How good can Ohio State basketball be in 2021-22?

The Ohio State basketball team can end up being really good if they can get all of their pieces back for next season, including Duane Washington and E.J. Liddell. But what would their ceiling be?

The Ohio State basketball team was really good in 2020-21 for most of the regular season. There’s a reason that they got a number two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Even though they didn’t finish the season the way they wanted, they still showed that they had talent.

How will they be next season though? Chris Holtmann has the number one recruiting class coming in next season. They get three guys coming in next season that should all be able to help one way or another. That alone should make them pretty good.

They would be even better if they could somehow get both E.J. Liddell and Duane Washington back. Both of them have their names in the NBA Draft. Neither one of them are blue-chip prospects that are sure-fire pros. They might get taken in the second round.

The Ohio State basketball team could be truly great if both come back.

If that is the case, both could look to come back to help their draft stock for next season. The problem is, the Buckeyes only have one scholarship left for this next season. I’m sure they can figure that out by making someone a walk-on for a semester or something.

As far as how good this team can be, it all depends on those two. Kyle Young is already back for a final year. If they get both of them back, they could be a true national title contender. If one comes back, they have an outside shot to make a run at a title.

If neither of them comes back though, they probably top out at an Elite Eight team. They just don’t have any proven scorers who have shown they can hold the scoring load. Unless they drastically improve on defense, they won’t have the horses to beat the truly elite teams.

It’s all a waiting game right now to see what Washington and Liddell do.