2026-27 Ohio State Men's Basketball

[ScriptOhio]

You’re Nuts: Which player is the most important for the Ohio State men to retain this spring?

Who is Diebler’s biggest priority from his returning group of players?

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Which player is the most important for the Ohio State men to retain this spring?​

11 of Ohio State’s 16 players have eligibility to return next season. That includes two of the Buckeyes’ three leading scorers from last season, John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal. It includes two of the Buckeyes’ three leading rebounders in Royal and Amare Bynum. It also includes Ohio State’s two best three-point shooters — Mobley and Taison Chatman.

Jake Diebler would love to retain every one of those guys, but the reality is that may not be possible. Impossible? Certainly not. But it could be difficult for the Buckeyes to keep all of them without having a starting role for each of them.
So, if Diebler and his staff had to prioritize just one

Connor: John Mobley Jr.​

With Bruce Thornton having graduated, Mobley has a very good chance of being Ohio State’s leading scorer next season during his junior year. He’ll be surrounded by talented big guys, starting with McDonald’s All-American Anthony Thompson and sophomore forward Amare Bynum (assuming he returns).
It’ll be his third season playing for Jake Diebler at Ohio State, and it’s become very apparent that Mobley has an incredible amount of freedom in Diebler’s offense. If Mobley can see the rim and there’s not a defender in his face, Diebler is usually okay with Mobley letting it rip.

Justin: Amare Bynum​

Amare Bynum needs to be the No. 1 priority to return to Columbus this next season. Mobley coming back would be great and I want both to return, but if for some hypothetical reason the staff had to pick one, it should be Bynum.
That’s not a real question being posed, but it is for this article.
Bynum averaged 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 50.6% from the field and 72.6% from the free-throw line. He shot a modest 30.8% from three-point range, but his shot looked much improved as the season progressed.