Devin Royal is scoring points for Ohio State. He’s scoring them consistently and he’s scoring them efficiently.
Royal has racked up at least 17 points in five of the Buckeyes’ past six games. He set a career-high with 16 points in Ohio State’s season opener vs. Texas, beat it with 20 against Evansville on Nov. 19 and took a mere 17 minutes to pile up 22 points in the Buckeyes’ bounceback 80-66 win over Rutgers on Saturday.
Royal probably would have scored more if he hadn't missed the last 10:31 of the first half after picking up his second foul. He admitted that it was the first thing to cross his mind as he walked off the floor to a standing ovation while his career-high was announced to the crowd at Value City Arena.
“If I didn’t get in foul trouble, I could have gotten a little more, for real,” Royal said after the game to a laugh from the Ohio State media. “That was probably my thought.”
Point guard Bruce Thornton might be the Buckeyes’ brightest star and offensive maestro, but Royal is turning into the same level of go-to threat in Ohio State’s frontcourt. Now second behind Thornton on the team in points per game (14.1), Royal is No. 3 in the Big Ten and tops on OSU for field-goal percentage through nine games, hitting 61.4% of his shots from the floor.
Royal’s 2-point field goal percentage to start the season is an even gaudier 69.6%.
“I think Devin Royal is a really good player, and we've always believed he was going to become a really good player,” Jake Diebler said. “And he has earned the right to play well with the consistency that he's played with. I think he is a mismatch problem for, certainly this league, but really anybody. And I think he's playing with a maturity and confidence that is – in addition to his work ethic – directly responsible for his efficiency.”
Hailing from Ohio State’s backyard in Pickerington, Ohio, Royal first garnered hype as a scorer during his recruiting process as the No. 49 prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings for the class of 2023. He showed flashes early in his freshman year, scoring double-figures for the first time against Central Michigan on Nov. 29, 2023, with 11 points. But most of his time coached by Chris Holtmann was relegated to the bench. He had nine games scoring no points at all, averaging just 3.2 points in nine minutes played per contest.
Then Diebler took over as interim head coach on Feb. 14. Royal saw 17 minutes of action per game the rest of the way, nearly doubling his usage from before, and produced 7.6 points per contest in the 11 games Diebler coached to close last season. His breakout performance came in a 14-point road showing against Michigan State on Feb. 25, and he had two more 13-point outings later in the year.
During the offseason, Diebler pushed Royal to improve his game. On the court as a shooter, in the post and defensively but also off the court in his consistency and work ethic.
“Transitioning from last year to this year, you saw at the end of last season him playing with more confidence,” Diebler said. “He and I talked immediately after the season. I think he and I were aligned on what we thought this year could be for him, and I felt at times in the offseason, he was really dialed in to getting there. And then at times maybe he wasn't as dialed in as I would have liked.
“The thing I love about Devin is you can coach him hard. And you can challenge him on that. And he's responded since really kind of fall camp hit, like he has responded in the best way you would hope as a coach. And he and I have a great relationship. I have high, high, high level belief in him. I don't think he's done. I think he's, like – I just, I believe in him. He's a joy to be around, and he and I, from the standpoint of when we step foot on the practice floor every day, there's an edge.”
While Royal posted his aforementioned 18-point outing against the Longhorns to start his sophomore season, he scored just two and four in his next two games, respectively, while shooting a combined 0-of-5 from 3-point range.
Improving from the perimeter was a big focus for Royal – and indeed Ohio State as a team – in the offseason. But he got things going again from inside the arc against Evansville. He went 7-of-9 from the field, all from 2-point distance, posting his first career 20-point game and his first career double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Then center Aaron Bradshaw was removed from team activities while under university investigation for a domestic incident. Power forward Sean Stewart slid over to the 5 in Bradshaw’s place while Royal entered the starting lineup at the 4. Royal answered by averaging 17 points and 7.4 rebounds per game during his five contests filling in.
Bradshaw returned to team activities this week, though there will be a “return-to-play” process before he’s back on the floor for the Buckeyes in full capacity. When he’s starting again for Ohio State, Diebler will have to decide whether Stewart or Royal starts at power forward.
In any case, Diebler credits Royal’s natural basketball gifts – both physical and mental – and his work ethic for the nightmarish matchup he’s presented to defenses.
“He's got great feel,” Diebler said. “He just has a knack around kind of elbowing in to produce. He did it in summer, he did it in high school. You're seeing some more consistency with his jump shot, which he's worked really hard on. But I wish I could tell you, like, ‘Yeah, it's all player development,’ right? I think certainly his buy-in to what we're doing from a player development standpoint has played a role. But he's just got kind of this natural knack and organic feel in that space. He’s got great length, he’s got a soft touch. He’s got a combination of a soft touch and physicality that’s pretty hard to teach.”
“He's got great feel. He just has a knack around kind of elbowing in to produce.”– Jake Diebler on what makes Devin Royal a "mismatch" for defenses
Royal’s abilities around the rim, in the post and even in the mid-range are what separate him as a scorer. The word “feel,” or at least “feeling,” also came up in his explanation as to why.
“Just feeling where they’re at, for real, on defense,” Royal said. “I've been in the post scoring since high school days, so it ain't nothing new. Just playing my game.”
Royal’s rebounding rates are up too, with 17.4 boards per 100 possessions. He had just 12.5 per 100 possessions last year. Less quantifiable but also real is his improvement on the defensive end of the floor.
“The other part that doesn't necessarily show up on the stat sheet is, I think his defense has gotten better,” Diebler said. “We ask a lot of him, we ask him sometimes to guard on the inside, we ask him sometimes to guard on the perimeter, and in the flow of a game, he's having to execute different coverages based on maybe where he is positionally and who he's guarding. So I've been really impressed.”
His latest performance against the Scarlet Knights showed the greatest example of how Royal could jump from role player to star player in his second year wearing scarlet and gray. He came out hot, hitting his first three shots for six points, before collecting the second foul noted atop this story.
Royal stayed engaged as he waited on the bench and Rutgers stayed within striking distance.
“Just hearing my coaches talking to me, talking to my teammates, still getting in the game, still talking about (defensively) what we need to do,” Royal said. “Being locked in is the main thing. Coach (Diebler) was telling me to lock in for the second half, get warmed up. So I’m just really focused on the game, winning the game.”
Rutgers cut the Ohio State lead to 41-37 early in the second half, then Royal took over. He scored 16 of the Buckeyes’ next 20 points and they kept the Scarlet Knights at arm’s length the rest of the way to pick up their first Big Ten win of the season. Royal even hit his first triple since game one against Texas, going 1-of-2 from behind the arc as part of his 9-of-12 (75%) night from the field overall.
“He was in foul trouble, and most players, that would have taken them out of their rhythm,” Diebler said. “We had a lead, so we didn't have to really play him to pick up that third foul. He picked up right where he left off, and I don't know if he would have done that last year at the end of the season. So he deserves a lot of credit, because he's worked for it.”
Devin Royal: 22 PTS
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 7, 2024
Bruce Thornton: 22 PTS
These two helped @OhioStateHoops to a dominating 80-66 win over Rutgers #B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/VIaXg0j5vd
With ups and downs blended into Ohio State’s 6-3 record to start the 2024-25 season and a goliath to face this upcoming Saturday in No. 2 Auburn, the Buckeyes are happy that Royal is emerging as a secondary scoring threat alongside Thornton. Thornton still leads the squad with 16.2 points and 5.7 assists per game and posted his own 22-point outing against Rutgers.
But he as much as anyone is noticing Royal’s strides.
“He just continuously keeps putting in work each and every day,” Thornton said. “He comes to practice, he shows up, he's got great energy. He's got great toughness, and he just said everything right. When you have players like that, it just makes my job as a point guard easier.”
