The first time I really remember marveling at a D’Angelo Russell play came Jan. 3, 2015.
Ohio State was hosting Illinois for its Big Ten home opener. The Buckeyes had just lost to Iowa four days earlier and were trailing the Illini at halftime before starting the second half on a big run.
With Ohio State ahead, 51-44, Illinois’ Kendrick Nunn tried to throw a pass on the wing, but it was deflected by Russell. The ball headed toward the sideline, but the lengthy 6-foot-5 guard reached out and saved the ball behind his back to his teammate before he went flying into the first row of seats.
Russell didn’t slow down, though, and kept his momentum going. Marc Loving took a few dribbles down the other end of the court and dished it back to Russell for the easy layup.
I remember sitting inside the Schottenstein Center trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. It was truly one of those, ‘Wow’ moments.
Turns out, Russell had plenty of those throughout his one season at Ohio State. From the ankle-breaking crossovers that turned into 3-pointers to the no-look, one-handed bounce passes through traffic, his lone year of playing college basketball was one that will be remembered in Columbus for a long time.
Sure, there were some low points like his 3-for-19 performance against Arizona in the third round of the NCAA tournament — the game which turned out to be his last for the Buckeyes. But there were a lot more peaks than valleys for Russell in an Ohio State uniform.
He was projected as a top-five pick in the NBA Draft from about the midpoint of the season. And when that night came last Thursday, Russell heard his name called by the Los Angeles Lakers as the No. 2 overall selection.
A few were surprised the Lakers took Russell over Duke big man, Jahlil Okafor, but maybe they shouldn’t have been. The Lakers are a franchise built on star power and Russell certainly has that.
Throughout my time getting to know Russell this past season, watching every one of his games and speaking to him afterward, I think he’s a perfect fit for Los Angeles and he’s got everything you’re looking for in a potential NBA superstar.
Russell’s confidence is through the roof. He believes he’s the best player on the floor at all times and he’s not afraid to say it. It’s not cockiness, it’s just his mentality. It’s the same mentality LeBron James, Kevin Durant and, Russell’s newest teammate, Kobe Bryant have. It’s a mentality that’s essential to be a superstar at this level.
He’s as candid as they come. He speaks freely and says what’s on his mind. Russell demands a lot out of himself. It’s a personality truly fit for Hollywood.
On the court, he’s got game, too. Sure, he averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game for Ohio State, but it goes beyond the box score. It’s his feel for the game, the way he plays it. Russell makes things on the court look effortless at times. Everything he does is done smoothly.
It’s that perfect blend which makes me believe Russell will be a star at the next level.
FiveThirtyEight came up with some sort of metric to quantify which player in the 2015 NBA Draft has the highest potential to be an NBA star. Russell had the highest probability with a 15.2 percent chance. But he also had the highest chance of being a bust at 40.9 percent.
I’m not one who believes you can use numbers to calculate those kind of things, but what it shows is Russell is a high risk/high reward type of player.
Should he pan out, Russell could become one of the NBA’s next great point guards. And from what I’ve seen and know about him, I’d be very surprised if that weren’t the case.
