Ohio State has plenty to look forward to next season

With the pain of a gut-wrenching loss to the Kentucky Wildcats still fresh, I would like to take this opportunity to give a look forward to a promising next season for the Buckeyes. Coach Thad Matta and company accomplished plenty in their 34-3 season, winning the Big Ten regular season, Big Ten Tournament, and grabbing the top overall seed on their way to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season. With key players returning and another strong recruiting class, the future continues to look bright in Columbus.

Losing a five-year contributor,  All Big Ten defender, and program leadership pillar in David Lighty, the All-Time three point leader in conference history in Jon Diebler, and a key defender and shot blocker in Dallas Lauderdale will certainly cause the Buckeyes to a step back at least initially if only for continuity’s sake. But, while I feel it will be hard to beat the “team” component that this season’s team had, in terms of talent alone, next year’s team may have more of it while being a little bit deeper.

Let’s start with who is returning. The headliner is that freshman Jared Sullinger will indeed return for his sophomore season in Columbus, as he had said all along. I stated my belief that Sully would be back halfway through the season when I heard a string of comments from both Satch Sullinger and Thad Matta that were so definitive, that only the most cynical person would not believe them. Sullinger is a first-team All-American this season, and having him back in the fold will automatically give OSU a chance to compete for the Big Ten title.

Next, at this point, it appears junior guard William Buford will be back with the Buckeyes as well for his senior season. Buford, who likely does not want to go out with his 2-for-16 shooting performance against the Wildcats that included a miss at the end which would have won the game, would be the lone senior on the squad and allow it to return its top two scorers. Buford improved his consistency at both ends of the floor this season, and he truly developed his sometimes-unstoppable mid-range game. In fact, Buford made such dramatic strides from his sophomore to junior seasons, that I am looking forward to see what he has in store for his final season.

To complement the top two scorers, the Buckeyes return two more key players from this year’s team, point guard Aaron Craft and forward Deshaun Thomas. Craft vastly exceeded the expectations of almost everyone, as the recruit from Liberty Benton was not even an ESPNU Top 100 player. Craft dazzled with 15 assists in the George Mason game, and he carried the team scoring-wise for small stretches in the Big Ten season. Most importantly, though, is Craft’s ability to shut down the other team’s best guard. Craft slowed the likes of Jordan Taylor, Talor Battle, Kalin Lucas, and yes, Brandon Knight to name a few throughout the season. His 6.9 points and 4.8 assists per contest will only go up in a starting role and with more shoot-first players around him.

Thomas saw limited action in tight contests except for foul trouble, but luckily for him, Ohio State had plenty of use for him. Matta’s Indiana recruit out of his Ohio-heavy recruiting class, Thomas averaged 7.5 points in 14 minutes per game, which is slightly inflated by a couple of outstanding scoring performances, such as his 24 in the season opener against North Carolina A&T and 22 versus Indiana. I think the Buckeyes have barely scratched the surface with Thomas, who would’ve been starting and the second or third leading scorer on most teams. He will be the most improved player on the team next year, and may very well lead the team in scoring. What will help him is extended minutes where he should get more comfortable within the flow of the game and not feel like he has to chuck up the first shot he sees. Look for a big year from #1.

Because of Matta’s tendency to have a tight bench rotation and the overwhelming experience and stamina of those players, we saw very little of Jordan Sibert, Lenzelle Smith Jr., and J.D. Weatherspoon. Sibert saw action in 25 of the 37 games sparingly, averaging just 2 points on 29% shooting. Sibert was the #82 recruit on the ESPNU 100 list this past season, and the 6’4″ shooting guard is characterized as a slasher with an ability to defend well. From what I’ve seen of him in person, he can certainly defend, and I would say other than Craft, he may have the most potential to shut someone down on this team next year. Sibert’s offense lags behind his defense, and he must improve his jump shot, but there’s plenty of potential there.

Smith battled a wrist injury all season long, and I don’t think we got to see him at 100% once. He was the #80 recruit on the ESPNU 100, and he is a 6’4″ combo guard with excellent rebounding and passing skills. He, too, has a suspect jumpshot, but put the ball in the hole plenty at Zion-Benton Township High in Illinois.

Weatherspoon was ruled academically ineligible after the first 10 games of the season and was only reinstated before the Kentucky game. Weatherspoon is an incredibly athletic 3/4 tweener at 6’6″, who came as more than a tag along with Sully.

The real determining factor in just how good the Buckeyes will be next year is their incoming freshman class, which boasts four ESPNU Top 100 recruits. Unlike last season, when the Bucks had four recruits with Sullinger (2), Thomas (11), Smith Jr. (80), and Sibert (82), the Bucks also have four this year with no Top 10 talent, but all four are in the 30-50 range. Point guard Shannon Scott (29), center Amir Williams (36), small forward Sam Thompson (45), and small forward LaQuinton Ross (46) are those four players. Interestingly, including the fifth recruit center Trey McDonald, none of them are from the State of Ohio. Both Scott and Williams were McDonald’s All-Americans, and I would expect both to get heavy minutes right away. For the others, it depends on how well the returning sophomores perform.

Without seeing the incoming freshmen play yet and going only by scouting reports, I think this team will have a much different makeup despite returning four of its top six scorers. For one, I don’t see how next year’s team can be as efficient with three point shooting, and they will suffer at times with just one senior for leadership. But, I think next year’s edition should be more athletic and have a little bit more size on both the perimeter and inside. Thompson and Ross are 6’7″ and 6’8″ respectively, McDonald is 6’9″, and Williams is 6’10”. Hopefully, McDonald and Williams can help Sullinger in the rebounding department. The Bucks were hurt in the past two tournaments by athletic, long SEC teams. This team may be better equipped to handle that challenge. My final point is depth. If for no other reason than Matta will be searching a bit for who his go-to guys are, this team should play 9-10 guys instead of the 7 that Matta has used the past two seasons.

I’ve closely followed Thad Matta’s time at Ohio State, and there are a few things that I know for certain. First, he can recruit big-time talent and find mid-level talent that fits his system. Next, whoever he brings into the fold, he will get them to play loose, trust their offensive games, and force them to get in shape and work on the defensive side. Finally, the more successful seasons that Matta puts behind him at OSU, the more respect he gains and the greater reputation the program receives. There are so many little things that Matta has done to make Ohio State basketball great, including completely revamping the atmosphere inside the Schottenstein Center. The OSU Athletic Department, with the encouragement of Matta, moved the students down courtside behind the benches. From personal experience, I had season tickets my freshman year (the Oden-Conley team) that were in the nosebleeds of the Schott. This year, in the first-come, first-served student section, I often sat just two or three rows behind one of the benches.

It’s truly unfortunate that this year’s team didn’t get to its ultimate goal, but next year’s team can hope to learn the mistakes from seasons past and make another run at bringing the trophy back to Columbus for the first time in 52 years.