The Ohio State basketball team has already lost several players to the Transfer Portal since it opened. They have now lost six players from this past year's roster, and five of them have entered the portal. They could potentially lose John Mobley Jr. if he gets drafted, as well.
So far, Jake Diebler has only added two players from the portal to replace those players. He is still busy working his recruiting magic, but he still has a lot of work to do. Devin Royal was one of Ohio State's best players this past season and was slated to be a senior leader next year.
Instead, he is in the portal. He was initially expected to transfer to UConn, which just played for a national championship. Instead, Royal has announced his commitment to a different Big East school, as he will be headed to Villanova to play for the Wildcats.
Former Ohio State forward Devin Royal commits to Villanova
According to On3, Royal is headed to Villanova for his final season of college basketball. Royal really didn't improve much this past season for the Ohio State Buckeyes. His scoring numbers were the same as they were a year ago, but his scoring efficiency and rebounds were worse.
Royal still isn't a reliable shooter from outside, as he shot it just over 31 percent this year with the Buckeyes. With the Wildcats, he will be stepping into a different role. Villanova also los in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past season, so Royal won't be moving to a significantly better team.
Ohio State has already moved on. Five-star freshman Anthony Thompson will be the most talented player on the roster next year. Amare Bynum announced his return. Forward is the one spot that they don't need much depth at, although they just added Justin Pippen at that spot.
Adding more guards and a starting-caliber center should be Diebler's top priorities for the next couple of weeks. Fans are desperate to have a more consistent team that can actually win in the NCAA Tournament instead of just making the Tournament while on the bubble.
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