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 |