The Ohio State basketball program finally made the NCAA Tournament after four long years. They did that, no thanks to the bench, however. No one on the bench gave the Buckeyes much production except for Taison Chatman. Everyone else was fairly disposable.
Because of that, bench players have started entering the Transfer Portal. Collin White, a former Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio, entered the portal a couple of days ago. He played sparingly as a freshman and was out of the rotation by the time the Big Ten Tournament rolled around.
Now, another member of the bench has decided to enter the portal. Gabe Cupps, who was also a former Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio, decided to transfer to Ohio State from Indiana this past season. Now, he is entering the portal for the second time, deciding to leave the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State basketball team loses Gabe Cupps to the Transfer Portal
Cupps was paid a pretty penny for his one year in Columbus. Yet, the production didn't match the cost. This season, he had just 55 total points. In contrast to that, he also had 49 fouls. With how much money he was making, the Buckeyes needed more from him as a bench guy.
With Cupps heading to the portal, the Buckeyes need to find more guards who can come off the bench and help. That's especially true if Juni Mobley ends up getting drafted. While that seems unlikely, they need to have a plan just in case the worst-case scenario happens.
Cupps is clearly more suited to play at a lower level of basketball. He wasn't able to make an impact at either of the Big Ten schools he played at. A MAC school might be better for him. That would give him an opportunity to play lower-level competition in conference play and possibly make a bigger impact on the floor.