When Ohio State took the court last year for the first time, not many could have foreseen the way the season played out.
Not only did the Buckeyes make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, they also fielded the best player in the Big Ten in Keita Bates-Diop, who is now on track to become a late-first round draft pick in the upcoming NBA draft.
In the second year of the Chris Holtmann era, the roster has undergone yet another major overhaul. Gone are Bates-Diop, Jae'Sean Tate, Kam Williams and Andrew Dakich, the veteran leaders of the resurgent Buckeyes. Ohio State has added a number of new pieces, including a top-25 recruiting class and Wake Forest grad-transfer Keyshawn Woods, who figures to factor in immediately in the backcourt.
With all of these changes, it can be easy to forget about C.J. Jackson, who enters his third and final season as a Buckeye. After a rough first season with Ohio State in 2016-17, Jackson found success in the first year of the Holtmann era in Columbus, averaging 12.6 points and 3.9 assists per game.
In 2017-18, Jackson was required to run the Ohio State offense at point guard without much depth behind him. Dakich provided some relief off the bench, but was limited athletically. Tate also ran some of the point, but lacked the ball-handling skills of a traditional guard, which hampered the offense in certain situations.
This season, Jackson will have some help in this area.
Woods is not a traditional point guard, but provides Holtmann with another quick, versatile ball-handler on the perimeter. Woods is able to create his own shot when needed, or create shots for others off of dribble penetration into the lane. If and when he and Jackson play together, this could greatly benefit the OSU veteran, who showed his talent as a spot-up shooter last year, connecting on 38 percent of his three-point shots.
Jackson is not going to beat his man off the dribble often, but won't need to in order to score next year. If it's not Woods driving and kicking, it will be sophomore Kaleb Wesson dishing out of the post.
Wesson averaged 10.2 points per game last season as a freshman and showed the ability to score with his back to the basket in the post. With Bates-Diop gone, it is likely Ohio State will run a large portion of their offensive plays through Wesson, who has also proven an above-average ability to pass out of the post to cutters and spot-up shooters.
When Jackson gets into a two-man game with Wesson, either on a pick-and-roll or dumping it into the post and waiting for a double-team, Jackson immediately becomes a weapon due to his perimeter shooting or ability to hit a floater in the lane off the pass.
It isn't just offensively that Jackson benefits from the makeup of the 2018-19 roster, but defensively as well. With the addition of Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington to the backcourt, Jackson won't have to guard the primary point guard as often as he did last year.
Muhammad comes in as an elite defender already, and will likely be tasked with defending the opponent's primary ball-handler for much of the game. This helps Jackson, who is more of a traditional shooting guard than a point guard, especially on the defensive end. While Muhammad won't play much point guard offensively, his defensive abilities make him prime candidate to guard that position on the other end of the floor.
With Jackson not using as much energy on the defensive end guarding the primary ball-handler for the opposing team, he will be able to focus more energy on the offensive end, where he has shown great improvement over the last 18 months.
Taking all of these things into consideration, it should not come as a surprise to anyone this year if Jackson becomes a first or second team All-Big Ten selection. He will never be a flashy player, but his production could sky-rocket during his final season as a Buckeye, as he looks to lead Ohio State to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
