Ohio State basketball embarks on a new chapter as Jake Diebler gets promoted to full-time head coach.
The tradition continues! CBB Review is again ranking the top 100 teams heading into the new college basketball season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Ohio State basketball.
Chris Holtmann had moderate success at Ohio State, making the tournament in his first four opportunities and finishing in the AP Poll top 20 three of those times. However, the Buckeyes administration made a statement after his 30-30 stretch from 2022-23 to 2023-24: the expectations are higher in Columbus. He was fired midseason and Jake Diebler rose to the helm. At 8-3, in all conference games, Diebler’s finish was strong enough to earn him a full promotion.
The best aspect of hiring a new head coach within the program is that you get the balance of program stability and exciting new beginnings. That is exactly the case with the Ohio State roster. Meechie Johnson (South Carolina), Sean Stewart (Duke), and Aaron Bradshaw (Kentucky) transferred in, but last year’s leading scorer Bruce Thornton also comes back.
Whether it was fair or unfair to give Holtmann the hook, the Buckeyes seem to be in good hands as we stand today.
Click here to learn more about our preseason top 100 teams heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Head coach: Jake Diebler (1st full season overall)
2023-24 record: 22-14 (9-11)
2024 postseason finish: Lost to Georgia in NIT quarterfinals (79-77)
Notable departures:
- Jamison Battle (15.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 43.3 3P%)
- Roddy Gayle Jr. (13.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.1 APG)
- Felix Okpara (6.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.5 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Texas (Nov. 4)
- at Texas A&M (Nov. 15)
- vs. Pitt (Nov. 29)
- vs. Auburn (Dec. 14)
- vs. Kentucky (Dec. 21)
Projected Rotation
PG: Bruce Thornton (6-2, 215, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 15.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 SPG
SG: Meechie Johnson (6-2, 172, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 14.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.9 APG (South Carolina)
SF: Micah Parrish (6-6, 180, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 9.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG (San Diego State)
PF: Sean Stewart (6-9, 227, So.)
2023-24 stats: 2.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.2 APG (Duke)
C: Aaron Bradshaw (7-0, 226, So.)
2023-24 stats: 4.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.3 APG, 57.6 FG% (Kentucky)
6: Evan Mahaffey (6-6, 200, Jr.)
2023-24 stats: 4.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.7 APG
7: Ques Glover (5-11, 182, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-24 stats: 14.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.1 APG, 37.8 3P% (Samford)
2022-23 stats: 19.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.2 SPG (Samford)
8: Devin Royal (6-6, 210, So.)
2023-24 stats: 4.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.4 APG
Ohio State Basketball make-or-break player: Bruce Thornton
Among a roster of mostly transfers and youngsters with upside, Thornton provides proven veteran production at the point guard spot. Thornton was immediately impactful in his freshman season at Ohio State, and took another step up last year, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Thornton is incredibly savvy off of screens, able to get downhill and utilize his lethal pull-up jumper or create lob opportunities to the rim. His three-point percentage 37.5% to 33.3% over his two seasons due to a tick in volume but it is still something to be aware of. Additionally, while we can expect him to be the primary ball-handler again, Meechie Johnson is just as capable and can allow Thornton more opportunities off-ball. He is one of the more underrated players in the new Big Ten.
Ohio State Basketball make-or-break player: Aaron Bradshaw
Honorable mention to Sean Stewart as well. Both players are former big-time recruits, come from big programs, and will get major playing time opportunities for the first time in college. Aaron Bradshaw takes the cake when it comes to “make-or-break” though.
The reason is that he can open up for Ohio State as a potentially dominant big on both ends. Bradshaw has the combined tools of size, mobility, and touch that have raised eyebrows, even amidst his relatively underwhelming production in his one year at Kentucky. While the Buckeyes’ backcourt looks like their safety net, their largest source of upside resides in the frontcourt.
Key analytic: Spacing
In Shot Quality’s spacing metric, mostly factoring the distance among the five players on the court as shots are taken, Ohio State finished 37th nationally last season. This is what allowed them to have an equally high open three rate and for the Zed Key/Felix Okpara tandem to have so many easy dunks. This is something that absolutely must be retained in Diebler’s offense if the Buckeyes want to take another step up in production.
It feels like a lot of the offense will revolve around Bradshaw and Stewart rolling to the rim, with Micah Parrish and Meechie Johnson as shooters. With so many unknowns in this equation, there has to be room to operate for optimal results.
Ohio State Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish: 8th in the Big Ten
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament round of 32 appearance