With the departure of a five-man senior class and a superstar freshman, it's no secret there will be plenty of new faces on the hardwood next season at the Schottenstein Center.
Ohio State lost its star freshman D'Angelo Russell to the NBA Draft. The Buckeyes also saw three-year contributors Sam Thompson, Shannon Scott and Amir Williams leave the program after using all of their eligibility. Backup big man Trey McDonald is also gone, as is one-year graduate transfer Anthony Lee.
With those departures, the Buckeyes have lost four of their five starters from a year ago, along with 64.9 percent of their total points, 87.4 percent of their total assists and 60.6 percent of their total rebounds. It's going to be a complete transformation.
With a five-man freshman class coming in, plus the additions of Trevor Thompson and Dave Bell — two players who were on last year's team but sat out for different reasons — Ohio State will have seven guys on the floor who have never played a game for the Buckeyes.
Predicting who Thad Matta will trot out there as his starting five to open the season at this point seems impossible, but it's the offseason so we're going to do it anyway. Ohio State is also reportedly in the mix for Seton Hall graduate transfer Sterling Gibbs, so if the Buckeyes land him this could change. But as of right now, here's my starting five for next year's Ohio State basketball team.
Point Guard: JaQuan Lyle
It's still undetermined if Lyle is a point guard or a shooting guard, but Matta believes he can play both positions much like Russell did a year ago for the Buckeyes.
At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, the four-star prospect has high expectations for his freshman season in Columbus. He's probably the most talented of Ohio State's five freshmen and could be the one who makes the biggest impact during his first season.
Shooting Guard: Kam Williams
You could easily talk me into starting another freshman, Austin Grandstaff, here or starting A.J. Harris at point guard and moving Lyle to this position, but starting an all-freshmen backcourt isn't exactly ideal for Matta's crew.
Williams gives Ohio State a natural scorer on the floor. He can shoot the ball from the outside and shot 35 percent from 3 a year ago, but made only 25 percent of his 3-point attempts in Big Ten play. The redshirt sophomore must improve that along with his consistency on the defensive end.
Small Forward: Keita Bates-Diop
Bates-Diop showed flashes of the player many thought he could be during his freshman season. In particular, his two big 3-pointers against VCU in the second round of the NCAA tournament were huge.
He's got the size and length to be effective on the defensive end, but just needs to be more consistent and would give the Buckeyes two deadly shooters from long range if you pair him with Williams. If Bates-Diop becomes more aggressive in all aspects of his game, he could be a really good player at Ohio State.
Power Forward: Jae'Sean Tate
As the only returning starter, Tate is the only player I can comfortably say will start next year for the Buckeyes.
At 6-foot-4, he's undersized for the power forward position. That's not going to change, but Tate makes up for his lack of size with his scrappy play, aggressiveness and toughness. He can become an even more dangerous player if he develops a consistent mid-range jump shot throughout his time at Ohio State — think Draymond Green at Michigan State.
Center: Trevor Thompson
Matta could go with another freshman, Daniel Giddens, here, but I think he'll go with a little more offensive firepower in the 6-foot-11 Thompson, who had to sit out last season due to transfer rules.
He's an athletic big who can run the floor and is also a presence on the defensive end. Thompson and Giddens are similar-type players — Giddens is probably a little stronger — but Thompson, a sophomore, has a year of experience under his belt at Virginia Tech, where he found some success as a true freshman.
Off the bench: Marc Loving, Daniel Giddens, A.J. Harris, Austin Grandstaff, Mickey Mitchell, Dave Bell
