Big Ten Basketball: 2024 offseason grades for each team

Ohio State Buckeyes - A

The first big offseason decision for Ohio State was giving Coach Jake Diebler the full-time gig after going 8-3 to end the season. It was controversial and we’ll see how it works out going forward. But at least throughout the offseason, it didn’t hurt the program’s ability to land talent.

The team did lose a few key pieces, such as Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara, and Zec Key. Plus, double-digit scorer Jamison Battle ran out of eligibility. But along with keeping back leading scorer/passer Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes were able to score a few key pieces from the portal.

Pairing with Thornton in the backcourt is Meechie Johnson, who returns to the Buckeyes after a big year as South Carolina’s leading scorer. Micah Parrish is a versatile forward from San Diego State who isn’t as good a scorer as Battle but upgrades the team defensively on the wing.

But the big risk is coming in the frontcourt. Aaron Bradshaw (Kentucky) and Sean Stewart (Duke) are former 5-star prospects who played limited freshmen minutes. Both are going to be national breakout candidates to watch and if either becomes an all-conference contender, the Buckeyes will be able to take a big jump back up the standings. There are definitely risks here but Ohio State has a high overall ceiling.