Could Ohio State basketball see a rash of transfers?

The Ohio State basketball season continues to go south in an extremely ugly way. After getting blown out against Purdue on Sunday, they now sit at 11-16 overall and a putrid 3-13 in conference play. They are playing like the worst team in the Big Ten right now.

There will be no postseason play for the Buckeyes, barring a miracle. Unless that miracle happens, they won’t be playing basketball in March Madness. Because the season has been so bad, could the Ohio State basketball program see a rash of transfers out of the program?

I think it’s a very good possibility. Ohio State does have four commits coming in next season as freshmen. Based on how poorly some of the freshmen have played this season, they could lose playing time to the incoming recruits in 2023. That could prompt some of them to leave.

Ohio State could also see some vets leave. I could see Eugene Brown looking elsewhere to play for his final collegiate season. He’s someone that doesn’t get a lot of playing time right now. With how badly Chris Holtmann has managed this year’s team, Brown could think he’s got a better chance to win and play more somewhere else.

I obviously hope this isn’t the case. I’d like to see all of the guys stay in Columbus and continue to develop their games. But I’m not naive. This is the way of college basketball these days. Kids get into the transfer portal and go all over the place. Some kids transfer multiple times in their careers.

I’m not really sure what Holtmann can do to convince the kids he has that next year will be better under his watch. This season certainly isn’t evidence of that. He is a great recruiter though, so hopefully he can recruit the kids he has to stay in Columbus.