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Breaking Down A Crazy Week For The Future Of Ohio State Basketball · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Friday, April fifth, I'm your host,
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  Tom or the Akron game in one hundred and forty eight days, the game
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  against Michigan in two hundred and thirty nine days. Back in January, Phtty,
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  Gerdaman and I did a show talking about the eventful month that Ohio State
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  football had, with players announcing they were coming, players announcing they were leaving,
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  guys who were staying from the not entering the NFL Draft, and all
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  that kind of fun stuff. The last week or so of Ohio State basketball
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  has basically been the same thing in miniature. Obviously a much smaller roster,
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  so, you know, not quite the same scale of news. But there
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  has been a flurry of news for the Buckeyes over the last week or so.
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  But hey, joins me again, we're going to cry and sort through
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  what that news means where the Buckeyes are right now for Jake Diebler's first full
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  season as the head coach, and much more so Tony. I guess let's
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  start with the good news. And this is kind of this weird new era
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  of college basketball where if you're leaving and entering the transfer portal, Yeah,
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  sure, you put a graphic together, you make a big announcement. Sure,
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  now you've got guys putting together graphics and making big announcements. Just just
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  yes, I will continue my scholar school, you know, student athlete role
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  at this school, playing this sport for another year, something that you sort
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  of used to assume was going to Like, of course you are, why
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  what else would you do? But the Buckeyes have gotten some good news that
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  several big name players are coming back. Let's start with the point guard Bruce
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  Thornton. That was someone that you know, there had been some rumbles like,
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  hey, maybe he's looking looking around something like that, but he's back.
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  That feels like a very good building block for Jake Jake Diebler's first season.
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  Yeah. I think maybe if there's one person that you wanted to have
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  back, needed to have back, it's your leader, it's your point guard.
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  Getting Bruce Thorton back keeps keeps them from having to start completely over at
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  that position, and so you get one of the best point guards in the
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  nation in the Big Ten, somebody who going in front into their junior year
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  as a sophomore two year starter should be at his absolute best. When Bruce
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  Darton is at his best. He's very very good. He's a guy that
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  can bring teammates along with them. So I think this was a significant move
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  for Jake Diebler. And in terms of the announcements, it's similar in a
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  way to the way COVID forced the players coming back for their fifth year using
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  their COVID year, you say, hey, I'm coming back for my sixth
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  year. And now it's not the players putting these things out necessarily, it's
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  the collective, it's Ohio State, it's the foundation announcing the return of players,
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  which I think is an interesting twist in this where you can see the
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  wheels turning behind the scenes in terms of why some of these decisions or or
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  what is maybe putting the players over the top in terms of coming back or
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  even in terms of not coming back. Yeah, it does feel like there's
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  been a very obvious shift in leverage between the players and the schools over the
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  last few years, with the one time transfer exception where you didn't now don't
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  have to sit out a full year like you used to if you transferred,
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  plus the transfer portal being open and they're being a very easy way to transfer
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  from one school to another, and then also nil. Just the leverage has
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  changed, the power imbalance there or balance there has changed quite a bit.
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  So Yeah, I think you're seeing a lot of that sort of manifesting itself
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  for a lot of teams right now all across the nation. It does feel
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  kind of like this is going to be the new normal. And the Ohio
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  State team has got another piece of good news with the return of Felix Akpara.
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  They have, you know that he is the big man on this team.
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  He put up six points, six boards, a couple of blocks a
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  game. He's really turned Tony into a really important piece for this team where
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  you know he's you know, he's not putting up Zach eating numbers, but
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  in terms of, you know, standing up to Zach Edie. He was
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  a big part of why they were able to beat Purdue in the Shottenstein Center,
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  and he feels like he's going to be a very important part of their
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  team next year as well. Yeah, he's a guy that continues to get
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  better. He's always been pretty good defensively when he's not in foul trouble,
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  but offensively, I think he's going to continue to get better. And takes
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  me back to twenty five years ago now with Ken Johnson, who progressed from
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  a six' eleven shot blocker as a true freshman to a pretty darn good
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  scorer by the time he was a senior. So this is basically Ohio State
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  securing their battery at the point guard in the center. So you've got the
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  middle of the line up there and you build around them. But Okpara helps
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  obviously defensively is a huge thing. He will be probably I think the number
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  one shot blocker in the Big Ten next year with Zach Edy gone. But
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  I also assume there's another seven foot three guy at perdue waiting in the wings.
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  See about that. I don't want to make any promises there, but
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  a par is a guy that we have seen just continue to get better and
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  better. So it'll be interesting to see what he looks like as a junior
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  as he continues to elevate his offensive game. We saw him try to incorporate
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  the three point shot a little bit into his game this year. I don't
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  know if they want to continue that or if they just, you know,
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  maybe maybe cap it at the mid range game. Well me, midway between
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  the point guard, the one and the five at the center, you got
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  three spots in the middle there. One of them we know now is going
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  to be manned by Devin Royal. He also announced he was coming back.
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  He's someone who felt like he sort of took on a bigger role as the
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  season went along. Local product. That feels like another good addition Tony,
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  just to have someone else there who's kind of you know you. Obviously,
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  we're going to get to some of the guys they lost in a minute and
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  one of the guys they brought in, but this feels like someone who a
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  lot like Felix Akpara probably going to see a progressively bigger role on this team
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  as he moved through his career. Yeah, and the more we saw from
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  Devin Royal, there's a little bit of e J. Ladell to him,
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  where he's a little undersized as a power forward, not quite skilled enough with
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  the ball on the perimeter to be a three, but as tremendous court feel
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  and knows where the basket is, is able to finish while still being like
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  ten or sixty six two hundred and fifteen two hundred and twenty pounds like he
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  is good around the basket. He's a smart basketball player. I think he
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  I think he averaged like four point seven points per game this year. I
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  would expect him to be a double figure scorer next year, and we'll have
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  some games in the twenties where defenses are having a really difficult time with him.
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  It's depending on how much Jake Deebler relies on him, how much they
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  go to him in the post, and how many put backs that he gets.
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  I think he's a future sixteen to eighteen point scorer. I don't know
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  that that happens next year, but I think you'll see his game continue to
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  develop. We saw him shoot some threes this year, didn't really make many,
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  hardly any, but I still always find it positive when players are shooting
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  them. That lets you know that they make them in practice, so they
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  have the ability. It's when players never shoot threes, you're like, well,
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  they clearly can't shoot them because they're not even attempting them. So even
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  if they're not making them. Devin Royal didn't make them this year, the
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  fact that he's shooting them tells you that he can make them and he will
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  eventually make them, so he's his game will continue to get better, and
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  that's it's a pretty good core. Those three the bigger question is what happens
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  now around them? Yeah, that is that is kind of the big open
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  question. The one thing that the Buckeyes have already added. We're going to
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  talk him in a minute about three guys they've lost in the transfer portal.
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  They have already made one addition in the transfer portal, and that is going
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  to be a familiar name to Ohio State fans. That is Michie Johnson.
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  He is coming back to Ohio State. He started his career as a buck
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  Eye, then transferred to South Carolina, and then now transferred back to the
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  buck Eyes. And you know, he put up night good numbers at South
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  Carolina. It wasn't necessarily the most they weren't the most efficient numbers. But
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  with one of the departures that we're gonna be talking about in a minute,
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  this feels like this is going to be an important addition in terms of having
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  someone who can you know, a guard who can shoot the basketball from all
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  over the court. Yeah, be able to stretch a defense. And even
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  though he's like a thirty three percent shooter from three the last two years,
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  you still have to respect him. You can't just leave him open. So
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  he averaged six or seven three point attempts for per game and made two of
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  them basically on average the last two years. He is a guy that can
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  score. But if you like look at his game log see I think one
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  of the last games he had was like an zero for nine from the field,
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  so that is also an issue. But I think he gives you the
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  the ability to play both point guard and shooting guard. I would expect him
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  to be the two and the offense next year and just gives Ohio State a
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  guy that can stretch a defense. The thing that he'll need to do,
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  I think is maybe be more disciplined and how he does that. But also
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  we know Jake Diebler wants to push the ball. He likes to push the
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  ball, and so you've got another guy that can do that and Michi and
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  do it under control. That was one of the things that Roddy Gill struggled
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  a little bit. When he gets going quickly and fast and running with the
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  ball, kind of loses his dribble a bit. If Michi and Bruce Thorton
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  can do that in a more consistent and efficient way, that will help them
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  convert to Devin Royal to Felix Acpara to each other on those when they're pushing
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  it and they're trying to get the tempo going, all right, So those
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  are the four returns. Well, I guess they're all returns. I was
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  going to say returns to additions, but they're really all returns in one way
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  or another that we know about the official announcements that are in. Three guys
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  have announced that they're headed to the transfer portal. And this is the three
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  guys who kind of are in different spots with the buck Eyes. You get
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  Roddy Gale, who you were just talking about there a minute ago. He
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  saw his minutes kind of contract a little bit when you went from Chris Holtman
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  to Jake Diebler towards the end of the season, Scotty Middleton who was away
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  from the team for a little while towards the end of the season with some
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  personal stuff, and then Bowen Hardman, who really just didn't get on the
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  floor a whole heck of a lot in his first year as a buck Eye.
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  So those three guys, you know, you're losing different guys in different
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  points of their careers, but you know Roddy Gale and Scottyton Middleton, especially
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  Gail was a major contributor this year's team. Scotty Middleton was someone you looked
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  at and thought, this guy is going to probably be a major contributor to
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  next year's team. So, you know, to varying degrees, those are
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  three guys whose departures you're gonna feel the impact of a little bit. Yeah,
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  and how do you replace each one of those guys? And they're all
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  different. Bowen Hardman is just a sharpshooter, come in and shoot when he
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  could. Defense wasn't really there. But who is that guy that can come
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  in and be that catch and shoot guy. I don't know if there is
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  one on this team just yet. Maybe somebody will develop into that. But
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  the other two guys, Roddy Gale and Scotty Middleton, like to me,
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  those are maybe the two guys with the most potential on this past year's team
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  in terms of their ability. You know, Scotty Middleton sixty sixty sixty seven
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  is a defensive effort guy but also a very confident shooter. Could put the
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  ball on the floor a little bit, but that was going to continue to
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  be more of his game. So you could see the potential growing and you
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  can see what he can become Roddy Gale athletic as all get out. The
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  shot goes and comes at times, and he didn't necessarily have it as much
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  this season as he did last the year before in the Big Ten Tournament,
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  when he was really starting to connect and show what he could become. If
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  that's what he is as a junior, then this is pretty devastating loss.
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  But overall, he can get to the basket, he has mid rage,
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  he can pull up and shoot, and I don't know where you get that
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  from this roster. I don't know where you get Scotty Middleton being a wing
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  that can shoot. Roddy Gale could be a wing that can shoot. I
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  don't think they have that right now that you can count on, certainly,
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  not that you could count on to the level of Roddy Gale or Scotty Middleton
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  and what they could be next year. So I think that's something that they're
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  going to have to address in a portal because right now they've got some good
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  guards, they've got some good four and five, they got some post guys.
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  I don't see anybody on the wing necessarily that that would concern an opposing
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  coach at this point. Well, and you mentioned trying to get guys through
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  the portal, and part of that is how many guys can they get through
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  the portal to fill these various holes. We're going to get into some scholarship
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  math in a minute, but there are four names we haven't said yet.
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  Guys who you would in the olden days have presumed like, well, of
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  course this guy's coming back. Now it's you're kind of wondering, well,
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  we haven't heard anything that he's coming back or that he's leaving. So what
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  does that mean? Does that mean they're all coming back? Does it mean
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  they're all making up their minds? And we don't know the answers on those
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  just yet. The transfer portal window is currently open until May first, so
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  Jayson Chapman, Evan Mahaffey, Kaylen Etzler, and Austin Parks all have until
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  May first to make a does he stay or does he go? Now a
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  decision? So what do you assume when you when you haven't heard anything,
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  Are you assuming, yeah, these guys are all probably back. Are you
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  assuming these guys are still deciding? What? How do you how do you
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  read into that when you're trying to make a plan. You know, if
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  you're Jake Diebler for next season. I'm of the belief that Jake Diebler will
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  know much more than anybody on the outside. Well, but who who there
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  of the names that you mentioned really has negotiating power at this point, And
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  it's it's hilarious that we're talking about negotiating power and nil and things like that
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  in terms of college sports. But that's where we are now. Could You're
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  always looking like, could they go somewhere else and get more money perhaps?
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  And I just I think I've been telling people, don't ever assume somebody is
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  coming back. It's probably safer to assume that nobody is coming back. Then,
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  definitely safer to assume that nobody is coming back rather than everybody is coming
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  back. You know. But I have people in my dms like, oh
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  man, I can't believe this guy left now now Rodney Gale is going too.
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  It's like, don't assume anybody is coming back. This is this is
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  college basketball now. This is the way it is. And it's kind of
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  it's not this isn't necessarily entirely new, but it's pretty new. It's it's
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  still people are still getting used to it. But until people tell me that
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  they're coming back. I'm not going to assume they are back. I'm not
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  saying they're gone, but this is just the state of the game right now.
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  And then you're saying, well, why should somebody who has played two
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  minutes this year announce that they're returning. I don't know. They shouldn't.
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  They shouldn't have to, like, we'll see them when if they're still here.
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  If there's no news on what may first or may second win the window,
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  the portal window closes, then there's your answer, Fishball. Well,
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  let's let's get our fishes and our bulbs together and try to figure out how
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  many scholarships the Buckeyes have potentially left for between now and next season to try
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  and fill whatever the holes they end up having via the transfer portal. Two
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  guys coming in right now. We just ran through the list of guys who
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  are returning or who are potentially returning, So Tony, hopefully, hopefully you
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  do not run out of fingers on this one. How many scholarships will the
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  Buckeyes potentially have as of right now to try and fill whatever holes they feel
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  anything they need to fill through the transfer portal? Yeah, as of right
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  now, I have them with three spots open, and there's a lot that
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  you can do with that transfer portal. You can completely you can you can
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  change your lineup, or you can fill out your lineup. And I don't
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  think the Ohio State needs to change things. They definitely need to supplement some
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  areas. I think they need some post guys, need a wing guy.
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  Maybe somebody can do a three foard two guys that can do a four or
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  five something like that or two three. I just think you need more in
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  the wings. You need more in the paint for unless you expect Austin Parks
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  to be playing this year and this coming years as a red shirt freshman,
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  I don't know how much they expect that to happen. So again, some
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  of this portal stuff is going to be what they've seen in practice, Like,
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  oh, we we definitely need help at this position because we're still a
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  year away from this guy. Like Colin White played Colin White incoming freshman plays
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  small school basketball. I don't know that you can expect him to be somebody
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  on the wing that contributes this year. Judy Mobley is an outstanding guard,
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  but he's he's a smaller guard. So the wing to me is some more
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  or something that they're gonna have to focus on. And I still wonder how
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  they're gonna marry Evan Mahaffey Mayfi and in the minutes for Devin Royal because they
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  kind of play the same position here and there. So who do you get
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  that can compliment and and maybe work with those guys And who's willing to do
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  that? And knowing that, well, I'm coming in with two fourteen point
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  scorers and Bruce Thorton and Michi Johnson another guy in Devin Royal who could be
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  I want to be a twenty point scorer. I can't do that here like
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  Roddy Gale. Maybe he can go score more somewhere else and maybe that's why
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  he went along with some nil reasons. So you gotta go out there and
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  see who's out there. But I still think you need you need some real,
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  real players if this team is going to reach any kind of meaningful postseason
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  next year, well, we will continue to keep an eye on this basketball
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  program and whether they can to add any meaningful players over this offseason. Jake
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  Deebler's first offseason is the new head coach of Ohio State basketball, heading into
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  a new era in this ball. He certainly gave people a little bit to
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  be optimistic about with how things went after the dismissal of Chris Holtman in mid
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  February. See if Jake Diebler can keep things moving on the right track during
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  this upcoming season. We will also be keeping a close eye on the Ohio
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  State football team as they head into the spring game just a week from Saturday.
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  Plenty of stuff to talk about there as well. We will be back
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  on football on tomorrow's show, Don't You Worry. Plenty to talk about there
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  and plenty to talk about it Buckey Huddle dot Com. That's where Tony,
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  Kevin and I cover the team, Mark covers recruiting. We got our whole
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  team of exus and Ose Guruz making you a smarter football fan, I'll say,
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  really fun and active community on the Huddleboard presented by Jeff Ruby Steakhouse.
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  We hope to see you there. Let'll do it for today. Thank you
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  guys all for joining us. Have a great day. We'll talk to you tomorrow.