Ohio State Basketball: CJ Walker is the future starting point guard of the Buckeyes
One of the biggest transfer decisions of the early off-season has occurred, with point guard CJ Walker going from Florida State to Ohio State.
It’s now been a week since Villanova cut down the nets to win the national championship, and already 400 different players have transferred around Division One Basketball. Many of them won’t be but a day-old headline, while others will have a big effect going forward.
One of them happened this weekend with former Florida State Seminole point guard CJ Jackson making a decision on where he’ll play for the next couple of years.
His choice to leave the ACC school wasn’t too much a surprise. It’s true that he did start all but one game this season, but he was playing just 23 mpg, while sharing duties with five-star freshman MJ Walker. The younger Walker had more upside, so it was just a matter of time before he took over the job.
CJ had to pick a new school, and decided pretty early on that Ohio State would be his new home. The Buckeyes had a successful season and nearly played the Seminoles in this year’s Big Dance. They also need a point guard, with CJ Jackson, the only true ball handler on the roster, set to graduate after this season.
This was a great pickup for Ohio State and head coach Chris Holtmann, who will have a veteran point guard at his side for at least the next three seasons. This allows him to recruit another one and properly develop, rather than just throwing him to the wolves.
Walker also has untapped potential. He averaged 8.0 ppg and 2.4 apg, which rises to 13.9 ppg and 4.2 apg per 40 minutes. The junior also will play on a more passing-oriented team, rather than Florida State who tends to play more isolation.
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The newest Buckeye will have to sit a year per current NCAA transfer rules but will be able to go for the 2019-20 season. Ohio State’s roster will look much different, but now knows they’ll have a steady point guard to lead them.