The addition of Utah State grad transfer point guard Abel Porter on Saturday brings the OSU men’s basketball roster back to the NCAA-mandated scholarship limit of 13.
That means that a crazy month of roster turnover could finally be complete.
Exactly one month ago today, on March 12, Chris Holtmann’s team was set to tip off its second-round matchup against Purdue in the 2020 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Kaleb and Andre Wesson, Luther Muhammad, and Alonzo Gaffney were all expected to be in uniform. DJ Carton was also on the roster.
One month later, that team is now a thing of the past, without ever having stepped on the court again. Those five players are now gone, with only Andre Wesson having exhausted his eligibility.
Here’s a look at everything else that has happened since then.
March 19: DJ Carton enters the NCAA Transfer Portal
March 21: Harvard grad transfer Seth Towns commits to OSU
March 22: Alonzo Gaffney announces he is leaving Ohio State
April 1: Kaleb Wesson announces he will enter NBA Draft
April 5: Luther Muhammad enters the NCAA Transfer Portal
April 6: Bucknell transfer Jimmy Sotos commits to OSU
April 11: Utah State grad transfer Abel Porter commits to OSU
It’s theoretically possible that Kaleb Wesson could return, but with the Buckeyes now at 13 scholarship players someone would have to leave in order to make room for Wesson.
The 2020-2021 Buckeyes will add a pair of freshmen, SG Eugene Brown and PF Zed Key, in addition to Towns, Porter, and SF Justice Sueing, who sat out last season after transferring from Cal.
The overhauled roster is listed below by position and class. Sotos will have to sit out the 2020-2021 season due to NCAA transfer rules, and will then have one season of eligibility remaining.
If this is the final roster, Holtmann’s fourth Ohio State team will enter the season with a number of big questions.
How will the team replace Kaleb Wesson, who led the squad in scoring and rebounding last year?
Who will step up since the team lost three of its four top per-game scorers?
A healthy Kyle Young and developing EJ Liddell could provide some of the answers in the front-court. If Duane Washington continues to develop, he could be one of the scoring solutions. If Ibrahima Diallo can provide at least a handful of decent minutes a game, that could make a big difference in the paint.
But the success of next year’s Buckeye team could come down to how quickly the new guys, including Towns, Porter, and Sueing can step up into a bigger role.
| Position | Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Abel Porter CJ Walker Jimmy Sotos* | |||
| SG | Eugene Brown | Duane Washington | ||
| SF | Justice Sueing Musa Jallow Justin Ahrens | |||
| PF | Zed Key | EJ Liddell | Seth Towns | |
| C | Ibrahima Diallo | Kyle Young |
Break out the crack pipe. No biggie = not titles.
We couldn’t witness the finished product of the 19-20 OSU squad. However, the closing 9 games of the B1G Season, OSU was as good as any team in the B1G, climbing their way back into the top 20. Handling, KY, NC and Vill was as big of OOC performance that OSU had in decades. If they would of only split WI/MN, they would have been in the thick of the B1G race. I hoped that OSU would have went 3-3 with at IA, MD, at NE, MI, IL, at MSU, but they went 4-2. The jury is still out with Holtmann, agree that in the future he will make a run for the final four. The transfer portal now changes everything as coaches can now recruit experience, not just talent.
Not sure I agree. I did not know much about Chris Holtmann when he was hired, other than his time at Butler. I did, however, believe that they would not have hired him unless he was very good. I think Thad Matta has set a standard now and I don’t think Ohio State fans will ever have to worry about them hiring top notch coaches from now on. He has only been there three years and his first year he took a team, led by Bates-Diop, to a very good if not spectacular season. This year he took a team, with a lot of question marks, to a phenomenal start and solid finish. In my opinion, had this team stayed healthy and in tact the entire season, they would have been good enough to win the NCAA tournament. Every year has to be treated as it’s own and Chris Holtmann will continue to bring in good talent with a splash of elite talent – Carton is elite so there is no doubt Ohio State’s coach can bring in more like him. Be patient Ohio State fans. I think next years team has a chance to be very good and borderline great if Wesson were to return – and that’s minus all the departures and transfers.
I would love to have made a bet with you that they werent going to win the title. I know everybody has a right to their opinion but it sounds like you are more of a homer than a real basketball team. They were average this year and will probably be worse next year. I hope Im wrong.
I would not have made that bet haha, but I do believe they would have been good enough to win it. I didn’t say they would win it, I said they would have been good enough. My opinion of course.
Possible title this year, borderline great next year if WESSON were to return……..PRICELESS!!!
Yes, good enough to win it with Carton and Young staying healthy. Yes, borderline great next year if Wesson returns, but he will not. I was unsure of C.J. Walker at the start of the season, but as the season developed he grew on me. So, with Carton being gone, I think they will still be fine at point guard.
When Coach Holtmann was hired, I believe most followers of the men’s basketball program felt that from now on with such a sincere and wonderful coach/teacher of how to play team ball, everyone who is ranked in the top 25 of their high school class would be clammering to be part of a top 10 program every year, and the days of good teams, but not great teams, would be over. Sorry that this has not happened, as very few if any want to be a Buckeye. They all still want to join the same old powerhouses, e.g., KY, MSU, KS, Duke, …, Sad state of affairs.