235 6.6 PPG, 2.4 BPG
See above link for some input on Ohio State's need from the transfer portal.

WING SCORER​

WING SCORER​

ANOTHER BIG​

GUARD DEPTH​

POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL DEPTH PIECE​

Here's who 11W thinks are Ohio State's current transfer targets:

CURRENT OHIO STATE TRANSFER TARGETS
NAME SCHOOL POS HT WT 2023-24 STATS
Matt Allocco Princeton G 6-4 197 12.7 PPG, 3.3 APG
Jalen Sullinger Kent State G 5-10 172 15.4 PPG, 2.4 APG
Adou Theiro Kentucky F 6-8 222 7.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Carey Booth Notre Dame F 6-10 203 6.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG

​

 
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buckeyebri said:
Who’s going to hit the three? It doesn’t have to be the only thing in the offense like we see with a lot of teams, but you need a threat or two.
Click to expand...
Clearly they're not done in the portal. I know based on recent history Bruce and Meechie both can be streaky from 3, some games they are hitting and some they aren't, so you're right they probably need a more consistent threat. But I will say Meechie in particular has had some huge games shooting the 3 (e.g., SC at Kentucky 2023) & he can really score in bunches. I would expect them to go after a forward that can be the go-to shooter when they need a 3, like Battle was this past season. Allocco is a solid shooter, and I believe OSU has a good chance at getting him in the portal. Mobley is a guy I expect to be able to shoot, although he projects only as a PG. Chatman, we'll see what happens there, but he does have potential to be a very good shooter in college. I am expecting them to add another guy who can shoot at forward, especially after losing Middleton.

The good news is there are a lot of guys in the portal that could help this team, and plenty of time to sort things out. Also, the cupboard isn't bare, they're trying to fill holes rather than having to build from the ground up. I do find it a bit odd that we haven't heard of more names they're in contact with through the portal, but maybe that is just a reflection of confidence in the staff that they'll get the guys they really want (with help from NIL).
 
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buckeyebri said:
Who’s going to hit the three? It doesn’t have to be the only thing in the offense like we see with a lot of teams, but you need a threat or two.
Click to expand...
Colin White will be our best shooter as soon as he steps into the uniform but, freshman. We haven't seen one come in and be the man like that from the jump in some time. He'll need to find his footing way before mid season.
 
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I was expecting Zed to leave, but now we have the official word. So now there are 3 scholarships open for OSU to use.

That being said, I wonder why we haven't heard of OSU being connected with more bigs in the portal. They didn't use Austin Parks enough for me to think he'll be a rotation guy next season, but that is always a possibility.
 
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So far 4 players are transferring out to play somewhere else for 2024/2025:

Bowen Hardman
Scotty Middleton
Roddy Gayle Jr. Meechie Johnson
Zed Key

If you consider getting Meechie Johnson replacing Roddy Gayle, according to CBS Sports it was an upgrade (#10 vs. #46):

www.cbssports.com

College basketball transfer portal 2024: Ranking top 50 players as Bensley Joseph commits to Providence

Here are the best transfers in the portal so far during college basketball's 2024 offseason
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

College basketball transfer portal 2024: Ranking top 50 players as Bensley Joseph commits to Providence​

Here are the best transfers in the portal so far during college basketball's 2024 offseason​

10. Meechie Johnson​

Old school: South Carolina | New school: Ohio State

Johnson wasn't necessarily South Carolina's best all-around player. But the 6-foot-2 guard did lead the Gamecocks in scoring at 14.1 points per game in 2023-24 during his second season in the program. Johnson began his career at Ohio State and will have one season of eligibility remaining as he returns to his home state to finish out his career with the Buckeyes.

46. Roddy Gayle Jr.​

Old school: Ohio State

Gayle is a physical shooting guard who can take defenders off the dribble and use his strength and athleticism to get good looks. He's just a career 33.1% 3-point shooter, but after averaging 13.5 points and 3.1 assists for the Buckeyes as a sophomore, Gayle has shown he can be productive at the high-major level.

Still, it would have been great to have them both on the team in 2024/2025.
 
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