Tag: ohio state basketball

Alabama Basketball reaches out to Ohio State transfer guard Roddy Gayle Jr.

The Alabama men’s basketball coaching staff recently reached out to Ohio State transfer guard Roddy Gayle Jr.

It did not take long for the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball coaching staff to hit the recruiting trail. Recently, the Crimson Tide reached out to Ohio State Buckeyes transfer guard Roddy Gayle Jr.

Gayle Jr. spent the past two seasons with the Buckeyes. The New York native played sparingly during his freshman season. He played in 36 games while making 11 starts. He averaged 4.6 points per game and 1.6 rebounds per game.

As a sophomore, Gayle Jr. started in 35 of the 36 games that he played in. He averaged 13.5 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and 3.1 assists per game. Gayle Jr. shot 44.9% from the floor and 28.4% from beyond the arc.

It is unclear what Gayle Jr.’s plans are in terms of taking official visits. If Alabama can get Gayle Jr. on campus, it will increase their chances of landing the Big Ten transfer.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama men’s basketball program and its involvement in the NCAA transfer portal.

Zed Key enters transfer portal after four years with Ohio State

Zed Key looks to raise the roof elsewhere next season. #GoBucks

After spending the last four years in Columbus, Zed Key announced he will enter the transfer portal and spend his remaining year of eligibility raising the roof elsewhere. Key confirmed his decision with a heartfelt post on social media thanking Ohio State fans everywhere.

Key became a fan favorite coming off the bench as a freshman and earning a starting spot the following two years. Injuries plagued the OSU center in the latter half of his junior season which opened the door for Felix Okpara. Key saw his minutes decrease in his senior season averaging just over 15 minutes per game while adding 6.6 points per contest along with 4.1 rebounds.

He gave Buckeye fans some memorable moments over his four years, but maybe none more than his 20-point performance early in his sophomore season in a win over No. 1 Duke at the Shott. Ohio State beat the Blue Devils by a score of 71-66 behind Key’s performance.

With his departure, new head coach Jake Diebler will be left with just two centers on the roster in Okpara and Austin Parks. Key becomes the fourth member of the basketball team to enter the transfer portal joining Roddy Gayle Jr, Scotty Middleton, and Bowen Hardman.

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Bronny James to enter transfer portal and NBA draft

Official word from Bronny himself. #GoBucks

There’s been speculation over the last few days, and on Friday we heard from the son of King James himself confirming that the son of the world famous basketball star will enter the transfer portal and the NBA draft.

Bronny James, shared a post on his Instagram account confirming the move.“I’ve had a year with some ups and downs but all added to growth for me as a man, student and athlete,” Bronny wrote in the post. “Thank you to USC for an amazing Freshman year, and as always thankful for my family, friends, doctors, athletic trainers and fans for their support.”

James came to USC with a ton of hype because of a combination of his rise up the recruiting rankings and the fact that he’s the son of one of the best basketball players to ever play the game. He’s had to navigate heart health issues and now a change in head coach with the Trojans’ program, and the move was an expected one.

He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists, and shot 36.6% from the field and 26.7% on 3-pointers in 25 games this season in Los Angeles. We’ll now be on watch to see if James stays in the NBA draft to join his dad in the league, or remains in college and heads to another destination.

https://www.instagram.com/bronny/p/C5YlKKJR6FB/

Of course, with it being the son of LeBron, his name will be linked with Ohio State until a decision is made.

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Another Ohio State basketball major contributor will return for next season

More good news for the Buckeye hoops team

Ohio State basketball has been getting a lot of good news with its roster over the past few days.

Two starters have confirmed their intentions of returning, Bruce Thornton and Felix Okpara, but two have also left for the portal in Bowen Hardman and Scotty Middleton.

However, Meechie Johnson has committed after a short stay in the portal, so it’s been more positive news. You can add another to that list as forward [autotag]Devin Royal[/autotag] has announced that he will also return for another season.

It’s speaks volumes to what new head coach Jake Diebler is doing, as many more players could have left following the coaching change. For the most part, aside from Middleton, they have elected to stay.

Royal saw a spike in playing time when Diebler took over, which led to some  flashes of what he could be. On the year, he averaged 4.7 points, and 2.4 rebounds, both numbers that you can expect to rise next season.

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Ohio State basketball loses starting guard to the transfer portal

A big loss for the Buckeyes

Ohio State basketball suffered its first major loss to the transfer portal as guard [autotag]Roddy Gayle Jr.[/autotag] will move on from Columbus.

It’s a bit surprising that the soon-to-be junior is leaving considering he played a good amount over his first two seasons for the Buckeyes. Gayle’s numbers were up across the board, scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and shooting percentage.

The Buckeyes now have at least two confirmed starters from this past season returning with point guard Bruce Thornton and center Felix Okpara. Top backup forward Devin Royal also announced his return while guard Meechie Johnson is returning after a brief 2-year hiatus at South Carolina.

It’s unfortunate that Gayle has decided to move on and we wish him the best at his next basketball home.

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Bronny James plans to enter transfer portal. Could Ohio State be in play?

Second time a charm? #GoBucks

Bronny James, son of LeBron James, has entered the transfer portal. Ohio State was in play the first time around Bronny’s recruitment, but ultimately he chose to stay close to home and attend USC. But after some health concerns prior to the season and a subpar year on the court, it appears James will look to take his talents elsewhere.

Where that might be is anyone’s guess, but the possibility of him landing in Scarlet and Gray has to at least be explored. Everyone knows LeBron’s fandom is second to none when it comes to OSU athletics as he’s constantly gifting the Buckeye football and basketball teams shoes and LBJ Nike gear. Heck, he even has a locker in the locker room at the Schott even though he never actually played for Ohio State.

Another factor could be the return of Meechie Johnson. Johnson started his career in Columbus but transferred to South Carolina after two seasons where he led the Gamecocks in scoring this year. Here’s where it gets interesting. LeBron and Meechie’s father have a close friendship and LeBron calls Meechie his “nephew” even though there is no blood relation. It’s possible that Bronny would want to team up with Meechie at OSU.

Of course, there are many options for a player of Bronny’s pedigree. Deciding to go through the draft process might be an option. LeBron has said more than once that he’d love to play with his son in the NBA and LeBron isn’t getting any younger.

Maybe Duquesne is a landing spot after Dru Joyce III was recently named head coach. James and Joyce played together in high school at Akron St. Vincent St. Mary.

There will be much speculation as to the landing spot for Bronny until a decision is reached and made public. Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see.

 

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More good news for Ohio State basketball as another starter will return

Massive news for the Buckeyes hoops team. #GoBucks

When you undergo a coaching change there is bound to be some departures, and that has been the case with Ohio State basketball.

Although two players have left already and entered the portal, Bowen Hardman and Scotty Middleton, one on Monday night elected to say in center Felix Okpara.

Another joined Okpara Tuesday when starting point guard, [autotag]Bruce Thornton[/autotag], went to social media on Tuesday and announced that he will return for his junior season in Columbus. The rising-junior set new career-highs in points with 15.7, assists with 4.8, rebounds with 3.7, all while doing a great job of limiting his turnovers. He is now expected to make another leap during the next season.

That now makes two starters that are confirmed to return for Ohio State, and the biggest one now is [autotag]Roddy Gayle Jr.[/autotag], as we await his announcement.

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Ohio State basketball sees transfer guard Meechie Johnson return

Johnson returns home to the Buckeyes. #GoBucks

Just a few years ago, guard [autotag]Meechie Johnson[/autotag] was viewed as a building block for Ohio State basketball.

Although he played sparingly during his freshman season, he started to break through during his sophomore year, setting up a big junior campaign. Unfortunately, that never happened as Johnson transferred to South Carolina where his career really took off.

Johnson saw statistical increases in virtually every category while with the Gamecocks, but after their season ended, he entered the transfer portal. Almost immediately he was linked to return where his collegiate career started, and on Tuesday it became a reality as he committed to Ohio State.

Again.

Part of his reasoning for returning was that he has always been a Buckeye, along with the way the program is trending now that Jake Diebler has taken over. We are extremely excited to see Johnson back in the Scarlet and Gray.

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Felix Okpara puts to bed any ideas of him leaving Ohio State basketball

Great news for the Buckeyes on the hardwood. #GoBucks

There were rumors floating around social media that Ohio State basketball’s starting center, [autotag]Felix Okpara[/autotag], would be entering the transfer portal.

Well, on Monday night, the rising-junior let everyone know that he will be returning for another season with the Buckeyes. The Nigerian native has improved during each of his two season in Columbus, as he wrestled away the starting job from Zed Key.

Okpara has shot at a high-level, both seasons right at 58%, while upping his rebounds and blocks from one year to the next. His game is similar to former Buckeye Ken Johnson, who was the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2000-2001.

This is a big win for head coach Jake Diebler, as he had seen Bowen Hardman and Scotty Middleton already announce their intentions to enter the transfer portal.

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Ohio State basketball loses freshman contributor to the transfer portal

A significant loss for the Buckeyes. #GoBucks

If you had been paying attention to Ohio State basketball over its last few games, you would have known that freshman wing [autotag]Scotty Middleton[/autotag] had been away from the team during the NIT run.

Although the exact reason why the Florida native returned home wasn’t announced, and the fact that he returned for the final game seemed like everything was fine. It turns out, it wasn’t.

Middleton entered the transfer portal on Monday, after his first year which saw him score 4.4 points-per-game. He started to play with much more confidence and results once Jake Diebler took over, but a second season isn’t in the cards for the two.

An interesting aspect of Middleton’s announcement was that he intended on testing the NBA draft process, something that probably isn’t a realistic possibility at the moment.

We wish Middleton the best as he looks for his next basketball home. He is the second Buckeye to enter the portal following Bowen Hardman’s decision last week.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.