Key Departures: Kaleb Wesson, Andre Wesson, D.J. Carton, Luther Muhammad, Alonzo Gaffney

Projected Starting Lineup:

PG: C.J. Walker (RS Sr.)

SG: Duane Washington Jr. (Jr.)

SF: Seth Towns (GS.)

PF: Kyle Young (Sr.)

PF: E.J. Liddell (So.)

Key Reserve Players:

SF: Justice Sueing (RS Jr.), PG: Abel Porter (GS.), SF: Justin Ahrens (Jr.), SG/SF: Musa Jallow (RS Jr.), SG/SF: Eugene Brown III (Fr.), PF: Zed Key (Fr.), C: Ibrahima Diallo (So.)

Discussion:

Chris Holtmann enters his fourth season in Columbus and will look to have his fourth consecutive 20 win season. With four Big Ten teams in my top ten, I have Ohio State next in line at number 22.

C.J. Walker returns as the starting point guard for the Buckeyes. Walker led Ohio State in assists last season with 3.5 per game and led the team in steals with 1.3 per game. The former Seminole has plenty of experience under his belt, playing for two big time programs, and will be a good leader for Chris Holtmann at the point. Abel Porter, the former Utah State Aggie, will be a nice backup to have behind Walker. Porter started all 34 games last season for Craig Smith, averaging 5.6 points and 3.2 assists per contest.

Duane Washington returns as the 3-point specialist for Ohio State. He made the most 3-pointers on the team last season and when he is on, he can really get hot from deep. Washington was also the second leading scorer on the team behind Kaleb Wesson, averaging 11.5 points per game. The two guys that will be asked to take on a big chunk of the offensive load are Seth Towns and Justice Sueing. The big question with Towns is his health, something that has plagued him throughout his collegiate career at Harvard. He has not played since 2017-2018. Towns averaged 16.0 points and 5.7 boards per game, while shooting 44.1 percent from long range. He also won Ivy League Players of the Year. Towns is ranked eighth by Jeff Borzello for the best sit-out transfers immediatley eligible for this season. Sueing sat out last season after transferring over from Cal. He started 61 games in two seasons in Berkeley and was the top scorer and rebounder for the Golden Bears in 2018-2019. Sueing was ranked 14th by Jeff Borzello for the best sit-out transfers eligible for 2020-2021. These two new faces on the court will be big for Chris Holtmann. The other wings in the rotation will be Musa Jallow, Justin Ahrens, and freshman Eugene Brown. Jallow, who was forced to redshirt last season following season-ending ankle surgery, started 13 games back in 2018-2019. Ahrens shot 40.4 percent from 3-point range last season. And I think Brown can develop into a really good piece in this program.

Kyle Young and E.J. Liddell will man the frontcourt. Although undersized, these two guys can play strong and physical, and should be the leaders in rebounding. Young is a good glue guy to have and Liddell could be a breakout guy this season. Freshman Zed Key and sophomore Ibrahima Diallo will provide depth behind Young and Liddell.

Hopefully Seth Towns will be healthy, as Ohio State’s success could very well depend on him being on the court. If he is, the Buckeyes will be tough to beat in the Big Ten.

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