An offseason full of roster transition for Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes

What a strange season it was and what a weird offseason it’s been for head coach Chris Holtmann and the Ohio State Buckeyes. After starting the season 11-1, the scarlet and gray proceeded to lose six of their next seven games and answered that by winning nine of their final 12 regular-season games, getting hot and playing their best at just the right time heading into March. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic began, forcing college basketball, along with all of the other sports, to come to a halt. The Big Ten Tournament was canceled. The NCAA Tournament was no more this year. Playing so well, the Buckeyes had so much hope for March. In fact, the Washington Post even ran there own simulation of the NCAA Tournament, one in which they picked Ohio State to win it all.

Then the offseason began and, somehow, it became a bit stranger for Holtmann’s Buckeyes. With just one senior on the 2019-20 roster, Ohio State wasn’t expected to have that much roster transition heading into next season. But, given the current landscape of college athletics, that quickly changed. In less than a month, the Buckeyes lost five players (one due to graduation, three to the transfer portal, and one to the NBA Draft) and added three transfers.

• PG DJ Carton enters transfer portal (March 19)
• Harvard F Seth Towns transfers to Ohio State (March 21)
• F Alonzo Gaffney enters transfer portal (March 22)
• F/C Kaleb Wesson declares for the NBA Draft (April 1)
• G Luther Muhammad enters the transfer portal (April 5)
• Bucknell G Jimmy Sotos transfer to Ohio State (April 6)
• Utah State graduate transfer G Abel Porter transfers to Ohio State (April 11)

Considering each Division I college basketball program only has a 13-player scholarship limit, that it is quite a change. Given that they are considered a top-15 team heading into the 2020-21 season by quite a few college basketball analysts, the roster transition throughout is even more surprising.

Carton was the starting point guard before leaving the team on January 30 to improve his mental health. Gaffney, the second freshmen to leave the program, was away from the team for the final month of the season before deciding to leave Ohio State. Wesson, who tested the NBA Draft waters in 2019, was expected to enter his name in this year’s draft. Muhammad was arguably the most surprising transfer. Expected to be the starting two-guard next season, the junior wanted more freedom (and shots) offensively, something that he likely would not have gotten in Columbus.

So, with those four departures, Holtmann and his staff were tasked with bringing in players, thinking about both the present and the future. The first (and most important) was bringing Towns back to Columbus, a huge addition to the Buckeyes. He will either start or, at the very least, play a very key role in the frontcourt. Then came Sotos. Given that he has yet to graduate, the guard will have to sit out the 2020-21 season but will compete for the starting point guard spot once he is able to return in 2021. Lastly, while Porter isn’t a flashy name or player, he provides immediate depth to a backcourt that badly needed it. The former Utah State starting point guard will be the only guard on the bench, backing up CJ Walker and Duane Washington Jr.

The Buckeyes still have plenty of talent and even more experience than they have had in recent years, but Ohio State will look a bit different next season, especially compared to last season. It’s now on Holtmann and his staff to prove that they can still have plenty of success even given the roster transition. They have done so their first three years in Columbus, can they do it again in Year 4? We will have to wait and see.