Ohio State Basketball: Musa Jallow and Kyle Young need more minutes
By Willie Lutz
Ohio State is playing great basketball for the first time in a long time, but there’s room to improve rotations.
Fresh off of their fifteenth of the season and fifth-straight victory, Ohio State basketball looks to be in excellent shape. However, there’s plenty of room to improve if this team wants a March run, especially with divvying up minutes.
Victims of great play from the starting line-up, freshmen forwards Musa Jallow and Kyle Young aren’t seeing much action. Jallow averages 18.3 minutes per contest, while Young only averages 9.4 minutes.
Obviously, they shouldn’t be simply gifted minutes; playing time is earned at every level. However, veteran forwards Jae’Sean Tate and Keita Bates-Diop have both dealt with long-lasting injuries as Ohio State Buckeyes. Going forward, it’s crucial to ensure rotational depth.
While it might not matter whether the two see minutes for this season, it will at least factor into 2018-2019. Tate is a senior and Bates-Diop’s performance warrants a selection in the NBA Draft.
Going forward, it’s a matter of getting the pair effective minutes
In the case of Musa Jallow, it would be worth giving the freshman some shots in the first half. In 19 games as a Buckeye, he’s shooting just 38.1-percent from the floor and 23.5-percent from three. Jallow was an effective scorer in high school, so boosting his 3.1 PPG will at the very least grant him some confidence.
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Meanwhile Kyle Young is shooting well, he just needs to get better on defense. Young sports a 6-foot-6, 205 LBS frame, but his size leads to a lack of quick feet. It might be to the benefit of Young and the team for Chris Holtmann to give the freshman chances in the early portion of the second half.
More than anything it’s important to give the two work with the starters. Young has a low 10.3 efficiency rating, a number that must rise. For comparison, Jae’Sean Tate currently owns an 18.4 efficiency rating.
After all, Jallow was the No. 147 prospect in the class, Young the No. 79 prospect. At some point, the pair of freshman forwards need to join fellow year-one teammate Kaleb Wesson, who’s already made big strides.
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The starting lineup can only do so much to carry a college club. They can end up on the court together most of the time, but these freshmen are here to fill spots in the near future. It’s to everyone’s benefit for these guys to play.