2026-27 Ohio State Men's Basketball

[Onebuckfan]

Football school. Winter filler. See the difference.

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

Football school. Winter filler. See the difference.

One of my favorite stories from reading a Bob Knight biography back in the day related to the Buckeye basketball national champions, like Knight, Havlicek and Lucas, pretending to be football players to get beneficial treatment in the Columbus area, like free admission to movie theaters and such. Because being national champions and 2x runners up wasn't good enough in Columbus. Lol.

 

[DZ83CK]

The guys transferring out were all tOSU recruits, and couple were Mr. Ohio. Have (still) like to see freshmen commit to a school, develop and play meaningful minutes. However, seems to be a thing of the past. Now, tOSU appears to be window-shopping for depth, and as noted above, some rotational players. So, we'll get some carpetbaggers coming in, and in all likelihood, not the best and brightest, who won't sign up unless see a path to starting, and a 'bag' that is big enough to make it worthwhile. Read an article on 'best' portal players, and only a couple would fit the Ohio State needs (IMHO). Plus methinks the price tag might be a tad high. Does anyone know what the Xichigan price was on their transfers? Certainly paid off for them, obviously.

UM definitely paid over $10M for their roster this past season, but of course they have been cagey about the exact amount. To be fair, no school reports precise NIL figures per player because they think it hurts their recruiting ability. I guesstimate UM paid almost double for their roster compared to what OSU did for theirs. Hopefully that gap will be narrowed this upcoming season, but UM might decide to double-down and pay even more.

Unfortunately, college basketball has become kind of a year-to-year sport. It's too bad that a young man like Devin Royal won't finish his career as a Buckeye - in past eras of college basketball he'd stay and have the legacy of being a local guy putting in 4 years while being a team leader in 3 of them, but times have changed.

 

[buckeyemania11]

UM definitely paid over $10M for their roster this past season, but of course they have been cagey about the exact amount. To be fair, no school reports precise NIL figures per player because they think it hurts their recruiting ability. I guesstimate UM paid almost double for their roster compared to what OSU did for theirs. Hopefully that gap will be narrowed this upcoming season, but UM might decide to double-down and pay even more.

Unfortunately, college basketball has become kind of a year-to-year sport. It's too bad that a young man like Devin Royal won't finish his career as a Buckeye - in past eras of college basketball he'd stay and have the legacy of being a local guy putting in 4 years while being a team leader in 3 of them, but times have changed.

scUM is just going to keep throwing the sink at hoops because they probably know that they aren't going to be able to seriously compete for titles in football.

I do however think there is a chance that at some point in the future they get tired of that and stop spending so much on hoops to try to give it a go at seriously competing for titles in football.

 

[calibuck]

Interesting thoughts, but I don't see the NIL escalation abating, unless the government puts a 'cap' on NIL spending, per school, per sport whatever. And certainly a school is going to put their money where it can make the biggest impact. Less we forget, Xichigan has what, a reported $10 million riding on the QB1 position, and if their MBB number is remotely in the ballpark, there's another $10 million onto the hardwood. Given their alleged status in college football, might opine there's another $20 million amongst the other football recruits/transfers, so there's about $40 right there. Mighty tall timber in my estimation. Unless Larry Ellison is picking up part of the tab, that's alot of moola for those car workers to put up on a continuous basis. The only saving grace, is that there's only 12-13 players on the basketball team, so might be easier to fund. The merry-go-round or the great mandala continues to turn.

 

[TDunk]

Interesting thoughts, but I don't see the NIL escalation abating, unless the government puts a 'cap' on NIL spending, per school, per sport whatever. And certainly a school is going to put their money where it can make the biggest impact. Less we forget, Xichigan has what, a reported $10 million riding on the QB1 position, and if their MBB number is remotely in the ballpark, there's another $10 million onto the hardwood. Given their alleged status in college football, might opine there's another $20 million amongst the other football recruits/transfers, so there's about $40 right there. Mighty tall timber in my estimation. Unless Larry Ellison is picking up part of the tab, that's alot of moola for those car workers to put up on a continuous basis. The only saving grace, is that there's only 12-13 players on the basketball team, so might be easier to fund. The merry-go-round or the great mandala continues to turn.

And easier to hit on the B1G player of the year. Championship, merch, advert, etc... Repeat the cycle.