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PG Demetrius "Meechie" Johnson, Jr. (transfer back to tOSU)

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MEECHIE JOHNSON VIEWED AS CANDIDATE TO TRANSFER BACK TO OHIO STATE AFTER ENTERING PORTAL FOR SECOND TIME​

After his decision to enter the portal, Johnson went live on Instagram to say it's “all love” to South Carolina but said “I've gotta do what's best for me and my family.” He mentioned he hasn't talked to any other schools yet as of Monday.



Since news that Johnson intended to enter the portal hit the web, one of Ohio State's NIL collectives has already started actively recruiting him. The Foundation and one of its co-founders, former OSU national champion quarterback Cardale Jones, both sent tweets on Monday teasing the possibility of Johnson returning to Ohio State – which collectives are allowed to do now that the NCAA has been legally prohibited from enforcing its ban on collectives using NIL to recruit players to schools.

Adding Johnson would put Ohio State's backcourt in an interesting position for 2024-25. Point guard Bruce Thornton and shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr. are likely to return as starters after averaging 15.1 and 13.6 points per game. All three players would command a major role, but none feel like a fit on the wing unless Jake Diebler is interested in playing a very small lineup. Gayle is the tallest of the bunch at 6-4.

That said, Johnson would give the Buckeyes another proven scorer with two years of proven experience as a double-digit scorer in the SEC under his belt.

Whichever school Johnson chooses as his final collegiate destination, he'll have one year of eligibility remaining to make an impact.
 
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DIFFERENCES ON OFFENSE WITH JOHNSON AT SHOOTING GUARD​

The first difference between Johnson and Gayle is how ball-dominant the former is.

Gayle held the rock plenty in Ohio State’s offense this year; otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed 13.5 points and 3.1 assists per game. But Johnson paced the Gamecocks in scoring with 14.1 points and joined Gayle in finishing second on his squad with 2.9 assists per contest.

Shot attempts are the most telling statistic here, however. Johnson attempted 11.8 field goal tries per game compared to 10.4 for Gayle during the 2023-24 season.

Johnson ran the Gamecocks’ offense at point guard, much like Bruce Thornton runs Ohio State's. The dynamic between the two will do a lot to dictate how the Buckeyes’ offense flows in the half-court.

It could give Thornton, Ohio State’s leading scorer in 2023-24, a chance to create more off the ball with a trusted ballhandler at his side. Gayle can dribble the rock, but he’s more turnover-prove than Johnson, averaging 2.4 giveaways a game this year to Johnson’s 1.6.

With Jake Diebler instilling a new play style based on aggression and tempo – the Buckeyes’ fast break numbers surged under his leadership – Johnson should help replace much of the fast break production Gayle leaves behind. Both players have the athleticism to make plays in the open floor.

Lastly, Johnson’s been a more consistent perimeter threat, even if he’s not dominant in that area. He’s shot between 32-33% from behind the arc in each of his last three seasons. Gayle shot just 28.4% from beyond the arc in 2023-24.
 
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