The Ohio State men’s basketball team has returned from their “international” trip to Puerto Rico, having beaten two professional teams on the island by a combined 78 points.
The level of competition was perhaps not what they’ll see in the Big Ten this season, but it was time well spent to get the team on the floor to face someone other than themselves as they prepare for another meat grinder season in the Big Ten.
The team is back, and the players will now have the last three weeks of the summer to
themselves before reporting back to campus by Aug. 23 to get ready for fall classes at Ohio State.
The staff, meanwhile, will continue to prepare for the season with limited recruiting opportunities — men’s basketball is in a recruiting “dead period” from now through Aug.19.
Last week, Connor and Justin discussed where they think Ohio State will finish in the Big Ten this season. They were pretty much on the same page, with Connor picking the Buckeyes to finish 7th, while Justin has them pegged to finish in 6th.
Justin mentioned Ohio State’s bench as being a big variable this season after it was pretty nonexistent last year. Connor said that Anthony Thompson’s adjustment to the college level and Justin Pippen being much more efficient shooting the ball are two things that could determine where Ohio State falls in the Big Ten pecking order this year.
This week, the guys are each picking one player that seemed to stick out during the team’s trip to Puerto Rico. We weren’t able to watch, but we’ve seen plenty of highlights, along with the Columbus Dispatch’s in-person coverage of the trip and the box scores, which the team shared after each game.
It was our first chance to see how specific players did competing against live competition, and also helps us make our first guesses of what the depth chart/ minutes distribution might be this year.
This week’s question: Which players had the most noteworthy performances for Ohio State in Puerto Rico?
Connor: Anthony Thompson
Based on Adam Jardy’s reporting from San Juan and some of the clips Ohio State tweeted out this week, Anthony Thompson completely balled out in the Buckeyes’ two games.
Acknowledging that it was against inferior competition, Thompson looked like the type of player that could elevate Ohio State from a middle of the Big Ten type of team to a legitimate Big Ten contender.
In two games, Thompson averaged 13.5 points on 61% shooting overall and was 4-for-10 from three-point range. He also grabbed 13 rebounds in the two games combined, and had two steals in Ohio State’s second win of the week.
Thompson only drew one foul in Puerto Rico and was 1-for-2 at the free throw line, which means Thompson probably wasn’t getting to the basket a ton and instead was relying on his jumper. That worked well against lower level competition, but when the season actually starts, he will need to be able to use his 6-foot-9, 215-pound frame to draw fouls and wear down defenses.
Jardy reported that, after watching these two games, Thompson will need to “continue to develop from a physical standpoint.”
I think it’s super encouraging that Thompson was so efficient playing against grown men and (reportedly) did not look sped up at all playing with college teammates against professional players. More than any other player, I think Thompson’s performance this season could completely change the trajectory of Ohio State’s season.
If he is an All-Big Ten type of player, this will be Jake Diebler’s best Ohio State team by far.
Justin: Justin Pippen
I have been heavy on the Justin Pippen train since he transferred to Ohio State from California, and I am going to buy even more stock.
In the first game, Pippen wasn’t perfect. He finished with 12 points on 3-for-9 shooting, four rebounds, four assists, and one turnover. Not bad, but he struggled a bit from the field. In the second game, the junior point guard finished with 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting, two rebounds, five assists, and no turnovers in 18 minutes.
So, for the folks counting at home, Pippen averaged 13 points per game, 3.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 0.5 turnovers in two games in Puerto Rico. If those are his averages this year, he will be an All-Big Ten selection.
The thing that might surprise people who have not seen Pippen play much in college yet is that he is one of the best on-ball defenders in the conference, and one of the best defensive guards the Buckeyes have had since Luther Muhammed, and he might even be better.
So, while the offensive output is there as well, he will always be valuable with what he brings on the defensive end of the ball. I am all in on Justin Pippen, and these two games only solidified that.
