Miles Austin reportedly set to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles
March 30, 2015Trey Lewis to transfer from Cleveland State
March 30, 2015Ohio State’s tournament run ended earlier than Thad Matta and company would have liked, but there is some good news for Buckeye fans this March: guard D’Angelo Russell was selected as a first-team All-American by the Associated Press.
Your first-team AP All-Americans:
Frank Kaminsky
Jahlil Okafor
Jerian Grant
Willie Cauley-Stein
D'Angelo Russell— Brian Hamilton (@_Brian_Hamilton) March 30, 2015
Russell, a 6-5 freshman from Louisville, averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.6 steals in 35 games for Ohio State. He shot nearly 48 percent from the field and better than 41 percent on three-pointers. He led the team in points and rebounds per game, and was second in assists and steals behind Shannon Scott.
Russell is widely expected to declare for the 2015 NBA Draft, and he is expected to be a high lottery selection if he does. He caught the eye of New York Knicks president Phil Jackson, who called Russell “a great looking kid, [a] great prospect” in early March. The Knicks were fined for those comments, as league officials are forbidden from discussing underclassmen.
According to the Plain Dealer, Russell answered “no comment” when asked by the about declaring for the draft following the Buckeyes’ second round loss to Arizona, a game in which he scored just nine points on 3-of-19 shooting.
OSU coach Thad Matta says that no decision has been made regarding Russell’s future, but that he would welcome the do-it-all guard back should he choose to stay in Columbus.
From the Plain Dealer:
“I haven’t even thought about it,” Matta said. “I think from the standpoint of just sitting down with him, let’s just get as much information as we possibly can to make the right decision for him. The thing I love about that kid, is if he leaves, he’s definitely had both feet in all the way, and that speaks volumes to who he is.
“Obviously if he’d like to come back, we have a scholarship for him.”
The Buckeyes finished the season 24-11, including 11-7 in Big Ten play.
1 Comment
The NCAA Tournament was the first chance I had to see this kid play, and even though he had a miserable day shooting the ball against Arizona in OSU’s second game, you could watch him in both games and just see that he oozes talent in all facets of the game. Russell is going to be a special player in the NBA… I’m sure of it.