The first offseason for Jake Diebler as the head coach of the Ohio State basketball program was not a good one. He went into the transfer portal, hoping to find guys who could impact the roster right away. He brought five guys in from the portal.
Unfortunately, only one of them did anything for the Buckeyes. Only Micah Parrish was a net positive. The other four players were either a net negative or just neutral. One of the biggest mistakes they made was to bring in Aaron Bradshaw as a transfer from Kentucky.
Bradshaw came to the Buckeyes as a former five-star recruit. Once he committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes, Felix Okpara left. While Okpara went to be the starting center for a Tennessee team that made the Elite Eight, Bradshaw was wildly disappointing for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State basketball player Aaron Bradshaw enters the transfer portal again
Bradshaw has already decided to enter the transfer portal after just one year with the Buckeyes. That means that he will play for three different schools in three years. He was expected to be the starting center for them but ended up coming off the bench once he came back from his absence after he was investigated for a domestic incident.
Despite being seven feet tall, Bradshaw averaged just 2.7 rebounds per game for Ohio State. He also only scored six points per game, which wasn't good either. Now, he leaves Columbus. It would be shocking if he transferred to a different Power 4 school because he's just not good enough.
Having Bradshaw leave is a good thing for the Buckeyes. All he did was suck up NIL that can be used on a player who can actually contribute. This does mean that the Buckeyes have an issue at the center spot because now two centers have entered the transfer portal.
This is a critical offseason for Diebler. He needs to make sure that the team makes the NCAA Tournament next season. If he can't do that, fans will be calling for an outside hire. Missing the Tournament for four straight seasons is not acceptable.