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Ohio State Women's Basketball (2023-24 B1G CHAMPS)

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Thump said:
Fire McGuff.
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In all seriousness, I don't know what the expectations are for the womens's program versus the men's program or what the resource allocation is relative to elite and other second (on a good day) and third (on a bad day) tier programs. (I'd slot our women's program well below elite but above most programs), and because of that it's hard for me to know what to do with McGuff. On the positive side, they have an identity and a pretty good plan A, recruit pretty well, if perhaps not ideally to what they are trying to do, and win a lot of games. On the negative side, they get bullied by physical teams, typically don't have a great plan B if plan A doesn't work, haven't been able to recruit and develop bigs although I'm hoping Elsa can be the exception (she's on her way IMO but needs to be pushed in the weight room, required to get meaner and rewarded more with the ball if possible) if she doesn't get poached by an elite program.

I think we need: a GM for both the men's program (pending) and the women's program; for the women's program to recruit rangier, stronger girls for the 2-4 slots and the bench if the pressing style is something they plan to stick with; for the strength program to be looked at hard and held accountable (If Elsa gets stronger, especially in her hands, she'll be a monster); for there to be greater urgency to play as hard and as physically as the top teams do; and, frankly, for there to be greater accountability, like benching, for stupid, sloppy play. Honestly, when they don't play stupidly or sloppily, they're clearly just one level below the elite teams even with the physicality issue.

I think McGuff is comfortable, and I don't know how much better he can be if the program is fully supported but he's also made uncomfortable with clear, high expectations. There's definitely significant downside risk to getting rid of him, but I suspect that he doesn't have what it takes to take them to the next level and would love to be wrong.
 
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Wow! Concisely put. McDuff seems to be able to recruit top-of-the-line backcourt talent, Jacy, Jaloni, etc. but he falls down terribly on front court talent. After watching the women's Dance this year, agree that Elsa, while serviceable, and did in fact grow this year, needs some development and some back-up that are more than placeholders. Don't know if the team faltered because they were winded, as McDuff plays with a very shortened bench. When some of the bench players got in, they played adequately. Kitt especially, but as we know, McDuff plays a small, quick group of guards, plus one person designed to act as a screener, and a convenient pass catcher. Elsa needs to learn how to play facing the basket, as too many times, she was looking for someone to pass to, and she was standing AT the foul line! while the defender was deep in the paint, knowing she wasn't going to 1) shoot, or 2) drive.
 
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Each coach has his specialties. Granted. Thought the assistant coaches were supposed to provide the diversity (coaching bigs, versus smalls etc). Doesn't seem to happen in Buckeyeland. Yeah, McGuff is comfy. 13 years there (?) and his kids don't cause trouble, win consistently, and probably bring up the GPA for sports. Check, check, and check. Supposed to be a revenue generator, certainly not in the line of football and mens basketball, but should be a solid #3 am guessing. We watch the Fever, and would kill to have an Alialah Boston on the Lady Bucks. But watching Dorkas and Cotie transfer out makes me wonder. How much practice time do the Buckeyes work on the press? A bunch, am betting. How about the give-and-go to a big? Personally, would like to see more X's and O's during TOs. And a bit more fire and passion from McDuff. McDuff and his Asst HC don't seem to even speak during the games. And, during TOs, don't see the asst coaches running up to players to point out things to do or not. Sorry for the rant.
 
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The Ohio State women’s basketball team and head coach Kevin McGuff announced the addition of 29-year coaching veteran Todd Schaefer to the coaching staff on June 15, 2026. Schaefer serves as an assistant coach.

“Todd Schaefer brings tremendous credibility, experience and character to our program,” McGuff said. “He is highly respected in women’s basketball and what stood out most to us is his ability to teach. Todd has earned a strong reputation for development and we believe he is the right person to help our student-athletes grow both on and off the court.”

Schaefer comes to Columbus after spending last season as an assistant coach at Missouri. The Tigers finished the 2025-26 season with a 17-17 record and led the SEC in free-throw percentage (.779), a mark that ranked 16th nationally. Missouri made an appearance in the WBIT and advanced to the second round.

“I want to thank Coach McGuff for the opportunity to be a part of Ohio State women’s basketball,” Schaefer said. “I’m looking forward to working alongside the staff and with our players in an effort to continue to grow the success of the program.”

Prior to Missouri, Schaefer spent eight years at Arkansas. He served as an assistant coach from 2017-19 before being promoted to associate head coach (2019-24). Schaefer helped guide Arkansas to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and five straight postseason berths.

On three occasions, Schaefer helped the Razorbacks achieve 20+ win seasons. In 2018-19, he directed the team 10 wins against SEC opponents. Known for his ability to develop talent, he coached athletes to five All-American honors, seven all-conference honors, four all-freshman recognition and a freshman of the year award. Schaefer was integral in the progression of Chelsea Dungee's play as she became the fifth overall pick in the 2021 WNBA draft to the Dallas Wings. Schaefer oversaw many aspects of the Arkansas program including scouting, recruiting, scheduling and administration.

Schaefer previously spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Ole Miss (2013-16) and the 2012-13 season at Washington. While with the Huskies, he helped shape two-time WNBA champion and three-time WNBA all-star Kelsey Plum, who finished her career as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer.

Prior to his time with the Huskies, Schaefer served as an assistant coach at Arkansas State. He worked with the Red Wolves' perimeter players, opponent scouting and video. Schaefer directed the program's preseason and post-season conditioning programs and assisted with the academic progress of the Arkansas State players.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Schaefer also served two seasons (2009-11) as the head coach at Greenbrier (Ark.) High School.

Before coaching at Greenbrier, Schaefer was an assistant coach at Cincinnati from 2007-09, where he coordinated the Bearcat offense and served as the director of opponent scouting, among other duties.

Schaefer spent three seasons at Arkansas Tech, including two as head coach during the 2005-07 seasons. While serving as the head coach at Arkansas Tech, he led the Golden Suns to a road victory over the top-ranked team in Division II basketball and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Division II Regional Tournament.

He served as head coach at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn. from 1999-2004. In his first season at Christian Brothers, he led the Lady Buccaneers to their first-ever berth in the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Four years later, Schaefer directed Christian Brothers to the GSC West Division title and to the NCAA South Regional Tournament for the first time in school history.

Schaefer began his coaching career at Western Illinois, spending two seasons (1995-97) as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator. He then spent two seasons (1997-99) as the head coach at Allen County Community College.

Schaefer earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Thomas More College in 1995 while working as a student assistant basketball coach and playing on the football team. He and his wife, Lisa, have three sons, Landon, Will and Jake.
 
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Skull Session: Ohio State Could Have College Football’s Toughest Schedule in 2026, David Gabriel Georges Could Be The First Million-Dollar Running Back Recruit and Kelsey Mitchell Is A WNBA All-Star Starter

Ohio State could have college football’s toughest schedule in 2026, David Gabriel Georges could be the first million-dollar RB recruit and Kelsey Mitchell is a WNBA All-Star starter.
www.elevenwarriors.com www.elevenwarriors.com

HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR. Former Ohio State women’s basketball star Kelsey Mitchell has been selected as a WNBA All-Star starter for the first time.

Mitchell, who’s averaging a career-high 21.6 points per game for the Indiana Fever this season, was one of 10 players named Wednesday as starters for this year’s WNBA All-Star Game.

 
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Kelsey's game reminds me favorably of Havlicek's career with the Celtics. Not a scorer at tOSU, but with the Celtics, his constant movement got him open, and believed he was (at one-time) in the top 10 of overall NBA scorers. Kelsey's constant movement gets her open, and amazingly, for layups. Never seems to take any time off, but outworks her opponent (seems to be mostly larger, long armed defenders), and gets her threes on a constant basis. Probably people with better memories than I have, but don't recollect that she ran as much on the Buckeye court. Do remember her bringing the ball down, and popping threes from all over the place. CC gets the pub, but Kelsey holds that team together. Also, never seems to be injured, and has logged more minutes than anyone else.
 
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