Ohio State basketball: Malaki Branham seems like a lottery lock

The Ohio State basketball team will have two players drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft next week. E.J. Liddell will likely go in the high 20s to a team that is already very good. He will likely be able to contribute right away. The other Buckeye is Malaki Branham.

Branham seems like a lock for the lottery. That thought was reinforced yesterday when Branham received an invite to the Green Room for the Draft. The NBA doesn’t just hand those invites out willy-nilly. They make sure they give those invites to players who are for sure going in the first round.

Most of the Green Room guys end up going in the lottery. Based on what I’ve seen and heard from media in NBA circles, it looks like Branham is right on the edge of the lottery. He could end up getting taken in that 12-14 range at the end of the lottery.

If that were the case, Branham would be the highest-drafted Ohio State basketball player since D’Angelo Russell was taken 2nd overall back in the 2015 Draft. It’s been a while since the Buckeyes produced a player of Branham’s caliber to the next level.

No matter where Branham gets drafted, his skill set should translate to the next level. He is long, has a great jump shot, and can score with the best of them in the midrange. His defense should improve with experience, as should his ball-handling and passing.

The Draft is next Thursday, so we still have some time to wait to see where both of these guys get taken. There haven’t been too many trades either. That can still happen on Draft night, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled to see if there’s anything that happens that affects either of these guys.