For Buckeye fans, the past two NBA drafts have been bittersweet.
On the one hand, Ohio State has seen three former players selected in a two-year stretch, which is more draftees than the program produced in the previous eight years before 2022. That speaks to the Buckeyes’ impressive recruiting run in recent years, and their ability to quickly develop incoming recruits into bona fide NBA prospects will only help with future recruiting pitches.
On the other hand, the NBA talent on multiple Buckeye rosters hasn’t helped Ohio State get over the hump, and players like Brice Sensabaugh and Malaki Branham departed from the program earlier than they were originally expected to.
Brice Sensabaugh headed to Utah
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) June 23, 2023
The Utah Jazz have selected @bricepsensa with the 28th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft! #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/4dAQNpp7Jr
With E.J. Liddell leading the way in 2020-21, the Buckeyes had perhaps their most promising year under Chris Holtmann, pushing Illinois to overtime in the Big Ten Tournament final and entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. Then the program suffered a demoralizing first-round loss to 15-seed Oral Roberts in the Big Dance, unraveling much of what had been accomplished before. Ohio State got a first-round win the following year, as Branham emerged alongside Liddell, but the Buckeyes still couldn’t notch the second tournament victory that’s eluded Holtmann throughout his tenure in Columbus.
This past season, Ohio State fell short of reaching any reasonable goals by a wide margin. As Brice Sensabaugh’s star rose, the Buckeyes collectively floundered, losing 14 out of 15 games in one stretch and missing out on any postseason action beyond their surprisingly successful run in the conference tournament.
| Year | Player | Draft Pick | Coach | OSU Record | Team Accomplishments/Postseason notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Brice Sensabaugh | No. 28 (Jazz) | Holtmann | 16-19 | N/A |
| 2022 | Malaki Branham | No. 20 (Spurs) | Holtmann | 20-12 | Lost NCAA second round |
| 2022 | E.J. Liddell | No. 41 (Pelicans) | Holtmann | " | " |
| 2013 | Deshaun Thomas | No. 58 (Spurs) | Matta | 29-8 | B1G tourney champs, lost NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2012 | Jared Sullinger | No. 21 (Celtics) | Matta | 31-8 | B1G reg. champs, lost NCAA Final Four |
| 2011 | Jon Diebler | No. 51 (Trail Blazers) | Matta | 34-3 | B1G reg. and tourney champs, lost NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2010 | Evan Turner | No. 2 (76ers) | Matta | 29-8 | B1G reg. and tourney champs, lost NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 2009 | Byron Mullens | No. 24 (Mavericks) | Matta | 22-11 | Lost NCAA first round |
| 2008 | Kosta Koufos | No. 23 (Utah Jazz) | Matta | 24-13 | NIT champs |
| 2007 | Greg Oden | No. 1 (Trail Blazers) | Matta | 35-4 | B1G reg. and tourney champs, lost NCAA final |
| 2007 | Mike Conley | No. 4 (Grizzlies) | Matta | " | " |
| 2007 | Daequan Cook | No. 21 (76ers) | Matta | " | " |
Both Branham and Sensabaugh left the program for the NBA after just one season, and before their freshman campaigns began, no one would’ve expected as much. In fact, the Buckeyes hadn’t produced back-to-back one-and-dones since 2008 and ‘09. And while that could attract more top-end high school talent looking for a short stint in college before transitioning to the professional ranks, it’s also stunted Ohio State from having the kind of year-to-year growth it would otherwise enjoy from returning NBA talent.
Had Branham paired with Sensabaugh in 2022-23, it’s safe to say Ohio State would’ve pulled out several of the close losses it suffered during its roughest stretch – if not been an entirely different team altogether. If Sensabaugh returned in 2023-24 alongside fellow freshman standouts Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle and Felix Okpara, expectations for Ohio State’s upcoming season might be wholly different.
Possessing NBA talent doesn't necessarily guarantee wins. Just ask Michigan, which saw two of its players drafted in the top-15 on Thursday and had All-American big man Hunter Dickinson on the roster, but missed the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23. But routinely sending players to the draft while achieving high-level team success has been done before at Ohio State. Look no further than Holtmann’s predecessor, Thad Matta, for proof of that fact.
While Holtmann’s two-year draft streak is nothing to scoff at, Matta strung together seven straight years in which at least one of his players was drafted to the NBA. That stretch started in 2007 when three Buckeye freshmen – Greg Oden, Mike Conley and Daequan Cook – were all selected in the first round after leading Ohio State to the national championship game. Then, in each of the next two years, the Buckeyes lost more freshman talent with 7-footers Kosta Koufos and Byron Mullens each turning pro after their first years.
On paper, one might think losing all that talent so quickly would have set the Buckeye program back. But in actuality, the opposite happened. With a world of talent to replace in 2007-08, Ohio State missed the NCAA Tournament. But two seasons later, the Buckeyes regrouped to win the Big Ten and enter the Big Dance as a No. 2 seed, thanks in large part to the efforts of national payer of the year Evan Turner.
Despite losing Turner, Jon Diebler, Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas to the NBA draft in successive years after that, Matta still managed to win three more Big Ten championships and make three Sweet 16 appearances after 2009-10, getting to the Elite Eight twice and appearing in the 2012 Final Four.
To sum up, Matta gave Ohio State its most successful seasons of the 21st century, all while sending his top players to the NBA yearly. Matta’s draft streak coincided with the Buckeyes’ best years in recent history, and with Holtmann now starting a streak of his own, many will wonder if similar team results can follow.
That may depend on how much Holtmann can continue reloading the talent on his Ohio State rosters. Even after sending Branham and Liddell to the NBA, the Buckeyes landed their best high school recruiting class to that point in 2022, a group that ranked eighth overall in the country. They followed that up in 2023 with the seventh-best class in the nation, spearheaded by three players with top-50 overall talent (Taison Chatman, Devin Royal and Scotty Middleton).
Of course, a potential NBA draft pick returning to the program would certainly help the program tremendously as it searches for a run past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. But perhaps achieving that success in the first place might be enough to convince such a prospect to come back for a chance at legitimate postseason success.
Producing NBA talent is undoubtedly a positive for the Buckeyes, but even in the one-and-done era, it will increase the expectations for better team results on the hardwood – especially if such talents continue to come through the program.
