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You’re Nuts: If Sean Stewart isn’t a Buckeye, who could Ohio State pivot to?
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The Buckeyes are seeking reinforcements to their frontcourt even after the addition of Aaron Bradshaw.
On Wednesday night the clock struck midnight and the transfer portal closed, bringing an end to the four-week madness that is college basketball free agency.
Well, kind of.
As of midnight Wednesday, no players are able to enter their names into the transfer portal. However, all of the players who put their name in prior to the deadline are able to visit and speak with teams and take as long as they need to find a new school, as long as they’re enrolled before the semester begins.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team is still looking to add to its frontcourt after losing Zed Key and Felix Okpara to the portal. First-year head coach Jake Diebler and his staff added rising sophomore Aaron Bradshaw on April 15, but they are still looking to add someone who could potentially start at power forward as well as another center.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated which of the four new Big Ten teams has the best chance to win the conference in year one. 81% of the readers sided with Connor, who picked UCLA. 14% picked Oregon, 4% picked USC (Justin’s choice), and the final 1% picked the Washington Huskies.
Connor- 75
A former five-star recruit, McDonald’s All-American, and Duke blue-chipper, Sean Stewart is expected to announce where he is transferring in the next day or two. It is looking like Stewart is down to Ohio State, Georgetown, and Cincinnati, with the Buckeyes having the slightest edge over the other two.
But as we’ve seen over the past few years, nothing is a sure thing. The “leaders” don’t always land the recruit, especially in this new NIL age. Ohio State needs to add some size and athleticism, and Stewart would do that — plus he has three more years of eligibility.
If he doesn’t pick Ohio State, Diebler and his staff will have to pivot. Fortunately, there have been several very talented forwards hitting the portal over the last week or so. Stewart isn’t a “must-have” but someone who plays his position and can step in and contribute right away is a need.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25431290/2028788090.jpg "Brigham Young v Kansas State")
Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images
Arthur Kaluma is a plug-and-play forward who would be a starter on pretty much any team in the country, Ohio State included. He’s a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward with a 7-foot wingspan who is a gifted scorer, versatile defender, and just an all-around bucket-getter.
Kaluma, who has one year of eligibility remaining, played two seasons at Creighton before transferring to Kansas State this past season. He is currently entered into the 2024 NBA Draft but did so last season as well before withdrawing and going to Kansas State. He had his best statistical season this past year, averaging 14.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while playing a career-high 34.5 minutes per game (for reference, that’s more than even Bruce Thornton played last season).
He shot 42.7% overall and 34.5% from three-point range while taking 10.8 shots per game and 4.5 three-pointers per game. He is a career 72.8% free throw shooter.
Ohio State would likely have to beat out some of the biggest programs in the country to win the services of Kaluma. Before committing to Kansas State last spring, he was also considering Kentucky and Alabama. Since he is a big name and starred on two very good Creighton teams from 2021-2023, his NIL value is probably pretty high too. However, Ohio State was already able to pull one big-name player from the portal in Bradshaw. Perhaps they could do the same with Kaluma.
Everything makes sense with this fit. Kaluma is big enough and tall enough to play the four at the time, but could also play the three or even handle the ball if absolutely needed — he averaged two assists per game last season. His being on the floor would not hinder Devin Royal’s ability to play or the spacing with Royal. He’s also not a player who hangs around too much below the basket, so he won’t clog things up for Bradshaw, who could have a breakout sophomore season.
He’s not a knockdown three-point shooter, but he hit them at a modest clip (34.5%) last season with a large sample size. That shooting percentage would’ve made him Ohio State’s third-best three-point shooter last season among players who averaged at least 10 minutes per game.
Players with size who can also shoot and do a little bit of everything don’t grow on trees. I also don’t think that adding Stewart should take Ohio State out of the running for a player like Kaluma, but I know in all likelihood that it probably will if the stud sophomore from Florida commits to Ohio State this weekend.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25431285/2105477140.jpg "Samford v Kansas")
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
I will certainly not argue if Arthur Kaluma decides to bring his talents to Columbus and join Aaron Bradshaw to form one of the best frontcourts in the conference, but I have a guy who I think is an even better fit.
Achor Achor of Samford entered the transfer portal late in the process, and he could make Ohio State a preseason top-15 team in the country.
Achor is a 6-foot-9 forward who was a first-team All-Southern Conference pick this past season for the Samford Bulldogs. They finished 29-6 and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 24 years. Samford earned the No. 13 seed in the tournament and played No. 4 seed Kansas, where they nearly pulled off the upset. Achor recorded 23 points and eight rebounds on 9-for-22 shooting in the contest.
Achor averaged 16.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 58.6 percent from the field. He also shot the three-ball at an impressive 43.5 percent, the highest mark of his career.
Achor played two seasons at Chipola (Fla.) College and two seasons at Samford and has one year of eligibility remaining. He entered his name into the NBA draft and will be going through the draft process.
Achor has the size to help rebounding and the shooting to space the floor. If he were to start in a lineup with Bruce Thornton-Meechie Johnson-Micah Parrish-Aaron Bradshaw, that is five guys who can shoot the long ball, making for a nightmare matchup for the opposing defense.
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Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images
The Buckeyes are seeking reinforcements to their frontcourt even after the addition of Aaron Bradshaw.
On Wednesday night the clock struck midnight and the transfer portal closed, bringing an end to the four-week madness that is college basketball free agency.
Well, kind of.
As of midnight Wednesday, no players are able to enter their names into the transfer portal. However, all of the players who put their name in prior to the deadline are able to visit and speak with teams and take as long as they need to find a new school, as long as they’re enrolled before the semester begins.
The Ohio State men’s basketball team is still looking to add to its frontcourt after losing Zed Key and Felix Okpara to the portal. First-year head coach Jake Diebler and his staff added rising sophomore Aaron Bradshaw on April 15, but they are still looking to add someone who could potentially start at power forward as well as another center.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated which of the four new Big Ten teams has the best chance to win the conference in year one. 81% of the readers sided with Connor, who picked UCLA. 14% picked Oregon, 4% picked USC (Justin’s choice), and the final 1% picked the Washington Huskies.
After 150 weeks:
Connor- 75
Justin- 55
Other- 16
(There have been four ties)
A former five-star recruit, McDonald’s All-American, and Duke blue-chipper, Sean Stewart is expected to announce where he is transferring in the next day or two. It is looking like Stewart is down to Ohio State, Georgetown, and Cincinnati, with the Buckeyes having the slightest edge over the other two.
But as we’ve seen over the past few years, nothing is a sure thing. The “leaders” don’t always land the recruit, especially in this new NIL age. Ohio State needs to add some size and athleticism, and Stewart would do that — plus he has three more years of eligibility.
If he doesn’t pick Ohio State, Diebler and his staff will have to pivot. Fortunately, there have been several very talented forwards hitting the portal over the last week or so. Stewart isn’t a “must-have” but someone who plays his position and can step in and contribute right away is a need.
This week’s question: If Sean Stewart isn’t a Buckeye, who could Ohio State pivot to?
Connor: Arthur Kaluma
Arthur Kaluma is a plug-and-play forward who would be a starter on pretty much any team in the country, Ohio State included. He’s a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward with a 7-foot wingspan who is a gifted scorer, versatile defender, and just an all-around bucket-getter.
Kaluma, who has one year of eligibility remaining, played two seasons at Creighton before transferring to Kansas State this past season. He is currently entered into the 2024 NBA Draft but did so last season as well before withdrawing and going to Kansas State. He had his best statistical season this past year, averaging 14.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while playing a career-high 34.5 minutes per game (for reference, that’s more than even Bruce Thornton played last season).
He shot 42.7% overall and 34.5% from three-point range while taking 10.8 shots per game and 4.5 three-pointers per game. He is a career 72.8% free throw shooter.
Ohio State would likely have to beat out some of the biggest programs in the country to win the services of Kaluma. Before committing to Kansas State last spring, he was also considering Kentucky and Alabama. Since he is a big name and starred on two very good Creighton teams from 2021-2023, his NIL value is probably pretty high too. However, Ohio State was already able to pull one big-name player from the portal in Bradshaw. Perhaps they could do the same with Kaluma.
Everything makes sense with this fit. Kaluma is big enough and tall enough to play the four at the time, but could also play the three or even handle the ball if absolutely needed — he averaged two assists per game last season. His being on the floor would not hinder Devin Royal’s ability to play or the spacing with Royal. He’s also not a player who hangs around too much below the basket, so he won’t clog things up for Bradshaw, who could have a breakout sophomore season.
He’s not a knockdown three-point shooter, but he hit them at a modest clip (34.5%) last season with a large sample size. That shooting percentage would’ve made him Ohio State’s third-best three-point shooter last season among players who averaged at least 10 minutes per game.
Players with size who can also shoot and do a little bit of everything don’t grow on trees. I also don’t think that adding Stewart should take Ohio State out of the running for a player like Kaluma, but I know in all likelihood that it probably will if the stud sophomore from Florida commits to Ohio State this weekend.
Justin: Achor Achor
I will certainly not argue if Arthur Kaluma decides to bring his talents to Columbus and join Aaron Bradshaw to form one of the best frontcourts in the conference, but I have a guy who I think is an even better fit.
Achor Achor of Samford entered the transfer portal late in the process, and he could make Ohio State a preseason top-15 team in the country.
Achor is a 6-foot-9 forward who was a first-team All-Southern Conference pick this past season for the Samford Bulldogs. They finished 29-6 and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 24 years. Samford earned the No. 13 seed in the tournament and played No. 4 seed Kansas, where they nearly pulled off the upset. Achor recorded 23 points and eight rebounds on 9-for-22 shooting in the contest.
Achor averaged 16.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 58.6 percent from the field. He also shot the three-ball at an impressive 43.5 percent, the highest mark of his career.
Achor played two seasons at Chipola (Fla.) College and two seasons at Samford and has one year of eligibility remaining. He entered his name into the NBA draft and will be going through the draft process.
Achor has the size to help rebounding and the shooting to space the floor. If he were to start in a lineup with Bruce Thornton-Meechie Johnson-Micah Parrish-Aaron Bradshaw, that is five guys who can shoot the long ball, making for a nightmare matchup for the opposing defense.
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