Russell Declares Himself For NBA Draft
April 22, 2015

As first reported by ESPN.com, freshman D’Angelo Russell announced he will leave the Buckeyes after one season to enter the NBA draft.  He is projected to be among the first five picks in the draft, which is June 25 in New York. As a top-five pick, he would have a guaranteed salary of more than $3 million for each of his first two seasons.

“This was a hard decision because I knew I could come back and play with my teammates who I love, and to be coached by coach Thad Matta again would have been awesome, but at the same time I wanted to pursue my dream of playing in the NBA,” Russell told ESPN.com. “I know what I am capable of and the sky’s the limit with effort. I know I have a lot to work on.”

Russell was freshman of the year in the Big Ten, was a consensus first-team All-American and finished fifth in voting for the Wooden Award, given to the college player of the year. He won the Jerry West Award as the nation’s best shooting guard at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show. He led the Bucks in scoring (19.3 points a game) and rebounds (5.7) and was second in assists and steals during the 2014-15 season.  His 675 points are a record for an OSU freshman. The Buckeyes finished 24-11 record and lost in the NCAA tournament to Arizona.

Russell is the first freshman to leave Ohio State for the NBA draft since Byron Mullens in 2009. The Buckeyes have had four others leave after one season: Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook in 2007, and Kosta Koufos in 2008. All were selected in the first round.

 

Giddens Chooses Buckeyes Over His Home State Bulldogs
July 4, 2014 8:00 PM

A few months back, sources reported four-star center Daniel Giddens had narrowed his college choices to Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio State.  Today, on his birthday, we are seeing the reports that he has decided on the Buckeyes.  Scouting reports list him as a player capable of helping OSU immediately on the defensive end of the floor.  The Bucks struggled with inconsistency in the post last season as neither Trey McDonald nor Amir Williams enjoyed the best of seasons in 2013-14. So Giddens along with Temple transfer Anthony Lee adds depth to the front court.  All three of those players are seniors in 2014-15, meaning that adding depth to the front court rotation was important for the Buckeyes with regards to the 2015 class.

Giddens is Ohio State’s fourth verbal commitment in the 2015 class, joining guards A.J. Harris and Austin Grandstaff and small forward Mickey Mitchell.

 

Buckeye50 Basketball Coverage – Year 10 
April 5 2014 7:00 AM

For the tenth straight year not, Buckeye 50 will continue to bring you OSU basketball stories in addition to our extensive coverage of the football program.  In spite of Coach Matta’s huge success in Columbus, this will always be a football town.  But we know there are plenty of Buckeye basketball fans as well and we are thrilled that you continue to visit our site.  Our goal is 1000 visitors to our Basketball home page this season, which will be a big jump from the 350 for the 2013-2014 season.