OHIO STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER SNAPSHOT: HOW WELL DO THE PIECES FIT TOGETHER RIGHT NOW?
The Ohio State men’s basketball team still has two available scholarships, but nearly all of the 2024-2025 roster — Jake Diebler’s first as head coach — is together. The Buckeyes lost Jamison Battle and Dale Bonner to graduation, and Bowen Hardman, Roddy Gayle, Zed Key, and Scotty Middleton to the transfer portal. That’s 46.5 points per game the team lost, and thus far has added Aaron Bradshaw (formerly Kentucky), Meechie Johnson (formerly South Carolina, but also Ohio State), Juni Mobley (freshman), and Colin White (freshman) to replace them.
Diebler and his new-look staff needed to address three issues this off-season, and so far they’ve done one of them:
- Add some size to play center behind Felix/play the four at times
- Add three-point shooting
- Add a forward who can play the three/four and plug in next to Devin Royal and/or Evan Mahaffey
Bradshaw, a former McDonald’s All-American, five-star recruit, top-five player, and Kentucky Wildcat committed to Ohio State on April 15 after one season in Lexington. He played sparingly (13.8 minutes per game), but flashed potential as someone who could become a real menace to opposing bigs by stepping out and knocking down jumpers in addition to patrolling the paint. He was a projected lottery pick going into his freshman year, but a broken foot in June that took five months to heal took away his entire summer and pre-season. He wound up averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in 26 games last season.
When Meechie Johnson announced on April 2 that he was coming back to Ohio State after two years away, it looked like Diebler was going to have a three-headed snake at guard with him, Bruce Thornton, and Roddy Gayle. This would’ve been a non-traditional lineup with two “smaller” guards plus Gayle, but then Gayle transferred away the very next day. Now it is pretty cut and dry that Thornton and Johnson will both start for Ohio State in a more traditional lineup.
Even with the additions of Bradshaw and Johnson, Ohio State has not done much to replace the three-point shooting that was lost, nor has it filled the void in the middle of the lineup at the forward spots. Presently, it looks like the 3 and 4 will be some combination of Devin Royal, Evan Mahaffey, and Bradshaw. That trio poses plenty of questions, despite the clear upside of all three.
Possible lineup configurations — how bold will Diebler get?
Ohio State still has two scholarships available, and the transfer portal doesn’t close for another 12 days. It could be weeks until the final pieces of the roster are locked in. As of today, here is what the Buckeyes are working with:
Guards:
Bruce Thornton
Meechie Johnson
Taison Chatman
Juni Mobley
Forwards/wings:
Devin Royal
Evan Mahaffey
Kalen Etzler
Colin White
Centers:
Felix Okpara
Aaron Bradshaw
Austin Parks
Possible lineup 1:
Bruce Thornton
Meechie Johnson
Devin Royal
Aaron Bradshaw
Felix Okpara
If Ohio State does not add a forward who is clearly better than Royal, this very well may be your starting lineup against Texas on November 4. The success of this group will be very dependent on how well the 7-foot-1 Bradshaw can operate on the perimeter, guard away from the basket, and knock down the occasional jump shot. He doesn’t need to be a 40% three-point shooter, but if Bradshaw can’t hit jumpers, he and Okpara will not be able to work together.
This collective group shot a combined 31.1% last season from three-point range, so success will also be reliant on Thornton and Johnson hitting those at a rate closer to 35% than their career averages, and for Bradshaw and Royal to show gradual improvement in that area, too.
There’s a lot to like here, but some pretty clear red flags, too.
Possible lineup 2:
Bruce Thornton
Meechie Johnson
Juni Mobley
Aaron Bradshaw
Felix Okpara
Could Diebler go with a three-guard lineup, adding Mobley to the mix right away to inject some perimeter offense that is clearly lacking? Not to compare the two, but there’s some precedent for this. From 2020-2022 Justin Ahrens started 37 of the 63 games he appeared in, but averaged just under 20 minutes per game. By all accounts, Mobley has a more well-rounded game than Ahrens — who earned a reputation for being an all-or-nothing three-point shooter.
The top-50 freshman is going to bring more to Columbus than just shooting, but having him on the floor will stretch defenses and give others more space. If Thornton, Johnson, and Bradshaw don’t start hitting outside shots early in the season, you will see more of Mobley. The modern-day game is so reliant on teams being able to hit the triple, and Mobley was the best shooter in all of high school basketball the past few years.
Possible lineup 3:
Bruce Thornton
Meechie Johnson
Devin Royal
Evan Mahaffey
Felix Okpara
Look familiar? This is last year’s starting five, with Johnson swapped in for Gayle and Royal swapped in for Battle. This lineup will be on the floor together at times this season, but it won’t be plan A, B, or (hopefully) C. There’s not enough outside shooting in this collective group, and it will lead to quite a bit of isolation plays for Thornton and Johnson, since defenses won’t be afraid to give the other three space.
If this lineup is used and Bradshaw doesn’t start, the 7-footer will still get in and play “starter’s minutes.” This is a scenario where playing Bradshaw and Okpara together for 20+ minutes doesn’t work, and the coaching staff has to pivot.
Even after Chris Holtmann was fired, Diebler continued to start Mahaffey. He believes in the value he provides in all facets of the game, but both Mahaffey and Okpara still have limited offensive skill sets. Those two playing together wasn’t ideal at the tail end of last season. That won’t change unless they both make big strides this summer.
Existing needs
Diebler and his staff still need to find a way to add:
- Three-point shooting
- A wing/forward with some shooting ability
Oakland’s Trey Townsend is on campus as we speak, and could play alongside Royal or Mahaffey. He doesn’t bring much in the way of outside shooting, but if Ohio State adds him, he will be one of the best under-the-radar transfer additions in the country. The reigning Horizon League Player of the Year just finds ways to put the ball in the basket and rebounds like a madman.
Central Arkansas’ Tucker Anderson will visit Ohio State this weekend as well. He’s a 6-foot-9 knockdown three-point shooter who connected on triples at a clip of 38%, scored 14 points per game, and was named the ASUN Freshman of the Year. He didn’t rebound particularly well for his size (for comparison, 6-foot-4 Roddy Gayle averaged 4.6 per game while Anderson at five inches taller averaged 3.7) and there’s always the looming question of how well his game would translate to a higher level. Still, simply having a perimeter presence on the floor makes a difference.
2024-04-19T17:33:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd