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Ohio State Buckeyes - Grade: A-
- 2025-26 record: 21-13 (12-8)
Roster departures
- Bruce Thornton (19.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, and 3.9 apg)
- Devin Royal (13.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 1.6 apg)
- Christoph Tilly (11 ppg and 4.7 rpg)
- Brandon Noel (6.6 ppg and 3.7 rpg)
- Taison Chatman (4.3 ppg and 1.2 rpg)
Roster returnees
- John Mobley (15.7 ppg and 2.8 apg)
- Amare Bynum (9.7 ppg and 4.9 rpg)
- Ivan Njegovan (2.6 ppg and 3.0 rpg)
- Josh Ojianwuna (7.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg in 2024-25 at Baylor)
Roster additions
- Justin Pippen (14.2 ppg and 4.6 apg at Cal)
- Jimmie Williams (15.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg at Duquesne)
- Curtis Givens (9.4 ppg and 2.3 apg at Memphis)
- Andrija Jelavic (5.5 ppg and 4.0 rpg at Kentucky)
- Anthony Thompson (5-star forward prospect)
Coach Jake Diebler has been somewhat on the hot seat since taking over the job full-time. But the recruitment has been fine, building a top-25-caliber roster in terms of talent. Royal was the only consistent player they lost, while bringing back Mobley is massive for both Diebler and the Buckeyes.
Another big talent acquisition is landing Thompson, a top-20 forward prospect in the class. Pippen is a proven high-major scorer, while Jelavic could be a breakout candidate to watch in the frontcourt as well.
Ohio State may not be in the top tier of Big Ten basketball, but this offseason has them in a good spot in the next tier to be competitive for a postseason spot.
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