This time, posting the correct preview for today. - BoilerUp89
Last Year
The Bucks, having missed the tourney three straight years, usually by being terrible down the stretch, were on the bubble late in the season and coming off a blowout loss to Iowa. Instead of flaming out spectacularly, they won four straight and nearly clipped Michigan in the BTT, locking them into an 8 seed in the Big Dance. Then they were immediately dismissed by TCU. Baby steps, I guess.
Happy Trails
- Bruce Thornton and the Muppets are no more. He got drafted by the Rockets, leaving only Muppets behind.
- Devin Royal shipped out to Villanova, while Taison Chatman headed to Utah
- The eligibility goblin claimed Christoph Tilly, Brandon Noel, and even Puff Johnson
- The portal also grabbed Gabe Cupps (Illinois-Chicago), Colin White (Akron), and Mathieu Grujicic (Radford)
Starters
- PG Justin Pippen, 6'3'' Junior: Pippen, son of Scottie, played a bit for Michigan two years ago before transferring to Cal, where he developed into a real guy. He was pretty good making plays and on defense and he was pretty bad at shooting straight, despite taking a lot of shots. The hope is he can focus on defense and playmaking and leave the shooting to some other guys, such as:
- SG John Mobley, 6'1'' Junior: Mobley was put on this earth to make threes and chew bubble gum, and he is all out of bubble gum. At least that's what the announcers will say. He's taken a lot of twos as well and is trying to develop into something more attractive to the NBA. That might mean more time at the point.
- SF Anthony Thompson, 6'8'' Freshman: A freshman of the five star variety, Thompson is very long and can really shoot. At least that's what his recruiting profile says - TBD on whether it can happen in a college game.
- PF Amare Bynum, 6'8'' Sophomore: Bynum got a lot of run as a freshman and is certainly on NBA radars. He's athletic and can rebound and score around the basket. He only shot 30% from three, so improving that would be key on staying on NBA radars.
- C Josh Ojianwuna, 6'10'' Senior: Ojianwuna transferred from Baylor two years ago, but a significant knee injury kept him out for all of last season. At his best, he can clean up rebounds and send incoming layups into the rafters, something OSU hasn't had a lot of lately. But his condition is anyone's guess since he hasn't played in 20 months.
Bench
- PF Andrija Jelavic, 6'11'' Sophomore: Jelavic is a Euroballer who spent last season at Kentucky. He might compete to start at center, so listing him first. Kentucky fans will tell you he is slow as molasses and cannot make an open three. But no one listens to Kentucky fans because their obnoxiousness about basketball rivals Ohio State football fans.
- CG Jimmie Williams 6'5'' Senior: A nice option to backup either guard spot, Williams played for Duquesne last season and can provide the beefiness they miss by losing Bruce Thornton. He is also willing to attack the basket and grab rebounds and toss smaller guards into a trash can.
- CG Curtis Givens, 6'3'' Junior: Givens is on this third school in three years after previous stops at LSU and Memphis. He hasn't shown a ton in those stops, but he did decide he wants to be an optometrist, so hopefully he can see and shoot straight.
- C Ivan Njegovan, 7'1'' Junior: Njegovan played a bit last season and was good for looking like he had no idea why he was on the court. Hopefully he gets that figured out.
- PG Myles Herro, 6'3'' Sophomore: Herro, brother of Tyler, redshirted last season is a complete unknown except for his last name.
- Four other freshmen besides Thompson in four star guard L.J. Smith, three star forward Alex Smith, and international forwards Vuk Lazarevic and Lee Aaliya
Outlook
MaximumSam: The roster is solid. They have some shooting, some rebounding, some shot blocking, and some NBA talent. This is a big year for Jake Diebler, who I promised I wouldn't call Jon anymore once he made the tourney. Either Bruce Thornton was the glue holding everything together and OSU has another bumpy ride, or Diebler can field an actual good team. My hope is Good Team, but I wouldn't say I'm confident about it.
glass: Something... something... I really enjoyed watching Bruce Thornton play (anyone but Purdue) and I am sad he's gone. Actually, for 2027, I am way more interested to see what happens with the fanbase if Sayin's elbow craters the Buckeyes' football season. Does fan attention actually shift toward squeaky fouls before February? Or do they redouble their winter/spring focus toward blaming on-field injuries on Ryan Day?
BoilerUp89: The fanbase (with the notable exception of MaximumSam) does not care about basketball.
This is a solid roster. Plenty of upside with Mobley, Thompson, and Bynum. A few questions about experience level and whether the pieces will fit together but this is absolutely a tournament quality team. Not so sure about the ceiling. Personally, I have a hard time seeing this as a top 4 in the B1G team. Not quite sure how much of that is Diebler's experience level and how much of that is that I don't quite expect Thompson to be a star right out of the gate. If he is and the surrounding pieces also play to their ceiling, then maybe you can dream a little bit in Columbus but not a lot of guys proven at quite that level.
