Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes take a hit with Keita Bates-Diop leaving

Keita Bates-Diop had an outstanding year for Ohio State and will be taking his talents to the next level. How big of a blow is this for the Buckeyes?

The Big Ten had a down year overall, with a number of teams underperforming compared to preseason expectations. The one exception was Ohio State, who under first-year head coach Chris Holtmann, went 15-3 in league play and got a five seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The man largely responsible for the success was Keita Bates-Diop, who missed most of the previous year with an injury. He returned better than ever and exploded in his junior year with 19.8 ppg and 8.9 rpg. He was awarded for his efforts with the Big Ten Player of the Year Award.

The 6’7 junior forward had a tough decision but ultimately decided to leave early for the NBA Draft.

Ohio State was supposed to be using this as a rebuilding year, so the success of both Bates-Diop, as well as the team overall, has thrown plans into the loop. With him and a couple other players graduating, the Buckeyes are going to take a big hit for next season.

For the 2018-19 season, Holtmann has a top-25 recruiting class, although none of them will have the kind of impact as the junior did.

Rising senior CJ Jackson will become the top offensive option next season, and freshman center Kaleb Wesson showed promising signs towards the end of the season. But will those two with role players mixed in be enough to get back into the NCAA Tournament? While Buckeye fans should be happy with the personal decision Bates-Diop made, he was going to be counted on for the offense of Ohio State for at least another year.

Next: How the Michigan Wolverines reached the Final Four

What happened here is why there has become so much parody in college basketball. The decisions of players around this time can turn a team from a Final Four contender to barely over .500. And the same thing can happen reversely. It remains to be seen how big a blow this will be for Ohio State, but losing the Conference Player of the Year in Bates-Diop will sting for sure.