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Former Kentucky forward Ajae Petty transfers to Ohio State
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
The Kentucky Wildcat who averaged a double-double joins the Buckeyes for her last season of eligibility
On Sunday, Ohio State women’s basketball added its first transfer of the portal season. Guard Chance Gray, out of the Oregon Ducks, joined the Buckeyes to help fill gaps in perimeter shooting left by graduating seniors. Now, head coach Kevin McGuff has added another name to address a key area of concern for Ohio State, as former Kentucky Wildcats forward Ajae Petty announced on Monday that she would be joining the Buckeyes.
It took a while for Petty to make a substantial impact at the collegiate level, but last season she delivered. In the forward’s first four years in college basketball, she split it with two years as an LSU Tiger and two seasons in Kentucky.
In her first three seasons, Petty had 60 appearances, but no starts, across the two SEC sides. In those appearances, Petty averaged 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds with an average of 10 minutes played per game. Last year though, Petty finally got the chance to start and she made the best of it.
Starting all 32 games for the Wildcats, Petty had a career season. The forward averaged 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds for the struggling Kentucky side. In those 32 games were 18 double-double performances, ending the season third in the conference in rebounds (339) and rebounds per game.
Now, Petty joins an Ohio State side that has struggled to grab missed shots for the last four seasons. Each year, the Buckeyes ended the season with a negative rebounding differential, and no year was worse than the 2023-24 season. The Scarlet and Gray ended the year with a -2.4 rebounding differential, good for the second-worst mark in the conference. It especially hurt Ohio State in the postseason.
Against the Maryland Terrapins, in the Buckeyes’ lone game of the Big Ten Tournament, the Terrapins outrebounded Ohio State 55-31 in an 82-61 lopsided Maryland win. Then, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, the Duke Blue Devils held the Scarlet and Gray to only 20 rebounds, grabbing 18 more than the No. 2 seed.
Adding Petty helps lessen that rebounding gap to Ohio State’s opponents. The graduate senior joins senior Taylor Thierry, junior Cotie McMahon, and sophomore center Faith Carson in the group of forwards. Also, Eboni Walker might have an extra year of eligibility due to an injury sustained in the 2021-22 season when she played for the Syracuse Orange, but McGuff and company are still waiting on a ruling from the NCAA.
The Buckeyes also have a group of incoming freshmen which includes forwards Ella Hobbs and Elsa Lemmila. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-6 respectively, they add to an OSU post presence that’s more formidable than in years past.
The transfer portal will remain open until May 1, giving McGuff more time to add names to the Buckeyes roster. With Petty, Ohio State is up to 13 players on its 2024-25 roster, with a few potential spots yet to fill.
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ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
The Kentucky Wildcat who averaged a double-double joins the Buckeyes for her last season of eligibility
On Sunday, Ohio State women’s basketball added its first transfer of the portal season. Guard Chance Gray, out of the Oregon Ducks, joined the Buckeyes to help fill gaps in perimeter shooting left by graduating seniors. Now, head coach Kevin McGuff has added another name to address a key area of concern for Ohio State, as former Kentucky Wildcats forward Ajae Petty announced on Monday that she would be joining the Buckeyes.
It took a while for Petty to make a substantial impact at the collegiate level, but last season she delivered. In the forward’s first four years in college basketball, she split it with two years as an LSU Tiger and two seasons in Kentucky.
In her first three seasons, Petty had 60 appearances, but no starts, across the two SEC sides. In those appearances, Petty averaged 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds with an average of 10 minutes played per game. Last year though, Petty finally got the chance to start and she made the best of it.
Starting all 32 games for the Wildcats, Petty had a career season. The forward averaged 14.2 points and 10.6 rebounds for the struggling Kentucky side. In those 32 games were 18 double-double performances, ending the season third in the conference in rebounds (339) and rebounds per game.
Now, Petty joins an Ohio State side that has struggled to grab missed shots for the last four seasons. Each year, the Buckeyes ended the season with a negative rebounding differential, and no year was worse than the 2023-24 season. The Scarlet and Gray ended the year with a -2.4 rebounding differential, good for the second-worst mark in the conference. It especially hurt Ohio State in the postseason.
Against the Maryland Terrapins, in the Buckeyes’ lone game of the Big Ten Tournament, the Terrapins outrebounded Ohio State 55-31 in an 82-61 lopsided Maryland win. Then, in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, the Duke Blue Devils held the Scarlet and Gray to only 20 rebounds, grabbing 18 more than the No. 2 seed.
Adding Petty helps lessen that rebounding gap to Ohio State’s opponents. The graduate senior joins senior Taylor Thierry, junior Cotie McMahon, and sophomore center Faith Carson in the group of forwards. Also, Eboni Walker might have an extra year of eligibility due to an injury sustained in the 2021-22 season when she played for the Syracuse Orange, but McGuff and company are still waiting on a ruling from the NCAA.
The Buckeyes also have a group of incoming freshmen which includes forwards Ella Hobbs and Elsa Lemmila. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-6 respectively, they add to an OSU post presence that’s more formidable than in years past.
The transfer portal will remain open until May 1, giving McGuff more time to add names to the Buckeyes roster. With Petty, Ohio State is up to 13 players on its 2024-25 roster, with a few potential spots yet to fill.
Continue reading...