One month post-transfer portal opening, the dust has settled and the rapid pace of the news cycled has slowed down to a trickle.
The first three weeks of April were just a constant flow of breaking news, telling people which players were opting to transfer and where those players were going — sometimes on the same day. But the mad scramble to fill out rosters has slowed down, and most teams are either finished building their 2026-27 roster or are just putting the finishing touches on them.
Ohio State
added four players via transfer — Justin Pippen (Cal), Jimmie Williams (Duquesne), Curtis Givens (Memphis), and Andrija Jelavic (Kentucky). Pippen is a likely starter, while the other four are trending towards being reserves — although nothing is set in stone this early.
The Buckeyes were allegedly involved in a few big-time transfer targets, but ultimately were either out-bid or lost interest in those players.
Last week, Connor and Justin discussed how Ohio State would play differently next season with Bruce Thornton having graduated and moved on to the professional ranks.
Connor said that Ohio State may actually play quicker this season than they ever did with Thornton, because he was not the quickest guard and all of Ohio State’s incoming transfer guards, plus John Mobley, are all a bit faster movers than Thornton.
Justin said that there will be fewer isolation or “get the ball to x and let him make a play” sets next season. Thornton was super efficient near the basket and could bury other guards near the basket. Without him, that’s not something that the Buckeyes will be able to rely on nearly as much.
This week, the guys are grading Ohio State’s transfer portal haul. Did Jake Diebler and his staff do enough this spring to elevate the program to a higher level than they were last season? Will they be able to overcome the loss of two of last season’s top three scorers in Thornton and Devin Royal?
This week’s question: How would you grade Ohio State men’s basketball’s transfer portal class?
Connor: C
Overall I am quite underwhelmed with what Ohio State added in the transfer portal this spring to reinforce the returners.
I thought Ohio State really needed a big splash, impact guard or center — one or the other. I figured they probably wouldn’t be able to afford to get an elite guy for each spot, but it would be pretty understandable if they burnt up a lot of their available resources on a guard and then were only able to draw in an average center, or vice versa.
Somehow, they got neither — in my opinion. While Pippen was a solid player at Cal, I have concerns about his shooting efficiency and previous struggles in the Big Ten. Williams and Givens are jumping up a level in competition and only time will tell if they can be as productive in the Big Ten as they were in smaller conferences. The potential of what Jelavic could be someday is still much more tantalizing than what he’s actually provided on the floor so far.
To put it in simple terms — I think Christoph Tilly, who most fans had strong opinions about, may have been a better transfer addition than any of the guys Ohio State brought in this spring.
That begs the question: Why wasn’t Ohio State able to reel in one of the big time transfers? They were rumored to have been talking to Isaiah Johnson, Jalen Haralson, and Rob Wright, amongst many others — how did they not wind up with any of those types of players?
I was under the understanding in March that Ohio State was in a better financial situation this spring than they were one year ago, but I’m not convinced that the portal pickups this year validate that. It’s possible that Ohio State thought they were in a better financial spot this year, but the cost of bringing in big-time players went up, so really they weren’t in a great spot.
I think Pippen, Williams, and Givens will all be solid players for Ohio State — I am a bit murkier on Jelavic. But it’s clear to me that Ohio State’s success this year will be determined by how much John Mobley and Amare Bynum improve, as well as how much of a splash Anthony Thompson makes as a freshman.
Justin: B
I am pretty much in lock step with Connor about this class with the lone difference of I do look at Justin Pippen as a possible game changing and needle moving addition.
He is an elite level defender that averaged 14-5-4 in the ACC last season. He was not as efficient last season as Buckeye fans are used to at the point guard position (shoutout to the captain Bruce Thornton), but with him joining John Mobley, Amare Bynum, and Anthony Thompson, his usage will go down which should help his efficiency numbers.
There were three things the Buckeyes had to do in the offseason in my opinion. Replace Bruce Thornton, replenish the bench with better players and retain John Mobley and Amare Bynum.
On the first one, they replaced Bruce Thornton with Justin Pippen. Pippen is not as good as Thornton but he is still a solid player and replacing Thornton one-for-one was always going to be a tough thing to do.
The second one I think the Buckeyes did a great job of. I love the addition of Jimmie Williams and I think Curtis Givens and Andrija Jelavic have high potential as young players now in a different role. The depth won’t be as large as the will run a nine or ten man rotation at best, but the players in the rotation are solid and, in my opinion, make up a much better second unit than last season.
And third one is simple. Mission accomplished. As long as Mobley returns from the draft (which he will).
