Could Jake Diebler bring back a former Ohio State basketball player?
By Jacob Rhymer
The Ohio State basketball team has been playing some of their best basketball as of late and has a chance to make the Final Four of the NIT tonight when they host Georgia. But, that doesn't mean the recruiting stops for Jake Diebler. The transfer portal in college basketball opened last week, and a former Ohio State basketball player has jumped into the transfer portal.
According to Joe Tipton of On3, former Buckeye, and now former South Carolina Gamecock, Meechie Johnson announced yesterday that he is entering his name into the transfer portal. Johnson was South Carolina's leading scorer this season and averaged 14.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and nearly 40% shooting from the field.
After spending his first two seasons in college at Ohio State, Johnson spent the last two seasons in South Carolina. He led the Gamecocks to an NCAA Tournament birth this season as a 6-seed and unfortunately got upset by 11-seed Oregon in the first round.
Even though his effort on the defensive end might not be the greatest, the possibility of Meechie Johnson returning to Ohio State might not be a bad idea. Johnson is an experienced, and proven scorer that could give the Buckeyes energy on the offensive end.
Now I want to make myself clear, at this moment a scorer who needs the ball in his hands a lot isn't a desperate need for the Ohio State basketball team. No one has hit the transfer portal yet, and all signs point to the backcourt of Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr. returning next season.
In the first official offseason for head coach Jake Diebler, he must hit the transfer portal hard. In the age of the transfer portal, it's important to land a few experienced transfers to structure the roster for next season. For how excellent Diebler has done recruiting for the Ohio State basketball team as an assistant coach, there is no doubt that he will knock it out of the park this offseason as the head coach.
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