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Burning Question: How good is the Ohio State men’s basketball backcourt?
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
With the addition of Meechie Johnson, can this Ohio State backcourt be the best in the conference?
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the most important questions yet unanswered for the season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content and our ”Burning Questions” articles here.
When it comes to the Ohio State men’s basketball program, there are a lot of question marks right now. How will Jake Diebler adapt to being the head guy for a full season? What is his staff like, and will they all work well? How will the transfers mesh with the returning players? What impact will Juni Mobley and Colin White have?
However, there is one question that I think is more positive, and the answer could be that the backcourt of junior point guard Bruce Thornton and senior shooting guard Meechie Johnson propel this team back to the NCAA Tournament and to a successful season.
Johnson returns to Ohio State after spending his first two seasons in Columbus and transferring to South Carolina for two seasons. The fifth-year senior joins Thornton in the backcourt, and the two will be the workhorses for the Buckeyes this upcoming season.
Thornton has started all 70 games of his Buckeye career thus far, averaging 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He shot 43.9 percent from the field, 35 percent from three-point range, and 81.2 percent from the free-throw line. Last year, Thornton averaged 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest. His shooting splits were a little down — 42.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range, and 85 percent from the free-throw line.
He has averaged 32.1 minutes per game in his two years in Columbus. and was voted All-Big Ten and All-Big Ten Tournament last season.
Johnson averages 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in his career. He shoots 37.1 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from three-point range, and 75.8 percent from the free throw line. Johnson’s best year was last season, when he averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. His shooting splits were 39.9 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three-point range, and 78.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Johnson has played 106 games in college, starting in 67 of them. He played in 43 games for Ohio State in two seasons and 63 games for South Carolina in two seasons. Johnson was named All-SEC last season.
This is the most experienced backcourt the Buckeyes have had in a long time, and both are poised to become 1,000-point scorers this season. Thornton has a chance to challenge for Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer if he starts 70 more games over the next two seasons.
A talented and experienced backcourt is what wins games in March, and this has the potential to be one of the best backcourts not only in the conference, but in the country. In general, not many teams have two players in the backcourt who could both average 15-18 points per game, but Thornton and Johnson could very well do that. If they are efficient, that number could even be 18-20 points per game, since they will be the top two options on offense.
If all goes right, Thornton and Johnson will be the catalysts for the new-look Buckeye team. They could be one of the best backcourts the Buckeyes have had in a while. Both players have shown the capability of scoring 25 points in any given game and can be takeover players.
Continue reading...
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
With the addition of Meechie Johnson, can this Ohio State backcourt be the best in the conference?
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the most important questions yet unanswered for the season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content and our ”Burning Questions” articles here.
When it comes to the Ohio State men’s basketball program, there are a lot of question marks right now. How will Jake Diebler adapt to being the head guy for a full season? What is his staff like, and will they all work well? How will the transfers mesh with the returning players? What impact will Juni Mobley and Colin White have?
However, there is one question that I think is more positive, and the answer could be that the backcourt of junior point guard Bruce Thornton and senior shooting guard Meechie Johnson propel this team back to the NCAA Tournament and to a successful season.
Johnson returns to Ohio State after spending his first two seasons in Columbus and transferring to South Carolina for two seasons. The fifth-year senior joins Thornton in the backcourt, and the two will be the workhorses for the Buckeyes this upcoming season.
Thornton has started all 70 games of his Buckeye career thus far, averaging 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He shot 43.9 percent from the field, 35 percent from three-point range, and 81.2 percent from the free-throw line. Last year, Thornton averaged 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest. His shooting splits were a little down — 42.7 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range, and 85 percent from the free-throw line.
He has averaged 32.1 minutes per game in his two years in Columbus. and was voted All-Big Ten and All-Big Ten Tournament last season.
Johnson averages 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in his career. He shoots 37.1 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from three-point range, and 75.8 percent from the free throw line. Johnson’s best year was last season, when he averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. His shooting splits were 39.9 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three-point range, and 78.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Johnson has played 106 games in college, starting in 67 of them. He played in 43 games for Ohio State in two seasons and 63 games for South Carolina in two seasons. Johnson was named All-SEC last season.
This is the most experienced backcourt the Buckeyes have had in a long time, and both are poised to become 1,000-point scorers this season. Thornton has a chance to challenge for Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer if he starts 70 more games over the next two seasons.
A talented and experienced backcourt is what wins games in March, and this has the potential to be one of the best backcourts not only in the conference, but in the country. In general, not many teams have two players in the backcourt who could both average 15-18 points per game, but Thornton and Johnson could very well do that. If they are efficient, that number could even be 18-20 points per game, since they will be the top two options on offense.
If all goes right, Thornton and Johnson will be the catalysts for the new-look Buckeye team. They could be one of the best backcourts the Buckeyes have had in a while. Both players have shown the capability of scoring 25 points in any given game and can be takeover players.
Continue reading...