2014-2015 Ohio State Basketball Preview
Ohio State:
I am a lot higher on Ohio State than most people. With their recruiting class, it will be hard not to improve on last year. The Buckeyes lose Lenzelle Smith Jr and Aaron Craft to graduation. They also lose LaQuinton Ross and Amedeo Della Valle to the pros. Yes you read that correctly, Della Valle is going pro. This means losing:
51% MPG
57% PPG
48% RPG
59% APG
54% SPG
21% BPG
Losing the grittiest player of all time is tough for a team. However, Craft was not really all that good. I think Ohio State fans would much rather Scott start over Craft. They also get THREE 5 star recruits. Here is their projected roster:
# Name HT WT YR POS
55 Trey McDonald 6-8 240 SR. PF
The back-up Power Forward, will get about 15 minutes this year.
34 Jake Lorbach 6-7 210 SR. SG
Walk-on
24 Andrew Goldstein 6-3 200 SR. PG
Walk-on
23 Amir Williams 6-11 250 SR. C
The most UN-intersted man in basketball. He doesn't always try hard, but when he does, he is pretty good. If he tries this year, he can be dominant.
12 Sam Thompson 6-7 200 SR. SF
An athletic freak, he is gettting more and more skilled. He will get about 30 minutes a game this year. Sam should be one of their go-to guys.
3 Shannon Scott 6-1 185 SR. PG
Scott went off against us last year and if he can do that all the time, Ohio State will be set. He is almost as good on defense as Craft and he actually has something resembling an offensive game.
Anthony Lee 6-9 230 SR. PF
Lee is a transfer from Temple, if I am not mistaken he can play this year. He should be their go-to guy as he did pretty well at Temple.
15 Kam Williams 6-2 175 SO. PG
I am pretty sure he redshirted. In that case he will get about 5 to 10 minutes a game next year.
2 Marc Loving 6-7 215 SO. SF
Loving will be the back-up 3 this year and will probably split minutes with Bates-Diop as a back-up.
32 Trevor Thompson 6-11 210 SO. C
Transfer from Virginia Tech. Has to sit out a year.
D'Angelo Russell 6-4 180 FR. SG
A five star, the #1 best Shooting Guard in the class. He will start at the 2.
Keita Bates-Diop 6-7 190 FR. SF
A five star, the #6 Small Forward in the class. He will split minutes as the back-up 3.
Jae'Sean Tate 6-5 190 FR. SG
A five star, the #8 Small Forward in the class. He will be the back-up 2.
David Bell 6-9 200 FR. C
A three star, the #37 Center in the class. He will be the back-up 5.
Projected Starting Line-up:
Point Guard: Shannon Scott
Shooting Guard: D'Angelo Russell
Small Forward: Sam Thompson
Power Forward: Anthony Lee
Center: Amir WIlliams
Ohio State should be pretty good, I think they will finish 3rd in the B1G with a record of 13-5 in the B1G. If you disagree with anything, let me know.
Next up... Nebraska
Hell of a recruiting class.
To put it into terms UM fans would be familiar with
- Russell is James Blackmon
- Bates-Diop is Kam Chatman
- Tate is a Denzel Valentine level SF recruit
Say what you want but Matta has done great things with OSU bball. ... and is a hell of a recruiter. They also have Grandstaff and Mitchell already in 2015, which are 2 of the top 50. Also a tiny PG who is around 100 in that class. OSU has the benefit of seniors this year as well, something currently foreign to UM.
Ohio had a couple of lean years too though and he hasn't done a good job at all with his last crop of players Sam Thompson, Shannon Scott, Amir Williams etc.
He had a couple early in his career when he was paying for some sins of Jim O'Brien (i.e. 4-5 years after you inherit a program those freshman are your seniors)
Last year was their first "down year" in a while and it was still 25-10 and 5th place.
Previous 4 years:
29-8, Tied 1st
34-3, 1st
31-8, Tied 1st
29-8, Tied 2nd
Elite 8, Final 4, two sweet 16s.
The Ohio State Basketball team failed to perform good this year. It is hoped it will do perform exceptionally well next time. Essay Arena
Pretty good stuff, thanks Padog. Thad significantly cuts down minutes come B1G play so it will be interesting to see how he handles probably the deepest bench he has had in a few years. And you are correct about Kam Williams. He got mono early on last year, lost a bunch of weight and never fully recovered. I also think that your starting five is spot on but Matta may also go small and move Lee to the 5, Bates-Diop or Loving at the 4 (similar to how he played Ross at times last year), Tate or Thompson at the 3, Williams or Russell at 2 and Scott at the point.
I hate Thad Matta and wish he would go somewhere else.
Thad Matta - the man who consistently gets 4 years out of 5-star recruits but somehow they keep coming.
October 17th, 2014 at 7:12 AM ^
The topic is effective as perceived and expected. I read up anyway. Bane Coat
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