Michael Citro
Guest
Unpopular Opinion: Roddy Gayle Jr. transferring to Michigan is OK with me
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
We’ve seen glimpses of the guard’s potential, but his departure isn’t a big deal for Ohio State’s basketball team.
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 unpopular opinions. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Unpopular Opinion” articles here.
In a perfect world, no Ohio State fan would ever see a starter transfer to Michigan. No self-respecting Buckeye would ever join that team up north, but — in my opinion — while losing guard Roddy Gayle Jr. in the transfer portal to the Wolverines isn’t optimal, it also isn’t that big of a deal.
On the surface, Jake Diebler’s team will be missing its third-leading scorer from the 2023-24 season; Gayle made 45% of his field goal attempts last season and averaged 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Those are solid, if unspectacular numbers. Gayle has unbelievable athletic ability and has shown glimpses of what kind of player he could become, including his hot start to last season.
In addition to the numbers above, Gayle finished second on the team in assists, with 111, was fourth in steals, with 27, and contributed six blocks. That last number is surprisingly low, given Gayle’s vertical leap, long arms, and athleticism.
However, Diebler has seemingly added players who have the potential to elevate the team by doing many of the things that Gayle did for the Buckeyes last season. In addition to big men Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart, the new head coach has welcomed back former Buckeye-turned-South Carolina Gamecock Meechie Johnson Jr. this offseason, and in many ways, he will slide straight into Gayle’s spot on the roster.
Johnson averaged 14.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in the SEC last season, connecting on 40% of his shots from the floor. He also added 95 assists and 30 steals in 154 fewer minutes on the floor than Gayle.
So, while Meechie’s numbers are not dramatically different than Roddy’s, there does appear to be one significant area where the returning Buckeye is far stronger than the departing one. Last season, Johnson tallied 52 turnovers — 3.3 per 100 possessions — while Gayle had 87 and 4.6 per 100 possessions; Jamison Battle committed OSU’s second-highest total of turnovers with 55. While Gayle continues to have a ton of potential, his biggest weakness through two seasons of collegiate basketball has always been his inconsistency.
My biggest beef with Gayle was that it felt like he was where Ohio State fast breaks went to die. Any time it appeared that a clear-cut transition basket was coming, something weird would happen if Gayle was leading the break. Whether he dribbled off his foot, lost control momentarily and stepped on the end line while regathering the ball, traveled, committed a charge on the only defensive player back while ignoring two open teammates, or simply blew a layup, those mistakes have been costly in close games.
It’s possible that I’ll regret writing this if Gayle develops into the kind of player in Ann Arbor that he showed signs of becoming in Columbus. However, I’ll probably be OK with that, since I’d rather not have the uncertainty of what might happen late in a close game if Gayle had a contested layup in the lane. After investing years into rooting for a player, not to mention the time coveting him as a top-50 recruit, it is always tough to see someone choose to play elsewhere, especially when they opt to side with your school’s rival. But given the seemingly on-court upgrade that Diebler has pulled off across his roster this offseason, it's hard to be too upset over Gayle’s departure.
And perhaps the state of the OSU program is another reason why it has been easy to say goodbye to the guard. Diebler turned around a floundering club and came within a whisker of getting the Buckeyes into the NCAA Tournament. The team played with passion and worked hard for Diebler; it seemed like the chemistry between the coach and his players was incredibly strong, especially since he was the lead recruiter for many of them, including Gayle.
While in today’s day and age, you can’t fault players for seeking out the places that they feel are going to be best for them, their futures, and their families, it does sting a little that Gayle chose to leave a team that seemingly had its momentum going in the right direction, especially when he chose to join a squad in even more desperate need of a rebuild.
As bad as the Buckeyes’ 2023-24 season was, the Wolverines’ was even worse. OSU finished the season 22-14 (9-11) and ended up ninth in the Big Ten, but were within a bucket of making it to the B1G Tournament semifinals. TTUN, on the other hand, was 8-24 (3-17) on the campaign and dead last in the conference. Both schools parted ways with their coaches with Diebler taking over for Chris Holtmann and one-time leading OSU candidate Dusty May replacing Juwan Howard.
While there is certainly reason for excitement around both new coaches, it doesn’t sit incredibly well that Gayle would leave OSU for TTUN given all of the known circumstances. Again with the state of college athletics being what they are, there is likely far more going on behind the scenes than we know, and perhaps there are deeply personal reasons for Gayle’s decision to abandon ship and join his former rival’s squad. But, given the positivity and excitement around what Diebler is doing in Columbus, there’s no reason to long for someone who was obviously not 100% on board with what the Buckeyes were building.
So, in that case, we wish Roddy the best of luck and look forward to seeing him on the court when Ohio State welcomes the Maize and Blue to the Schott this season, I’m sure that the Nut House will be on its best behavior !!
Continue reading...
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
We’ve seen glimpses of the guard’s potential, but his departure isn’t a big deal for Ohio State’s basketball team.
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 unpopular opinions. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Unpopular Opinion” articles here.
In a perfect world, no Ohio State fan would ever see a starter transfer to Michigan. No self-respecting Buckeye would ever join that team up north, but — in my opinion — while losing guard Roddy Gayle Jr. in the transfer portal to the Wolverines isn’t optimal, it also isn’t that big of a deal.
On the surface, Jake Diebler’s team will be missing its third-leading scorer from the 2023-24 season; Gayle made 45% of his field goal attempts last season and averaged 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Those are solid, if unspectacular numbers. Gayle has unbelievable athletic ability and has shown glimpses of what kind of player he could become, including his hot start to last season.
In addition to the numbers above, Gayle finished second on the team in assists, with 111, was fourth in steals, with 27, and contributed six blocks. That last number is surprisingly low, given Gayle’s vertical leap, long arms, and athleticism.
However, Diebler has seemingly added players who have the potential to elevate the team by doing many of the things that Gayle did for the Buckeyes last season. In addition to big men Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart, the new head coach has welcomed back former Buckeye-turned-South Carolina Gamecock Meechie Johnson Jr. this offseason, and in many ways, he will slide straight into Gayle’s spot on the roster.
Johnson averaged 14.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in the SEC last season, connecting on 40% of his shots from the floor. He also added 95 assists and 30 steals in 154 fewer minutes on the floor than Gayle.
So, while Meechie’s numbers are not dramatically different than Roddy’s, there does appear to be one significant area where the returning Buckeye is far stronger than the departing one. Last season, Johnson tallied 52 turnovers — 3.3 per 100 possessions — while Gayle had 87 and 4.6 per 100 possessions; Jamison Battle committed OSU’s second-highest total of turnovers with 55. While Gayle continues to have a ton of potential, his biggest weakness through two seasons of collegiate basketball has always been his inconsistency.
My biggest beef with Gayle was that it felt like he was where Ohio State fast breaks went to die. Any time it appeared that a clear-cut transition basket was coming, something weird would happen if Gayle was leading the break. Whether he dribbled off his foot, lost control momentarily and stepped on the end line while regathering the ball, traveled, committed a charge on the only defensive player back while ignoring two open teammates, or simply blew a layup, those mistakes have been costly in close games.
It’s possible that I’ll regret writing this if Gayle develops into the kind of player in Ann Arbor that he showed signs of becoming in Columbus. However, I’ll probably be OK with that, since I’d rather not have the uncertainty of what might happen late in a close game if Gayle had a contested layup in the lane. After investing years into rooting for a player, not to mention the time coveting him as a top-50 recruit, it is always tough to see someone choose to play elsewhere, especially when they opt to side with your school’s rival. But given the seemingly on-court upgrade that Diebler has pulled off across his roster this offseason, it's hard to be too upset over Gayle’s departure.
And perhaps the state of the OSU program is another reason why it has been easy to say goodbye to the guard. Diebler turned around a floundering club and came within a whisker of getting the Buckeyes into the NCAA Tournament. The team played with passion and worked hard for Diebler; it seemed like the chemistry between the coach and his players was incredibly strong, especially since he was the lead recruiter for many of them, including Gayle.
While in today’s day and age, you can’t fault players for seeking out the places that they feel are going to be best for them, their futures, and their families, it does sting a little that Gayle chose to leave a team that seemingly had its momentum going in the right direction, especially when he chose to join a squad in even more desperate need of a rebuild.
As bad as the Buckeyes’ 2023-24 season was, the Wolverines’ was even worse. OSU finished the season 22-14 (9-11) and ended up ninth in the Big Ten, but were within a bucket of making it to the B1G Tournament semifinals. TTUN, on the other hand, was 8-24 (3-17) on the campaign and dead last in the conference. Both schools parted ways with their coaches with Diebler taking over for Chris Holtmann and one-time leading OSU candidate Dusty May replacing Juwan Howard.
While there is certainly reason for excitement around both new coaches, it doesn’t sit incredibly well that Gayle would leave OSU for TTUN given all of the known circumstances. Again with the state of college athletics being what they are, there is likely far more going on behind the scenes than we know, and perhaps there are deeply personal reasons for Gayle’s decision to abandon ship and join his former rival’s squad. But, given the positivity and excitement around what Diebler is doing in Columbus, there’s no reason to long for someone who was obviously not 100% on board with what the Buckeyes were building.
So, in that case, we wish Roddy the best of luck and look forward to seeing him on the court when Ohio State welcomes the Maize and Blue to the Schott this season, I’m sure that the Nut House will be on its best behavior !!
Continue reading...