28. BYU Cougars
29. Maryland Terps
31. UCLA Bruins
32. Oregon Ducks
34. Florida Gators
35. Ole Miss
36. USC Trojans
39. Mississippi State Bulldogs
41. Memphis Tigers
42. McNeese Cowboys
45. VCU Rams
46. Dayton Flyers
47. St Mary’s Gaels
49. UCF Knights
52. Clemson Tigers
53. New Mexico Lobos
58. SMU Mustangs
60. Nevada Wolfpack
61. TCU Horned Frogs
63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
65. Syracuse Orange
68. Iowa Hawkeyes
70. Butler Bulldogs
71. Princeton Tigers
74. Oklahoma Sooners
75. West Virginia Mountaineers
76. Georgia Bulldogs
77. UAB Blazers
80. Missouri Tigers
We are nearly into the top 25 in our 82 in 72 countdown here at The Center Hub! If you missed it, Steven brought us a preview on #27 Xavier yesterday, but today we are going to take a two hour trip north and look at the Buckeyes of Ohio State in what will be Jake Diebler’s first full season as a division one college basketball coach!
| Steven | Maxwell | Kam | Cody |
| 32 | 7 | 48 | 27 |
If you have heard me on The One & Done podcast talk about Ohio State with Steven and John, you know I am quite high on the Buckeyes heading into 2024-2025. I currently project the Buckeyes to finish second in the Big Ten and to be around the 2-3 seed line heading into the tournament.
When Jake Diebler took over last season for the Buckeyes post-Chris Holtmann, there were visible changes on the hardwood, we saw a team more energized, playing at a faster tempo, and playing more freely and physically. At 2024 Big Ten media day, Coach Diebler emphasized his desire for the 2024-2025 Buckeyes to be a fast-free flowing team similar to an NBA structure on offense. This should be music for Ohio State fans across the country as this roster is more than capable of executing that vision for Coach Diebler, and it begins with the experience in the backcourt.
Ohio State’s floor general and best returning player, Bruce Thornton, will be tasked with leading the backcourt. Thornton was an All-Big Ten third team selection last season and led the buckeyes in points per game (15.7), assists per game (4.8) and steals per game (1.2). Thornton was also second in the country last season in assist to turnover ratio (4.0)… Thornton is one of my preseason first team All Big Ten selections, and he will be joined by another player who I think has a chance to contend for All Big Ten honors, Meechie Johnson. Johnson makes his return to Ohio State where he spent his first two years of college, after spending the previous two playing for Lamont Paris at South Carolina. Johnson blossomed after leaving Ohio State, and has become one of the better guards in college basketball. For Meechie, a return to Ohio State sets the table for the gifted guard to solidify himself as one of the top guards throughout the country and to wrap a bow on what has been quite the interesting journey at OSU! Meechie Johnson and Bruce Thornton form a dynamic 1-2 punch in the backcourt, and one of the most dangerous scoring backcourts in the country…
Coming from San Diego State, Micah Parrish will be joining Johnson and Thornton in the starting lineup this season. Parrish is an ideal fit alongside the aforementioned guards, Parrish is one of the better rebounding guards in the country with five career double doubles to his name and is sound defensively, both on and off ball. Parrish not only slides in as an ideal fit in the starting lineup, but with a roster where youth is prevalent, his experience and leadership will most certainly be counted on.
Ohio State’s frontcourt will feature two McDonald’s All American sophomore transfers who will start in the ideal world, Kentucky transfer Aaron Bradshaw and Duke transfer Sean Stewart. Bradshaw was once the top recruit in the 2023 class, and was originally expected to be a top five draft pick in the 2024 NBA draft coming out of high school. After being hampered with injuries early and then struggling to find an on-court identity(amongst other on-court issues), Bradshaw is now in a situation where he will be given the keys to be the starting big man for the Buckeyes. If Bradshaw can return to the form hoop-heads like myself observed in high school and in flashes last season, he could elevate himself back into NBA conversations as well as conference award talks(from the way Diebler spoke about Bradshaw at Big Ten media day, the early returns seem very positive).
Unlike Bradshaw, Sean Stewart was hindered by the experienced roster that was in front of him last season. Stewart appeared in 33 games last season for the Blue Devils and brings athleticism and physical ability that Ohio State has needed in their frontcourt(Stewart broke Zion Williamson’s standing vertical record at Duke). The Sean Stewart-Aaron Bradshaw frontcourt pairing could be devastating to college basketball, both players had less than desirable freshman seasons and will now be empowered at Ohio State…I expect big second-year leaps from both players…
Ohio State also brings a good bench into 2024-2025, Evan Mahaffey returns for the Buckeyes as does Devin Royal. Mahaffey and Royal will both be counted on as key contributors off the bench, as will Ques Glover, who has experience at Samford, Florida and Kansas State. Glover will be the fourth guard this season for Ohio State and true freshmen Juni Mobley, who was one of the best players in the EYBL last year, should also see minutes off the bench at the guard spot. Mobley is a gifted scorer and can shoot the piss out of the rock…I expect him to make an instant impact for Ohio State as a true freshman. The biggest question mark for the Buckeyes bench this season is their frontcourt depth, Ivan Njegovan, a freshman from Croatia and returner Kalen Etzler will look to answer that question mark for OSU in 2024-2025.
According to coach Diebler from Big Ten media day, the Ohio State backcourt is meshing together nicely, and I am secure in the production that they will provide in the Big Ten. If Aaron Bradshaw and Sean Stewart can take the leaps that I expect, we could be looking at a top ten team in the country…Brace yourselves for the full Jake Diebler experience, I am a believer and subscriber to coach Diebler and I have a feeling this Buckeyes team could be in for something special in 2024-2025…
The Center Hub 
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