Last season, the front court of the ultimately NIT-bound Ohio State Buckeyes featured a seven-foot big man by the name of Kosta Koufos. A native of Canton, Ohio, Koufos had a reasonably successful season, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds per game and was actually named the NIT MVP (yes, that exists) after leading the Buckeyes to the “title.”
Koufos, a freshman at the time, then decided that his stay in Columbus was going to come to an end and declared eligibility for the NBA draft. You know that things aren’t all they are cracked up to be when Clevelanders are adamant against drafting players from Ohio State in any sport, but such was the case with Koufos and the Cavaliers having a late pick in the first round. Danny Ferry chose J.J. Hickson and Koufos wound up in the hands of the Utah Jazz. And after 48 games this season, the Jazz have opted to send Koufos to the Utah Flash – the team’s Developmental League franchise.
And after a season of nine points and five rebounds per game, this year’s freshman big man, B.J. Mullens, believes that he too is ready follow his predecessors footsteps and take the leap to the next level. The Columbus Dispatch reports that Mullens will be the latest one-and-done of the Ohio State Buckeyes as he declared his eligibility for the NBA.
