Ohio State head coach Thad Matta walked into the practice gymnasium at the Schottenstein Center on Thursday afternoon. Directly behind him were his prized freshman guard D'Angelo Russell and Russell's father, Antonio.
The three sat down at a table: Antonio to the far left, D'Angelo in the middle and Matta to the far right. Matta had to get something off his chest.
"I think we all know why we're here and that's to dispel the rumors that were going around last night that he was going pro," Matta said. "He signed a three-year scholarship extension."
The rather large media contingent gathered inside the gym let out some collective laughter.
"Oh wait, that was the dream I had last night," Matta continued.
After D'Angelo Russell spoke to ESPN on Wednesday and said he would enter the 2015 upcoming draft, he made it official Thursday at his afternoon press conference with his dad and head coach by his side.
"First of all, I want to thank God for this opportunity. I want to thank Buckeye Nation and all the coaching staff, just the conditioning, the academics that I had. Everybody, my dad, my family, I want to thank everybody for being here at once," Russell said. "It's a pleasure to be a Buckeye. Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye. I'll never forget that."
He'll be missed by Ohio State fans in Columbus, too, even if he only played one season for the Buckeyes.
Russell starred on the court this past season as a freshman. He led Ohio State in scoring (19.3 points per game) and rebounds (5.7) and was second on the team in assists (5.0) and steals (1.6). Russell was a consensus first-team All-American and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He also took home the Jerry West Award, which is given to the nation's top shooting guard.
“My hope is I want to hang [Russell's] jersey in the rafters someday because I think he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game at Ohio State and he was only here for eight months.”– Thad Matta
"What I love about him, what people love about him, is he can do so many different things," Matta said. "Somebody asked about the position he's going to play at the next level, I don't think that's determined. They love his size at the point guard position, they love his ability to make guys better, but with that size, he can also play off the basketball. I think that's what makes him dynamic."
Russell's decision took longer than most people anticipated. His choice to go pro was always the likely scenario — he is projected as a top-five pick — but he wanted to take his time and sort everything out before making a decision.
"I didn't take a long time to make the decision for any attention or for anybody to criticize me or whatnot. It was more like I didn't know. I wasn't for sure," Russell said. "I wanted to get with my family, the coaching staff and really take the time to make this decision. It's hard leaving my brothers, my teammates."
On the court, Ohio State didn't have as much success as a team this year as Russell, or Matta for that matter, would have liked. The Buckeyes finished 24-11 and were eliminated by Arizona in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Russell, however, leaves behind a legacy. His 675 points scored this year were the most ever by an Ohio State freshman. He joins players like Michael Conley and Greg Oden as the best one-year players Ohio State has ever had.
"The bond that (me and my teammates) built, it’s gonna hurt me, I know it’s gonna hurt me," Russell said. "I don’t know if it’s hit them yet that I won’t be there next year, but it definitely will hurt me just not being able to see those guys every day or having something to laugh about or talk about so it’s definitely hard.”
"To sit up here next to these guys today, it truly is an honor for me," added Matta. "It’s an honor to say — my hope is I want to hang his jersey in the rafters someday because I think he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game at Ohio State and he was only here for eight months.”
