Utah State point guard Abel Porter is transferring to Ohio State where he will be able to play immediately. He announced his intentions via Twitter.
I’ve officially committed to play basketball at The Ohio State University ?? #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/t1yyo8YsZa
— Abel Porter (@Ah_bell) April 11, 2020
Porter (6-3 200) is a graduate transfer who started 54 games in his Aggie career, including all 34 this past season.
As a fourth-year junior this past year he averaged 5.6 points per game and 3.2 assists per game.
Porter shot 38.2% from the field in 2019-2020 and 29.% from three.
Porter scored in double figures nine times this past season, with a season-high 13 points twice in the span of eight days. He had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists in the second game of the season, an 89-34 win over Weber State.
The addition of Porter puts Ohio State at 13 scholarships and effectively ends any chance of Kaleb Wesson pulling out of the 2020 NBA Draft and returning to school. Wesson was not expected to return regardless.
This has been a tumultuous offseason for Chris Holtmann’s basketball program, as guards DJ Carton and Luther Muhammad have transferred out, as has forward Alonzo Gaffney.
Porter is the third transfer into the program as well. Harvard graduate forward Seth Towns will be eligible immediately, while Bucknell guard Jimmy Sotos will have to sit out a year.
Porter will provide the Buckeyes with a much needed backup for starting point guard CJ Walker. This will allow Duane Washington to focus more on scoring out of the backcourt, which is where his game fits this offense best.
As of right now, the lineup breaks down like this.
PG – CJ Walker / Abel Porter
SG – Duane Washington / Justin Ahrens / Eugene Brown
SF – Justice Sueing / Musa Jallow
PF – Seth Towns / EJ Liddell
C – Kyle Young / Zed Key / Ibrahima Diallo
Sitting: Jimmy Sotos
Thanks for the Abel background, Gerd.
Welcomde to Holtzmn’s program!
Wondering how he ‘fits’ – as a PG …his first task is to QB / distribute to teammates. So looking forward to LR staff info on his SG potential, which might be as unclear as his PG duties are… ‘evident’?
TIA
With all these wings and big guards, this team is going to be very switchable on D. That can create some major issues for teams, and this team has already demonstrated some quality team defense. Let’s hope they can gel together quickly the way Holtmann’s teams have demonstrated the past 3 yrs.