It’s been something of a rocky ride in Columbus in recent years, with this program still seeking its return to glory. The Buckeyes took something of a big chance last offseason, promoting interim head coach Jake Diebler to the full-time gig after they had dispatched of Chris Holtmann earlier in the season. Diebler inspired the team and led a great finish to the season, but there’s a big difference when you’re sitting in the head coach’s chair.
Once a regular part of the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes missed out on the Big Dance for a third straight season. Diebler’s first full-time campaign ended up 17-15 and in 10th place in the Big Ten. While the record doesn’t exactly inspire, the Buckeyes season wasn’t as negative as it seems on initial glance and Diebler and company just might be building something for the future.
We’ll get into the roster and other expectations soon enough, but Ohio State will notably return their top three scorers from last season. There’s no question that the staff had fixes to make in the offseason, losing talent like Micah Parrish, Sean Stewart, and Aaron Bradshaw from the mix, but returning this amount of talent in this current day and age is impressive in Columbus.
Obviously, returning the three top figures from a 17-win season isn’t as impressive as what a few other Big Ten teams have done this offseason. Regardless, we’ll look closely at the returning pieces and new faces for Ohio State and consider what could happen for this team as a whole in the upcoming season. Can the Buckeyes be a contender again in the Big Ten or is Diebler’s era over before it really even gets started?
Projected Starters
Guard – Bruce Thornton (Senior)
Last season’s leading scorer, Thornton enters his fourth and final seasons with the Buckeyes and has been vital throughout his career. A starter in every game to date, Thornton averaged 17.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game last season while knocking down 42% of his 3-pointers. He earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors and is both a great distributor and one of the most efficient shooters in the conference.
Guard – John Mobley Jr. (Sophomore)
Suffice to say Mobley had a notable effort as a freshman last season. Ohio State got great strides from their Top 50 recruit as he put up 13.0 points and 2.2 assists per game while knocking down 38% of his long-range attempts. Mobley had growing pains but was one of the Big Ten’s leaders in 3-pointers and with a step forward as a sophomore helps form one of the league’s most intriguing backcourt duos.
Forward – Devin Royal (Junior)
The third returning face for the Buckeyes is Royal, who is fresh off a brilliant second season in Columbus. As a sophomore he averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds a game in his first year as a starter and will look to build on that in year three at Ohio State. Royal is a great rebounder, efficient scorer, and was a highly rated offensive player last year.
Forward – Brandon Noel (Senior)
After three impressive seasons at Wright State, including several Horizon League honors, Noel slides over to Ohio State and assumes a major role in this frontcourt. He’s always been an efficient scorer, averaging 19.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game for the Raiders as a junior last year. Nobody in the Horizon League scored more points than Noel last season, and he’s extremely effective at getting the ball in the basket and creating second chance opportunities.
Center – Christoph Tilly (Senior)
Tilly is another major transfer addition to this frontcourt and has the size to be impactful even in the Big Ten. This 7-footer from Germany played three years out at Santa Clara, putting up 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds last season for the Broncos. Despite his size, he can step outside the arc and is a solid free throw shooter, with Ohio State hoping he develops into a formidable paint presence in his senior year.
Key Reserves
Forward – Amare Bynum (Freshman)
A Top 50 recruit and the most notable freshman addition, Bynum is a 6-8 forward originally Branson, Missouri. This 4-star prospect lives the part of a dynamic and versatile frontcourt weapon that is only going to get better in the years ahead. He’s got some strength to build in college, but he’s a savvy weapon who can score all over the paint and has solid rebounding potential.
Guard – Taison Chatman (Sophomore)
We truly haven’t seen much from Chatman in his collegiate career, but the Buckeyes are excited to get him back on the court and see what he can do. He missed what would have been his entire sophomore season due to a knee injury last year after playing purely in a backup role the year prior. Chatman’s had a few years in this system and is a former Top 40 recruit with great playmaking ability both inside and outside the arc.
Guard – Gabe Cupps (Sophomore)
The last two years for Cupps came at Indiana but now he’s brought his talents down to Ohio State. Cupps started most of the Hoosiers’ games during his freshman year before a meniscus injury ended his season after just 4 contests last year. We haven’t seen Cupps truly at his best and if he’s fully healthy he could be a valuable backcourt weapon off the bench for these Buckeyes.
Guard – Mathieu Grujicic (Freshman)
A notable international prospect hopping into this backcourt, Grujicic is a 6-7 shooting guard from Germany who could play a role right off the bat for the Buckeyes. He has plenty of experience over in Europe and is a highly-touted prospect with great speed and playmaking ability, especially in the open court. He’s comfortable at both guard positions and also has great long-range shot making capability.
Forward – Josh Ojianwuna (Senior)
Another international addition, Ojianwuna is a 6-10 big man originally from Nigeria who played three seasons for Baylor. He’s fresh off his best season yet, averaging 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds while making 78% of his 2-point field goal attempts. However, an ACL tear ended his season after just 23 games and will limit his availability for the Buckeyes this season, though they’ll hope to have him healthy and on the court at some point.
Schedule Outlook
The nonconference slate frankly isn’t a murderer’s row for Ohio State, who have a soft landing into the season. They won’t leave Columbus for the opening weeks of the season, with their most notable contest being November 16th at home against Notre Dame. They aren’t in a big holiday tournament and don’t leave town until a November 28th matchup at Pittsburgh.
Early December features a brief preview of Big Ten play and a road trip to Northwestern, but the Buckeyes at least have a few more interesting games in nonconference later in the month. On December 13th, they’ll meander up to Cleveland, facing West Virginia in the Cleveland Hoops Showdown. Their toughest nonconference challenge comes a week later in Atlanta, facing North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic.
There’s opportunity aplenty to make an impression in the Big Ten. Due to the imbalanced scheduling, they’ll only get one crack at most of their conference foes, save for Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Their matchups with Michigan State and Oregon come on the road, though they at least get to host Illinois, Purdue, and Indiana, with the latest of those Senior Night to finish the regular season. It’s also worth mentioning that the Buckeyes play on Valentine’s Day in Nashville against Virginia as part of the Nashville Hoops Showdown.
Season Outlook
Several things went right and several things went wrong last season for a Buckeyes squad that just wasted too many opportunities. Ohio State got a big win over Kentucky and upset Purdue in West Lafayette, but just couldn’t keep above the water in a Big Ten full of challenges. With those three stars back in action and new faces around them, the question becomes if this team can keep the pace in this tough league.
The Buckeyes know what they’re getting out of Mobley and Thornton in this backcourt, but the hope is to get even more. Neither is a perfect player and moments of inconsistency happen, but the Buckeyes know they have great talent here and it could be a special season if Mobley takes that significant step forward in his second collegiate campaign. There’s definitely intrigue about what Cupps brings to the equation after his work over at Indiana a few years ago.
The Buckeyes have seen great work from Royal as well, but there are questions among the new faces in this frontcourt behind him. We’ve seen great numbers from Noel and Tilly but can they translate that success into the Big Ten? Noel could be an absolute steal for this lineup if that’s the case while Tilly has the size and athletic ability to be a lockdown center.
There are actual question marks in other places on this roster, like what the Buckeyes can reasonably expect from players like Chatman and Cupps, who basically didn’t play at all last season. Will they get up to speed in this new rotation and be important right off the bat? There’s also a question of when Ojianwuna will be his regular self and back in the lineup and what kind of impact he can make at the 5 for this team.
Balancing that returning talent with the new question marks sets up what could be a very interesting season in Columbus. This feels like a team that could flirt with the Top 25 early in the season with that soft schedule, but we won’t really know what to expect until the Buckeyes are truly tested. The starting five could be massively successful but is there enough healthy talent and experience behind them to win the kinds of games they were losing in the Big Ten last year?