2025-2026 Ohio State Men's Basketball

[DZ83CK]

From everything I've seen and heard so far, Royal is all in and is actively trying to get more players to come to Cbus. I am not sure about Mobley though I would think he fits the style of play to play anywhere and he was showcased enough last year to feel like he can be successful, unless he wants to bolt for who he thinks might win a title next year.

It all comes down to the big men. If we solidify that position there are a lot of possibilities. If we get more wings and guards, we're looking at another late season disappointment on poor shooting nights.

Sounds good. Royal is definitely a key building block for this team, obviously Mobley is important as well. Hopefully we bring those 2 back and add a couple more highly productive players to them.

You're right about the big man issue - I just hope the coaching staff recognizes the fact that WE NEED A LEGIT BIG MAN DESPERATELY and doesn't try to "Holtmann" another season by playing undersized forwards in the post. The first thing we need to do is get a legit post presence, until we do that, we are just wasting time. It just floors me that we had Kaleb Wesson for 3 years, and we haven't been able to find a legit post presence ever since. Okpara was close, but not quite there & I think he sees himself as more of a PF than a post.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Sounds good. Royal is definitely a key building block for this team, obviously Mobley is important as well. Hopefully we bring those 2 back and add a couple more highly productive players to them.

You're right about the big man issue - I just hope the coaching staff recognizes the fact that WE NEED A LEGIT BIG MAN DESPERATELY and doesn't try to "Holtmann" another season by playing undersized forwards in the post. The first thing we need to do is get a legit post presence, until we do that, we are just wasting time. It just floors me that we had Kaleb Wesson for 3 years, and we haven't been able to find a legit post presence ever since. Okpara was close, but not quite there & I think he sees himself as more of a PF than a post.

You know, I dont even hate the idea of Bradshaw at a stretch 5 with a big man in the paint. If he is going to hit his 3s then play him like Evan Mobley and go find a Jarrett Allen for underneath

 

[OHSportsFan]

Expecting half the roster to turnover. Here goes Mahaffey.

 

[OHSportsFan]

This is why any lower level post season tournament is a joke. I’m shocked that anyone would be upset about the Buckeyes turning it down or “quitting”.

Diebler and the AD knew the roster situation. What do you do? Fly 6 remaining guys out to Vegas to compete for some stupid “Crown”? I’d liken it to an NBA team still trying to play exhibition games during Free Agency.

The sooner you can turn this roster over the better - letting guys go and recruiting new ones. It’s a new off season. Get to work on who will actually be here next year.

 

[DZ83CK]

Expecting half the roster to turnover. Here goes Mahaffey.

No surprise. Mahaffey looked like the most checked-out player on the team in the Iowa loss.

 

[DZ83CK]

So 2 scholarship players for sure graduated, Parrish and Etzler. 2 players coming in as freshmen, F Bynum & G Jones. We're certainly not getting back both Bruce and Meechie, but maybe 1 of them. Now 2 transfers, Parks and Mahaffey, but there could be more possibly. So that means right now we have at least 2 spots to recruit immediate additions. I would focus on the 5 position first and foremost. PG and shooting wing are areas I would look at adding as well.

 

[calibuck]

Certainly need a solid big, who can play with back to the hoop, as well as a face-up. Rebounding chops, from both the #5 and #4, and some wing scoring. Believe at least one #3 ran out of eligibility, and Mahaffey's portaling out, leaves Royal? as an heir apparent. Do like Royal's hops around the basket, and rebounding skills/putting ball back in the hole, so figure on him getting the first shot there. Getting our PG of the future as incoming freshman is key, and getting him in the rotation certainly. Looks like Iowa and Xavier have a couple of solutions for us, being proven producers and 6'8" to boot. Let's hope that the AD and Foundation are serious about putting some swagger back on the hardwood. Go Bucks!

 

[ScriptOhio]

So 2 scholarship players for sure graduated, Parrish and Etzler. 2 players coming in as freshmen, F Bynum & G Jones. We're certainly not getting back both Bruce and Meechie, but maybe 1 of them. Now 2 transfers, Parks and Mahaffey, but there could be more possibly. So that means right now we have at least 2 spots to recruit immediate additions. I would focus on the 5 position first and foremost. PG and shooting wing are areas I would look at adding as well.

Remember the 15 player roster limit kicks in for this coming season:

With Mahaffey’s announcement today, Ohio State now has two open roster spots for the 2025-2026 season. Starting next season, the NCAA is doing away with scholarship limits and enforcing a 15-player roster limit, regardless of scholarship limit.

 

[DaveyBoy]

So 2 scholarship players for sure graduated, Parrish and Etzler. 2 players coming in as freshmen, F Bynum & G Jones. We're certainly not getting back both Bruce and Meechie, but maybe 1 of them. Now 2 transfers, Parks and Mahaffey, but there could be more possibly. So that means right now we have at least 2 spots to recruit immediate additions. I would focus on the 5 position first and foremost. PG and shooting wing are areas I would look at adding as well.

I hope we never see Meechie back here except to cheer his cousing. The guy is a head case or a heart case. Pick one. Regardless, he screwed this team so badly this year.

 

[ScriptOhio]

NO	Player	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	Hometown
10	Colby Baumann	G	6-3	185	Soph	Houston, TX
4	Aaron Bradshaw	F	7-1	215	Jr	Rahway, NJ
xx	A'mare Bynum	F	6-8	225	Fr	Branson, MO
3	Taison Chatman	G	6-4	175	redSoph	Minneapolis, MN
.	.	.	.	.	.
1	Meechie Johnson Jr.	G	6-2	185	redSr	Cleveland, OH
xx	Dorrian Jones	G	6-4	160	Fr	Cleveland, OH
0	John Mobley Jr.	G	6-1	175	Soph	Reynoldsburg, OH
14	Braylen Nash	G	6-4	180	Soph	New Albany, NY
17	Ivan Njegovan	C	7-1	250	Soph	Otocac, Croatia
.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.
21	Devin Royal	F	6-6	220	Jr	Pickerington, OH
13	Sean Stewart	F	6-9	220	Jr	Windermere, FL
2	Bruce Thornton	G	6-2	215	Sr	Fairburn, GA
20	Colin White	F	6-6	205	Soph	Ottawa, OH

Re: The NCAA is implementing a new rule for the 2025-26 academic year that limits basketball rosters to 15 players, including walk-ons, and there's a push to "grandfather" current walk-ons, meaning they would retain their roster spots through their eligibility.

Just sayin': I'll say Meechie is gone and possibility Braylen Nash will just be grandfathered in as a walk on; so (even if nobody else leaves) Ohio State could have 4 open spots on the 2025/2026 roster.

 

[Bestbuck36]

No surprise. Mahaffey looked like the most checked-out player on the team in the Iowa loss.

Which is surprising and terrible considering most of the time he was the only guy looking like he gave a shit and worked his ass off the whole time he was on the court.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Certainly need a solid big, who can play with back to the hoop, as well as a face-up. Rebounding chops, from both the #5 and #4, and some wing scoring. Believe at least one #3 ran out of eligibility, and Mahaffey's portaling out, leaves Royal? as an heir apparent. Do like Royal's hops around the basket, and rebounding skills/putting ball back in the hole, so figure on him getting the first shot there. Getting our PG of the future as incoming freshman is key, and getting him in the rotation certainly. Looks like Iowa and Xavier have a couple of solutions for us, being proven producers and 6'8" to boot. Let's hope that the AD and Foundation are serious about putting some swagger back on the hardwood. Go Bucks!

If a miracle happened and we pulled both from Xavier and Iowa, this team immediately looks completely different and I would have a lot of hope.

 

[Bestbuck36]

NO	Player	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	Hometown
10	Colby Baumann	G	6-3	185	Soph	Houston, TX
4	Aaron Bradshaw	F	7-1	215	Jr	Rahway, NJ
xx	A'mare Bynum	F	6-8	225	Fr	Branson, MO
3	Taison Chatman	G	6-4	175	redSoph	Minneapolis, MN
.	.	.	.	.	.
1	Meechie Johnson Jr.	G	6-2	185	redSr	Cleveland, OH
xx	Dorrian Jones	G	6-4	160	Fr	Cleveland, OH
0	John Mobley Jr.	G	6-1	175	Soph	Reynoldsburg, OH
14	Braylen Nash	G	6-4	180	Soph	New Albany, NY
17	Ivan Njegovan	C	7-1	250	Soph	Otocac, Croatia
.	.	.	.	.	.
.	.	.	.	.	.
21	Devin Royal	F	6-6	220	Jr	Pickerington, OH
13	Sean Stewart	F	6-9	220	Jr	Windermere, FL
2	Bruce Thornton	G	6-2	215	Sr	Fairburn, GA
20	Colin White	F	6-6	205	Soph	Ottawa, OH

Re: The NCAA is implementing a new rule for the 2025-26 academic year that limits basketball rosters to 15 players, including walk-ons, and there's a push to "grandfather" current walk-ons, meaning they would retain their roster spots through their eligibility.

Just sayin': I'll say Meechie is gone and possibility Braylen Nash will just be grandfathered in as a walk on; so (even if nobody else leaves) Ohio State could have 4 open spots on the 2025/2026 roster.

Play Royal at a big 3/small 4 role and put two big men on the floor at the same time with a mixture of Stewart/Ivan/Bradshaw. That would move us from height disadvantage to advantage in a lot of cases. Since we aren't running the way we thought we were going to anyway, just play to what the roster looks like. White gave us some good minutes off the bench and I think he could get better and better.

Wouldn't a lineup of Thornton/Mobley/Royal/Bradshaw/Stewart look like a unit that could get the job done if we play Buckeye basketball the way we have traditionally done with good defense and rebounding? With more guard play coming I truly believe we should be a better basketball team than we are.

 

[DZ83CK]

Play Royal at a big 3/small 4 role and put two big men on the floor at the same time with a mixture of Stewart/Ivan/Bradshaw. That would move us from height disadvantage to advantage in a lot of cases. Since we aren't running the way we thought we were going to anyway, just play to what the roster looks like. White gave us some good minutes off the bench and I think he could get better and better.

Wouldn't a lineup of Thornton/Mobley/Royal/Bradshaw/Stewart look like a unit that could get the job done if we play Buckeye basketball the way we have traditionally done with good defense and rebounding? With more guard play coming I truly believe we should be a better basketball team than we are.

Nah, you're falling into the same trap we just were in. First of all, neither one of them could hold their ground and stop a big like Vlad Goldin or Danny Wolf. Second of all, they commit way too many fouls & you'll never be able to play them together for long for that reason - you would need 2 more bigs to play the other half of the game together. We need a real big, strong presence in the post - somebody who can hold their ground and not get pushed around and has the strength and agility to snare rebounds and not get the ball poked away. You don't get good defense and rebounding in the post without adequate size and strength, which we do not have on the roster currently. I'm sick of seeing us getting guys that are 220# and saying this is our big man. We need to be getting guys who are 6'10", 240# to man the post.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Nah, you're falling into the same trap we just were in. First of all, neither one of them could hold their ground and stop a big like Vlad Goldin or Danny Wolf. Second of all, they commit way too many fouls & you'll never be able to play them together for long for that reason - you would need 2 more bigs to play the other half of the game together. We need a real big, strong presence in the post - somebody who can hold their ground and not get pushed around and has the strength and agility to snare rebounds and not get the ball poked away. You don't get good defense and rebounding in the post without adequate size and strength, which we do not have on the roster currently. I'm sick of seeing us getting guys that are 220# and saying this is our big man. We need to be getting guys who are 6'10", 240# to man the post.

Well, teaching and coaching should get their techniques to improve if it can but that is a different story. Ivan should be a legit #5 if he gets developed. He has overall size and good feet for his size. Whether he has the Offensive development next year that he needs to have or not will be the question.

Still, I would rather go and get the Xavier and Iowa kids and plug them into the lineup right away like everyone else would.