Buckeye Basketball Preview – 2024-25
New Look Buckeyes on Upward Trajectory – Season Preview 2024-25
While 100,000 plus continue to fill Ohio Stadium just down the street to cheer on one of the nation’s premier football teams, Coach Jake Diebler and his basketball Buckeyes are hard at work preparing for Diebler’s first full season in charge of the program. Team #126 will head into the 24-25 season as a bit of an unknown. While they are as talented on paper as any Buckeye team in recent memory, they have many fresh new faces looking to put Ohio State back on the national radar. Many of the national experts have Ohio State getting back to the NCAA tournament with preseason rankings as high as 14-15 while some, including the recently released AP poll have them just outside the Top 25 illustrating the unknowns surrounding the team. The strong finish to 23-24 under Coach Diebler’s leadership brings not only excitement, but higher expectations of not only contending in the Big Ten, but potentially making a deep run in March.
The Buckeyes return just 6 scholarship players, with only Bruce Thornton, Evan Mahaffey and Devin Royal playing significant minutes. Despite graduation and defections via the transfer portal, the portal giveth and taketh away. The new look Buckeyes added 5 players via transfer along with a trio of incoming scholarship freshmen and will sport a roster consisting of 7 upperclassmen, 4 sophomores and 4 freshmen. The headliner of the portal additions, the Buckeyes welcome back Meechie Johnson for a 5th and final year after he spent the past two seasons at South Carolina. Having experience in the backcourt will enable the Buckeyes to play the style as Coach Diebler refers to it as “poise and pace” which relies on a strong backcourt to execute efficiently, pushing the tempo at every opportunity. Coach Diebler’s respect for Big Ten defenses, stating “I don’t really want to go up against a set defense over and over”, makes it incumbent on them to push the tempo and get opposing defenses playing on their heels which emphasizes even more to have not only depth but a veteran backcourt which they have in spades with the cornerstones of Thornton and Johnson. In addition to Johnson, Ohio State also dipped into the portal to add 5th year senior wing Micah Parrish from San Diego State, where he competed in the national title game 2 years ago with the Aztecs. Additionally, the backcourt depth was enhanced even further with the addition of combo guard Ques Glover, coming to Columbus from Kansas State, where he missed all of last season due to injury but 2 years ago while at Samford, landed on the first team All So-Con conference. The Buckeyes also added tremendous size in the portal as well, adding a pair of highly athletic former McDonald’s High School All Americans, landing 6-9 forward Sean Stewart from Duke and 7 foot stretch 5 Aaron Bradshaw from Kentucky. These additions along with the returning core and the implementation of Jake Diebler’s style of play have fans in Columbus excited about college basketball again. It remains to be seen how it all translates to the floor and where the Buckeyes are when March rolls around, but the ceiling seems to be extremely high and may be a dark horse to win their first Big Ten championship since 2012.
SCHEDULE
The Buckeyes will play another challenging schedule outside of the Big Ten, and with conference expansion is arguably the deepest and most talented conference in America despite a lot of roster turnover throughout the league, which has become the new norm across the landscape of college basketball. While there may not be one team that jumps out as an elite team as of yet, there are a lot of teams that could be very good and will provide challenges in navigating the 20 game gauntlet.
The opener provides the first big test as Ohio State heads to Las Vegas for a matchup with top 25 ranked Texas in the Hall of Fame series. The Buckeyes return home to host Youngstown State before heading to College Station to return a home and home with a top 15 ranked Texas A&M team who beat Ohio State in Columbus a year ago. At the end of November, the Buckeyes will play host to a borderline top 25 Pittsburgh, before heading into December and a pair of Big Ten games. After the two conference matchups with Maryland and Rutgers, the Buckeyes head to Atlanta for Holiday Hoopsgiving and a matchup with a very talented Auburn team. After a home game against Coach Diebler’s alma mater, Valparaiso, Ohio State heads to New York just prior to Christmas for a game inside Madison Square Garden with top 10 Kentucky led by first year head coach Mark Pope. They will finish the non conference slate and the month of December, hosting Indiana State who advanced to the NIT title game a year ago. Although the Sycamores won’t be as formidable as a year ago, they still boast some name recognition and a decent test.
January will see the Buckeyes getting back to Big Ten play full time the rest of the way. It will be important to get off to a good start in January, a task that proved difficult under Coach Diebler’s predecessor, but to compete for a top finish in the conference, they must play consistent basketball early in the conference season and while challenging as always, the Buckeyes don’t play back to back road contests until Jan 30 and Feb 2, when they head to Penn State and Illinois. The schedule seems to be set up for Ohio State to have success and if they can find their footing in January, they should be heading into the final month of the season contending near the top of the conference, a place they haven’t been in a few years.
ROSTER
The potential starting five is somewhat up in the air as the depth of this team should be extensive, with Coach Diebler being quoted that they probably have 7 or 8 “starters” and could go as many as 10 deep for much of the season. The starting backcourt, however, is an absolute certainty and as stated earlier, will set the tone offensively for everything Coach Diebler wants to do. Additionally, the Buckeyes addressed a clear depth in the post and have as much depth and versatility on the interior as they’ve had in a long time.
PG – Bruce Thornton – Entering his third season and the unquestioned leader and likely three time captain, Bruce was named by the conference to the 10 member preseason All-Big Ten team. Leading the team in scoring, assists and steals a year ago, Bruce is coming off a year where he played nearly 34 minutes per game and became just the third player in program history to record over 100 assists and less than 50 turnovers.
SG – Meechie Johnson, Jr. – Meechie returns to Columbus for his final year of college basketball after spending the past two years at South Carolina where he averaged 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists over two seasons and made second team All-SEC last season. Meechie brings veteran leadership in the backcourt with the ability to interchange with Thornton at the point, get to the paint off the dribble and is a capable shooter from long range, drilling over 32% from beyond the arc for his career.
SF – Micah Parrish – Micah will spend his final year of eligibility in Columbus after spending 2 years at Oakland University and his last 2 seasons playing at San Diego State where his team advanced to the National Championship in 2023, falling to UConn. Parrish is known as a defensive first wing, making the All Horizon defensive team in his sophomore season. With San Diego State, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists, starting 36 games a year ago, scoring at a 9.3 clip. He will bring a toughness mindset and leadership on both ends of the floor that will be instrumental for a relatively young team.
SF – Sean Stewart – Sean comes to Columbus after spending his freshman season at Duke, appearing in 33 games, playing limited minutes, averaging 2.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and hitting over 57% of his shot attempts. A 5 star recruit and McDonald’s All American coming out of High School, Stewart picked Duke over Ohio State, before ultimately transferring to the Buckeyes during the summer. Stewart is highly athletic, setting a Duke record for vertical jump. He has a high ceiling and at his length and athleticism, will be able to match up on the perimeter or the post to provide mismatches for opponents on both ends of the floor.
C – Aaron Bradshaw – Aaron transfers to Ohio State after spending one season at Kentucky where he appeared in 33 games, averaging 2.6 points, 3.7 rebounds while shooting over 57%. Bradshaw was a 5 star recruit and a McDonald’s All American out of Montverde Academy and comes to Ohio State with 3 years of eligibility remaining. He possesses tremendous length at nearly 7 feet tall, but can move out on the floor and shoot from the perimeter with a high level of efficiency. His ability to run the floor, defend around the rim and create mismatches on the wing with his size will give the Buckeyes a true stretch 5 that they have been missing and is so important in today’s game.
Reserves
SF – Evan Mahaffey – Evan returns to Ohio State for his junior season coming off a sophomore season where he started 35 of 36 games a year ago. A defensive first forward, Mahaffey averaged 4.3 points , 1.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds last season while blocking 25 shots and picking up a steal per game. He is likely ticketed to provide leadership off the bench to provide a spark on the defensive end and is another highly athletic, versatile wing that can create off the bounce offensively and can get to the glass and utilize his strong frame to grab rebounds on both ends.
SF – Devin Royal – Devin returns for his sophomore season for the Buckeyes after a freshman season where he was just scratching the surface of where he can be as a college basketball player. He really came on late in the year after Coach Diebler took over, averaging just under 8 points per game over the final 9 games. Royal is another versatile forward who can shoot it from the perimeter and also create his own shot off the dribble. As he continues to gain strength and learn the game at this level, he has the potential to be a force in the paint, yet still athletic enough to work from the wing on both the offensive and defensive ends.
G – John Mobley , Jr.– Mobley enters Ohio State for his freshman season as a 4 star recruit and rated by several outlets as the best shooter in the class. Playing at the prestigious Wasatch Academy for his senior season in HS, he averaged 21.5 points, 5.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2 steals per game while being named Utah High School POY. He has impressed early in practice with his shooting range and should find his way into the rotation early in the season as quite possibly the best shooter on the roster.
C – Ivan Njegovan – The final addition to the roster, Ivan comes to Columbus as a 20 year old true freshman after playing in the Croatian Premier League a year ago, averaging 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. At 7’1” 250 pounds, he is the tallest member of the Buckeye roster. Initially brought in to provide post depth, Ivan has surprised those in and around the program with his athleticism and shooting and passing ability at his size with a couple references comparing him to a young Nikola Jokic. While that’s high praise, Ivan has clearly been impressive in his short time with the program and how quickly he adapts to the speed of the college game will determine how impactful he will be for Team 126.
G – Ques Glover – Glover will spend his final year of college basketball in Columbus after redshirting in his lone year at Kansas State due to injury. After playing two years at Florida, Ques found his stride after transferring to Samford, where he was All So-Con in 21-22 and a finalist for the Lou Henson Award for the top mid major player in America. Averaging 17.4 points at Samford, Ques brings a veteran presence in the backcourt coming off the bench and his quickness with the ball in his hands and his shooting ability from deep should get him solid minutes backing up both Thornton and Johnson at the point and the two guard positions.
C – Austin Parks – Parks enters his sophomore campaign after a freshman season where he saw little playing time as he continued to develop his body and understanding of the collegiate game. Standing at 6’10 and 260 pounds, Parks will provide valuable depth in the post for this year’s team and could see his playing time rise as he continues to learn defensive positioning and utilizing his big body to hit the glass at a high level.
F – Colin White – Colin enters his freshman season after completing a High School career that culminated in him being named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball. Leading Ottawa Glandorf High School to back to back state championship games, White averaged 25.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2.6 steals per game his senior season. At 6’6”, his length and his athleticism as a wing will give him an opportunity to find the floor in his rookie season of college basketball and how quickly he develops on both ends will determine how many minutes he will ultimately see on a very deep roster at that position.
F – Kalen Etzler – His 4th year in the program after redshirting his freshman year, Etzler has yet to find his way into the rotation, but his length at 6’8 and shooting ability from the wing, he can be a valuable reserve for this year’s team if he can continue to grow on the defensive end. A Buckeye through and through, he has stuck with the program despite not finding many minutes and is likely to find it difficult to find time again this season.
G-Taison Chatman – Unfortunately Chatman will be forced to spend this season using a medical redshirt due to a torn ACL in his left knee. Prior to the injury, he was poised to play a key backcourt role for this year’s team. The 36th overall recruit, he entered Ohio State a year ago and due to a myriad of injuries, it took him time to find a rhythm. By the end of the year, Chatman saw his playing time increase and began to see minutes off the bench , appearing in 9 of the final 11 games of the season, scoring 18 points. He will spend this season rehabbing the knee and preparing for a big role next season.
Walk Ons – The Buckeye roster will have a pair of walk-ons again this season in Colby Baumann and freshman Braylen Nash. Baumann, a 6’3” guard, returns for his junior season after seeing time in 4 games a year ago and finishing Academic All-Big Ten. Nash, a 6’4” guard, comes to the program after completing his senior season at New Albany High School where he averaged 17 points per game his senior season and was named his conference’s player of the year.
BIG TEN PROJECTIONS
The Big Ten will yet again be arguably the best conference in college basketball again this season and with the addition of 4 new schools, along with a tremendous amount of roster turnover, predicting how it will all shake out is once again a difficult task. Several outstanding players have gone on to bigger and better things, but as the conference typically does, it has reloaded and should be very competitive top to bottom. While several schools have some key returners, almost every team is counting on incoming freshmen and/or transfers to reach their respective ceilings, with the best backcourts typically having the best chance to compete for the conference crown and go deep in March. The teams that gel their rosters the quickest with all the new pieces will be the teams that end the year near the top. Having said all that, a few schools did better than others in reloading in key areas and are primed to compete for the upper echelon of the conference.
1. Indiana – Blessed with what may be the best front court in America, the Hoosiers are looking to break out this season and in our projection, they are poised to finish atop the Big Ten standings at the end of the year.
Key Returnees:
Malik Reneau – 15ppg, 6rpg, 3apg
Mackenzie Mgbako – 12ppg, 4rpg
Trey Galloway – 11ppg, 4.6apg
Key Losses:
Xavier Johnson – 7.6ppg, 2.6rpg, 2.8apg
Key Newcomers:
Myles Rice – 6’3” 15ppg, 3rpg, 4apg @ Washington State
Kanaan Carlyle – 6’2” 11.5ppg, 2.7rpg, 2.7apg @ Stanford
Oumar Ballo – 7’0” 13ppg, 10rpg @ Arizona
Bryson Tucker – 6’6” 28th overall ranked recruit
2. Ohio State – Boasting arguably the best backcourt in America and quite possibly the deepest, yet most unproven team in the conference, the Buckeyes are primed to bounce back in a big way under first year head coach Jake Diebler if the results meet the talent level.
Key Returnees:
Bruce Thornton – 16.1ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.6apg
Key Losses:
Jamison Battle – 14.9ppg, 4.9rpg
Roddy Gayle, Jr. – 13.5ppg, 4.6rpg, 3apg Transfered to Michigan
Key Newcomers:
Meechie Johnson, Jr. – 5’11” 14.1ppg, 4.1rpg, 2.9apg @ South Carolina
Aaron Bradshaw – 7’0” 4.9ppg, 3.3rpg @ Kentucky (former McD’s AA)
Micah Parrish – 6’6” 9.3ppg, 4.1rpg, 1.9apg @ San Diego State
Sean Stewart – 6’9” 2.6ppg, 3.2rpg @ Duke (former McD’s AA)
John Mobley, Jr. – 6’2” #43 overall recruit
3. UCLA – Their first year in the Big Ten conference, UCLA has a roster full of experience and talent. While they are coming off a lackluster season where they finished just 16-17, Coach Mick Cronin returns his core group of scorers and his portal additions should give them a major boost to contend at the top of the Big Ten.
Key Returnees:
Dylan Andrews – 12.9 ppg
Sebastian Mack – 12.1 ppg
Lazar Stefanovic – 11.5 ppg
Key Losses:
Adem Bona – 12.3ppg, 5.9rpg (NBA draft)
Key Newcomers:
Kobe Johnson – 6’6” 10.9ppg, 4.6rpg, 3.3apg @ USC
Skyy Clark – 6’3” 13.2ppg, 3.1rpg, 3.0apg @ Louisville
Tyler Bilodeau – 6’9” 14.3ppg, 5.7rpg @ Oregon State
Eric Freeny – 6’3” #66 overall recruit
4. Purdue – The defending Big Ten champions look to continue their run of high level basketball under coach Matt Painter, but for the first time in 4 years will have to do it without 2 time National POY Zach Edey. Edey’s departure leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the Boiler attack, but they still have more than enough returning to compete for a third straight conference title.
Key Returnees:
Braden Smith – 12.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.3 apg
Fletcher Loyer – 10.4 ppg
Trey Kauffman-Renn – 6.4 ppg 4 rpg
Key Losses:
Zach Edey – 24.4 ppg, 11.7 rpg
Lance Jones – 12.2 ppg
Key Newcomers:
Kanon Catchings – 6’8” #38 overall recruit
Gicarri Harris – 6’4” #64 overall recruit
5. Oregon – The Ducks enter the Big Ten returning a strong group of veterans in addition to several key newcomers from the portal. Coming off a round of 32 appearance in the NCAA tournament, Coach Dana Altman’s group looks like a contender in the upper half of the conference.
Key Returnees:
Jackson Shelstad – 13.1ppg
Nate Bittle – 10.0ppg, 4.4rpg
Key Losses:
N’Faly Dante – 16.2ppg, 8.8rpg
Jermaine Couisnard – 15.4ppg, 4.5rpg, 3.3apg
Jesse Zarzuela – 10ppg
Key Newcomers:
Brandon Angel – 6’8” 13ppg, 4.7rpg @ Stanford
Ra’Heim Moss – 6’4” 15.5ppg, 5.4rpg, 3.0apg @ Toledo
TJ Bamba – 6’5” 10.1ppg, 3.6rpg @ Villanova
6. Nebraska – Despite the loss of Keisei Tominaga, Coach Fred Hoiberg returns two key contributors from a year ago where the ‘Huskers finished with 23 wins and tied for 3rd in the Big Ten. Losing Rienk Mast to a season ending injury will hurt, but with additions via the portal combined with returning production should have Nebraska in the thick of the upper half of the conference and once again hearing their name called in March.
Key Returnees:
Brice Williams – 13.1ppg, 5.5rpg
Juwan Gary – 11.7ppg, 6.2rpg
Key Losses:
Keisei Tominaga – 14.9ppg
Key Newcomers:
Andrew Morgan – 6’10” 12.9ppg, 5rpg @ North Dakota State
7. Michigan State – Tom Izzo and the Spartans need to replace their top 3 scorers but as everyone has become accustomed to with Izzo coached teams, they don’t rebuild, they reload and this year won’t be any different. They are always well coached and should have enough production including a surprise or two to be able to contend for an upper half finish of the Big Ten.
Key Returnees:
Jaden Akins – 10.2ppg
Key Losses:
Tyson Walker – 18.2ppg
Malik Hall – 12.6ppg
A.J. Hoggard – 11ppg, 3.1rpg, 5.2apg
Key Newcomers:
Frankie Fidler – 6’7” 20.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 2.6apg @ Omaha
15th ranked recruiting class
Jace Richardson – 6’3” #34 overall recruit
Kur Teng – 6’4” #54 overall recruit
8. Illinois – The Illini is coming off a season where they finished with 23 wins and a Big Ten Tournament title, advancing to the Elite 8. Coach Brad Underwood is looking at a massive roster overhaul heading into this season, losing 11 players, including 7 of its top 8 in minutes. But, as has become the norm in college basketball, especially at a place like Illinois, they reload, the Illini bring in 10 new faces and should have enough to compete for an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament.
Key Returnees:
None
Key Losses:
Terrence Shannon, Jr. – 23ppg, 4.1rpg
Marcus Domask – 16ppg, 4.9rpg, 3.7apg
Coleman Hawkins – 12.4ppg, 6.2rpg,
Quincy Guerrier – 10ppg, 6.3rpg
Key Newcomers:
Tre White – 6’7” 12.3ppg, 5.9rpg @ Louisville
Kylan Boswell – 6’2” 9.6ppg, 2.3rpg, 3.6apg @ Arizona
Ben Humichrous – 6’9” 14.7ppg, 4.7rpg @ Evansville
Morez Johnson – 6’9” #29 overall recruit
9. Michigan – Coming off a disastrous 23-24 season where the Wolverines finished with a 3-17 conference record and ended with the firing of Coach Juwan Howard, Michigan brings in former FAU coach Dusty May to turn their fortunes around and on paper, he looks to be doing just that. With the core of last year’s roster no longer in the program, Coach May went to the portal and brought in nearly an entirely new roster and how quickly that group comes together will determine how high they can finish in a highly competitive Big Ten. They have amassed some talent, but how well they mesh remains to be seen.
Key Returnees:
None
Key Losses:
Dug McDaniel – 16.3ppg, 3.7rpg, 4.7apg Transferred to Kansas State
Olivier Nkamhoua – 14.8ppg 7.1rpg
Terrance Williams II – 12.4ppg, 4.5rpg Transferred to USC
Key Newcomers:
Vladislav Goldin – 7’1” 15.7ppg, 6.9rpg @ FAU
Danny Wolf – 7’0” 14.1ppg, 9.7rpg, 2.4apg @ Yale
Roddy Gayle, Jr. – 13.5ppg, 4.6rpg, 3.0apg @ Ohio State
Rubin Jones – 12.1ppg, 3.6rpg, 3.7apg @ North Texas
The Bottom half of the conference projections are below, however a team or two could challenge for the upper half as there seems to be a surprise or two nearly every year. A team to keep an eye on is Rutgers who brings in potentially the best pair of freshmen in the conference in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper and could slide into the top half of the Big Ten.
10. Rutgers
11. Maryland
12. Wisconsin
13. USC
14. Iowa
15. Washington
16. Minnesota
17. Northwestern
18. Penn State
Jake Diebler’s first season as the head basketball coach is filled with promise and hope for Buckeye fans. There is a lot to be excited about with this roster and if it comes together as many think, there is no reason why Ohio State will not only contend at the top of Big Ten standings, they will once again hear their name called in March after back to back seasons without a trip to the Big Dance. There is a good mix of youth and veterans and as strong a backcourt as there is in America. Additionally, for the first time in a long time, the Buckeyes boast legitimate big men to man the post and seem to have a balanced and talented roster poised to make a lot of noise. While the prognostications vary across respected publications and media, one thing all agree on is that despite the unknowns, the Buckeyes ceiling is incredibly high. While nationally they still sit under the radar for the most part and this prognostication is hinging upon the Buckeyes reaching their potential, it is, however, an absolute certainty and that is Ohio State will be back to playing an aesthetically pleasing style of basketball, aggressive, fast and tough which should be fun to watch and if they are successful, fans will be back in the arena in droves. It gets underway on Friday night with a charity exhibition at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati against the Bearcats at 7PM and airing on the Ohio State Radio Network. The exhibition is part of an event raising money for mental health awareness that includes an exhibition at UD Arena between Dayton and Xavier. Following the Cincinnati exhibition, the Buckeyes will host a closed scrimmage against Ohio University on October 27th before tipping it off for real on November 4th, heading west to Las Vegas for the Hall of Fame Tip Off against #19 Texas, scheduled for a 10pm Eastern tip time and airing on TNT.
-Jason Harris
Let’s go Basketball Bucks! Great preview Jason!