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SF Justin Ahrens (transfer to Loyola Marymount)

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Justin Ahrens
Last season: 3.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 41.0%, 38.8%, 90.9%, 9.6 minutes

This season: 3.5 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 44.1%, 42.6%, 50.0%, 10.8 minutes

Ahrens has occasionally had moments -- a 29-point night against Iowa last season and lower-scoring, but more consistent, performances this season. The problem is his defensive limitations is frequently the deciding factor in playing time. Ahrens is essentially the same player he was a year ago. That’s neither a good or a bad thing.
 
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JUSTIN AHRENS (JUNIOR)
What he’s done: The 6-foot-5, 180-pound sharpshooter hasn’t yet wedged his way into Holtmann’s regular rotation. As a freshman, he averaged 3.2 points in 9.6 minutes per game, with most of his contributions coming down the stretch. An offseason back injury hindered Ahrens for the first half of his sophomore season, but he never found a consistent role, putting up 2.9 points in 10.1 minutes per game. Though he has shot 39.6 percent from 3-point range across both seasons, his defense has limited his playing time. He’s also been a one-dimensional offensive player, with 106 of his 123 shots coming from behind the arc.

Next season’s outlook: Since Sueing is eligible, Towns is joining the team and Jallow will presumably be healthy, Ahrens still doesn’t have a clear path to playing time. Yet on a team that loses a pair of high-volume 3-point shooters in the Wesson brothers, his ability to rain triples could get him on the court. But ultimately Ahrens, who needs a healthy offseason after his back injury greatly hindered him last summer, has to improve his defense to become a larger part of the rotation.

 
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So freaking dangerous. Everything about his shot is perfect. Feet are set. Hands well positioned and steady. Release is true and tp of his extension and the rotation is perfect almost every time. Only saying almost because I haven't gone back and watched every single one. Joy to watch
 
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Went back and watched the Wisky game highlights...damn is this kid important to our team. Kid some critical 3s when we need a response, we don't win that game without Ahrens imo (despite great performances from many other players). Gotta keep finding a way to get him shots.
 
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But do the optics alone put Ahrens in the company of the best shooters in Ohio State history? While he’s on pace to have one of the better seasons in Ohio State history from beyond the arc, his overall numbers (volume) simply do not stack up to some of the great Buckeye sharpshooters.

Ahrens has taken 78 three-point attempts through 18 games thus far. That’s 4.3 attempts per game. The Buckeyes have eight games remaining on their B1G schedule, and then they’ll play in the B1G tournament and (assumedly) the NCAA Tournament. For shits and giggles, let’s say the Buckeyes secure a top-four seed in the conference tournament and earn the double-bye. If that happens, they would need to win two games to get to the championship game, and three to win the whole thing. Again, for shits and giggles, let’s say Ohio State makes it to the B1G championship. That’s an extra three games (11 so far, if you’re keeping count at home).

And then comes the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State’s tournament “stock” has fluctuated this year, but right now most folks have them making it to the Elite Eight/Sweet 16 (for the first time since 2013). If Ohio State made the Sweet 16, that would mean they played three games in the tournament. If they make it to the Elite Eight, it would be four. The point of adding this all up is just to show that Justin Ahrens has somewhere around 15 games remaining this season.

If Ahrens continues to shoot roughly 4.3 three-point attempts per game over the final 15 games and keeps knocking them down at exactly 50%, he would end the season hitting 71-of-142 total three-pointers. How does that stack up with the best of the best? Well, the 10th-best 3-point shooting season in Ohio State history belongs to Deshaun Thomas, who hit 72 triples in 37 games during the 2012-2013 season, but only knocked them down at a 34.4% clip. So, Ahrens’ 71 made threes wouldn’t even put him in the top-10 for Ohio State’s record books. He would finish 11th in that category.

However, if we ignore volume and simply look at percentages, Ahrens finds himself on the doorstep of having the best shooting season in Ohio State history. If he continues at his current pace of 50%, he would finish the year with the second-best three-point percentage of any Buckeye in a single season. Ohio State legend Jon Diebler capped off his career in Columbus by knocking down the long ball at a toasty clip of 50.2% during the 2010-2011 season, just a hare above Ahrens’ current mark of 50%. However, Diebler took a whopping 227 three-point attempts that season, nearly 100 more than Ahrens is on pace for this season. So while the pace Ahrens is on this season is nothing to scoff at, it really goes to show how out of this world Jon Diebler was during his four-year stretch.
 
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