Ohio State basketball: What new backcourt could look like

The Ohio State basketball team is going to have an entirely new backcourt next season. Even though Malaki Branham hasn’t officially made a decision on whether or not he’s going to stay in the NBA Draft, he’s gone. There’s no way he decides to come back.

With him gone, the Buckeyes need a go-to scorer in the backcourt. If you look at the new options, it actually doesn’t look too bad. Three guards will be vying for starting minutes right out of the gate. Two of them are transfers and one of them is a freshman.

The two transfers are of course Tanner Holden and Sean McNeil. Holden seems to be in line to start at point guard after having started every game in his career at Wright State. He also has the physical tools that the Buckeyes are looking for at that position.

McNeil started every game the last two seasons for West Virginia. He has more of a skill set that can translate off the bench though. McNeil is a shooter who can spread the floor. Even if McNeil doesn’t start, he is going to see a heavy amount of minutes next season.

The wildcard is freshman Bruce Thornton. He is the best recruit in a top-five recruiting class coming in. Thornton is a stocky guard who can help bruise other Big Ten guards. He is also highly skilled with the ball and can make plays for others. His ceiling is the highest of these three guys.

No matter who starts and who comes off the bench, this backcourt has a higher ceiling offensively than it did last season. Branham was fantastic, but he was only one guy. The other guards didn’t do a whole lot on that end of the floor. All three of these guys are more than capable on that end.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Chris Holtmann puts it all together.