After a disappointing season last year in which Ohio State basketball struggled to put the ball through the hoop, Chris Holtmann reloads with a promising young class to pair with star forward Kaleb Wesson.
Just a year after the departure of key player Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann took his team to an unexpected 2nd place finish in the Big Ten.
Needless to say, their luck wasn’t repeated last season in their 20-15 record, and below .500 record at 8-12 in Big Ten play. The team looked incredibly lackluster on offense, though they played pretty decent defense on the other side of the court. The biggest issue was easily noticeable — the Buckeyes simply didn’t look like an “Ohio State team,” per se.
Without a proven guard or wing scorer, or a specifically offensive-minded player, the Buckeyes looked disgruntled and disorganized on the offensive side of the ball, and that led to bad losses against the likes of Rutgers, Illinois and Northwestern by the time the season was said and done. Needless to say, last season wasn’t one to remember for the Ohio State faithful.
For the Holtmann and his Buckeyes, it’s time to prove a point.
Now back for the 2019-20 season with only 2 pieces gone, only one of them is what I’d consider a key piece to the program, this Ohio State team is poised for success from the get-go, and fully deserves their pre-season top 25 ranking nationally.
The team may have lost CJ Jackson, one of the two focal scoring points for the Buckeyes last season, but they return the coveted center Kaleb Wesson, who was relied upon for almost all of the Buckeyes offensive functioning last year.
It’s hard to be an offensive-minded team when you play through a center.
Chris Holtmann needs to find a scorer. Luckily for him (and, well, because of him) he’s found them through the transfer and recruiting markets (is it inappropriate to call it a “market?” Looking at you, Blue Blood Schools)
Wesson should now be allowed to improve and develop his game even further, thanks to the continued improvement of the roster as a whole, as well as another year of development in the Holtmann system for his favorite on-court partner in Kyle Young and Andre Wesson (the team’s only senior). According to analytics, the Ohio State team played the best with these three on the court together.
Although it’s entirely possible this year Ohio State finds a new trio to throw out for maximum effect when pairing Kaleb Wesson with a whopping THREE incoming top 50 freshman from the class of 2019.
Say goodbye to your offensive struggles.
The Buckeyes program recruited the No. 1 ranked class in the Big Ten for 2019. It also solidly ranked as the No. 14 class nationally. Holtmann nailed the recruiting aspect of his position this season, bringing in three top 50 talents in the class, and an intriguing seven-foot big man in Ibrahima Diallo.
The top player in this Buckeyes class comes in at No. 34 nationally in four-star point guard DJ Carton. Carton is exactly what you’d expect for an Ohio State top commit—he plays solid defense and is an elite athlete with great quickness, overall speed, and a large vertical that allows him to throw down some impressive dunks despite being just 6-foot-1. He is a solid finisher at the rim with great lateral quickness and will be an instant weapon for Chris Holtmann.
Another recruit I fully expect to be in the starting lineup from the get-go is 6-foot-6 forward EJ Liddell who starred at Belleville West in Illinois and comes in as a four-star recruit and the No. 44 player in the class of 2019. Probably the most NBA-ready athlete of the two thanks to his athleticism, Liddell brings the physical, dominant mid-position big man who the Buckeyes need in order to fix their broken offense and draw attention away from Kaleb Wesson.
Add in No. 50 recruit Alonzo Gaffney, who may take some time to put on the muscle required to play in a physical Big Ten, and promising Florida State transfer CJ Walker, and the Buckeyes look to be a completely revamped team.
The additions Holtmann has brought in through the various methods of the recruiting and transfer markets mean he now has a wide array of weapons at his disposal heading into this season. In a Big Ten with especially physical play, and where injuries are (unfortunately) nearly unavoidable at some point, this deep roster will be a great tool for the Buckeyes to use going forward.
After touching on the newly rejuvenated offensive potential Ohio State boasts, it’s only fair to touch on their strength from last year when they were ranked No. 25 in the Kenneth Pomeroy rankings in total adjusted defense.
Luther Muhammad may not be the best scorer on the roster, or anywhere near it, but he’s locked down his role and will get to start in plenty of games thanks to him proving to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the Big Ten. Andre Wesson serves as another valuable defensive piece, and thanks to the addition of Liddell and return of last year’s core group, the Buckeyes should have no issues attacking the glass for rebounds.
Expect two freshmen to get the starting nod right off the bat to pair with Wesson and lock-down Muhammad. Also expect Duane Washington Jr. to get a lot of minutes off the bench, especially if he can take the sophomore leap and continue to develop his scoring threat after averaging 7.0 points per game last season.
If the defense can hold up to what it did last year, or perhaps even improve thanks to the new additions, this Buckeyes team is set up nicely to make a run at the Big Ten championship, and perhaps even play enough pressure defense to make a run come March.
For more NCAA basketball news, analysis, opinion and features, check out more from the FanSided college basketball section to stay on top of the latest action.