NCAA Basketball: Analyzing final 5 options for transfer guard Cedric Russell

Ohio State Buckeyes

After losing leading scorer and All-Big Ten shooting guard Duane Washington Jr. to the NBA Draft, the Buckeyes have been looking at several potential options to replace them. One of them is Alabama transfer Jaden Shackelford, who averaged 14.0 ppg last season and was second-team All-SEC. Both he and Russell are reportedly looking to make a decision soon and obviously, Ohio State can only take one.

If they had to pick between the two, it would be Shackelford. But Russell would potentially be joining a top-10 caliber team for next season and be a safe bet to make the NCAA Tournament, something that former Louisiana guard has yet to do in his college career. He’d be a bit undersized at 6’2 at the Big Ten level but the Buckeyes need to find a legit scoring guard to pair with Penn State point guard transfer Jamari Wheeler, who is known more for defense than offense.

Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners are in a similar spot to the Buckeyes, having a defensive-minded grad transfer point guard. Theirs is Jordan Goldwire from Duke but there is also plenty of depth, including returning guards Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless, along with Marvin Johnson and Tanner Groves.

This is a situation where there will be plenty of three-guard lineups, so there is room for Russell if he picks them. But with Gibson and Harkless guaranteed to get minutes, there’s also a chance that the transfer guard ends up out of the rotation.