Transfer Portal Roundup: Former Kansas State Guard Nijel Pack To Visit Ohio State, Several High-Major Players Place Buckeyes Among Top Schools

By Griffin Strom on April 12, 2022 at 11:35 am
Nijel Pack
Jay Biggerstaff – USA TODAY Sports
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Ohio State has already made a splash in the transfer portal this offseason, but Chris Holtmann’s work isn’t done yet.

Former Wright State guard Tanner Holden, who committed to the Buckeyes on April 2, won’t be the only transfer addition to the Ohio State roster before the 2022-23 season starts, and the scarlet and gray coaching staff is still in hot pursuit of a number of other options to bolster the team’s talent in the coming months.

RELATED Addition of Tanner Holden Helps Mitigate Potential Loss of Malaki Branham in Buckeye Backcourt

Last week, we rounded up a list of transfer portal prospects that the Buckeyes had made confirmed contact with by the start of April, as well as a few other notable players Ohio State could make a run at. Since then, there’s already been plenty of developments in the transfer recruitments of many of those players.

Ohio State is on the short list for several heralded portal entries and at least one highly sought-after prospect will visit Columbus this week, but some other players Ohio State was in the mix for have committed to other programs.

Nijel Pack to visit Ohio State next week

A prolific scorer and pure-shooting point guard plans to visit Ohio State next week, as former Kansas State star Nijel Pack will take a trip to Columbus to get a better feel for Holtmann’s program.

The 6-foot guard averaged 17.4 points and shot 43.6 percent on 7.5 3-point attempts per game last season. Given the certain or expected offseason departures of several Buckeye guards (Malaki Branham, Meechie Johnson, Jamari Wheeler, Cedric Russell, Jimmy Sotos) – not to mention 3-point specialist Justin Ahrens – Pack would fill more than one need for Ohio State.

Ohio State is not the only place Pack is visiting, and not even the only program in the Big Ten. Pack recently visited Matt Painter and Purdue in West Lafayette, and this past weekend, Pack spent time with Jim Larrañaga’s program at Miami. The Buckeyes will have to beat out a number of other programs to win Pack over, but it appears they are firmly in the running at the moment with a guard sho could help the 2022-23 roster in a number of ways.

Several players place Buckeyes among top landing spots

Pack isn’t the only player in the transfer portal who seems to be seriously considering the Buckeyes, as three other players on Monday alone were reported to have the scarlet and gray among their top several schools.

South Carolina scoring leader Jermaine Couisnard, a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 12 points and 3.2 assists per game last season, told On3 that the Buckeyes are among seven schools in which he is interested alongside Gonzaga, Oregon, Houston, DePaul, Maryland and UMass. A Montverde Academy product in the class of 2018, Couisnard spent the past four years with the Gamecocks, but still has two years of eligibility remaining after redshirting his true freshman season.

West Virginia transfer guard Sean McNeil has the Buckeyes among his top six schools.  The 6-foot-3 sharpshooter put Ohio State alongside Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, Indiana and Texas Tech as he whittled down his list of possible landing spots Monday. McNeil averaged 12.2 points per game and shot 36.8 percent from 3-point range last season, his second straight as a double-digit scorer for the Mountaineers.

In addition to guards, Ohio State is also pursuing big men, and one of them included the Buckeyes among the programs that have been showing him the most interest as of late. Manny Bates, a 6-foot-11 North Carolina State transfer forward/center, put Ohio State on a list alongside Auburn, Iowa State, Houston, Georgetown and Illinois as he continues to peruse his transfer options. Before playing in just one game this past season due to a season-ending shoulder injury, Bates averaged 9.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game in 2020-21.

Players who committed elsewhere

Ohio State showed initial interest in Princeton guard Jaelin Llewellyn, Akron forward Ali Ali and Belmont transfer guard Will Richard upon their respective entries into the transfer portal, but all of them have since committed to other programs.

A two-time All-Ivy League performer who averaged 15.7 points per game this past season, Llewellyn committed to Clemson on Tuesday after receiving widespread interest from high-profile suitors across the country – including Ohio State.

Ali, a 6-foot-8 wing who scored 17 points against the Buckeyes in last season’s opening game, has taken his talents to Butler to join forces with former Ohio State head coach Thad Matta. Ali is the first addition Matta has made to the roster since becoming the program’s new head coach on April 3.

Richard, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 12.1 points per game as a true freshman last season, committed to Florida on Saturday, joining new head coach Todd Golden’s program in Gainesville.

 

While he hasn't yet committed anywhere, Indiana transfer guard Rob Phinisee – who the Buckeyes had previously shown interest in – did not include Ohio State in his top two schools on Tuesday. Per his social media announcement, Phinisee is down to Cincinnati and Butler moving forward.

Still in the mix

Perhaps most notable among newer transfer portal entries the Buckeyes have been in contact with is Morehead State transfer center Johni Broome, the 6-foot-10 OVC Defensive Player of the Year who averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game this past year. But Broome is receiving high-profile attention from all around the country, and is also testing the NBA draft process this offseason. Broome recently took his first visit with Aubum, and doesn’t appear to have anything on the books with the Buckeyes yet.

Despite the addition of Holden at wing, followed by news of Justice Sueing’s return to the Ohio State program, West Virginia forward Jalen Bridges visited the program not long ago, with visits still forthcoming to Alabama, Baylor and Michigan State.

Other players in the portal who have received interest from Ohio State and have not yet committed anywhere include Drexel guard Camren Wynter, Illinois State guard Antonio Reeves, ECU guard Tristen Newton and Bellarmine guard Dylan Penn.

Whether it’s with one of the aforementioned names or not, the Buckeyes will undoubtedly make some more noise in the portal before the offseason is over. There’s still plenty of time left for Ohio State to land another high-caliber transfer or two, and if nothing else, the Buckeyes appear to be garnering consideration from multiple of them as players start to narrow down their potential destinations.

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