As it was reported yesterday, Darrion Williams, one of Jake Diebler's top transfer portal targets, committed to join Will Wade at NC State. With the Ohio State basketball team once being a heavy favorite to land the Texas Tech transfer, this is a tough miss. Now with room still to add to the roster, what direction should Jake Diebler go?
In a report from Tobias Bass of The Athletic, there appears to be some interest from Jake Diebler and the Ohio State basketball team for one of the top European prospects. 20-year-old Serbian Ognjen Stankovic is looking to play College Basketball next season.
Stankovic is a 6-foot-8 combo guard who can do a bit of everything offensively. He's tremendous at moving without the ball, has lots of potential as a shooter, and is a crafty passer. His length can make him a solid defender as well.
This past season, Stankovic played in the ABA League for KK Igokea in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 24 games, he shot with splits of 60% from the field and 47.1% from beyond the arc. Other college programs, along with Ohio State, that are reported to be involved with the Serbian star are Kansas, Missouri, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Saint Mary's, UCF, and many others.
With the constantly changing landscape in college athletics, with NIL continuing to grow and more names in the transfer portal, it's getting harder and harder to fill a roster. Now, we are seeing more and more international players hitting the recruiting trail, and it's great to see Diebler exploring this option.
We've seen a few cases of high-level programs bringing in International talent already this offseason. For example, Brad Underwood at Illinois has loaded up on players from outside of the United States, and just yesterday, Duke added Dame Sarr, an Italian star who played for FC Barcelona.
The Ohio State basketball team's roster is nearly full, but still just a few pieces away. Some more depth and experience at the wing is needed for this roster, and given Stankovic's length and potential on both ends of the floor, he could be a fascinating role player in the Buckeye rotation next season.
The Buckeyes missing out on Williams may sting, but the coaching staff is staying active on the trail and keeping an eye on some of the top talent overseas.