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Honestly, this is so hard to follow.  To other tOSU fans, do I have this right:

Used up eligibility:

• Jamison Battle
• Dale Bonner
• Owen Spencer (walk on)

Transferred:

• Felix Okpara - Tennessee 
• Roddy Gayle Jr - Michigan
• Scotty Middleton - Seton Hall
• Zed Key - Dayton
• Bowen Hardman - Akron

Returning:

• Bruce Thornton, 6-2 G will be a JR, 4* in 2022 class
• Devin Royal, 6-6 F will be a SO, 4* in 2023 class
• Evan Mahaffey, 6-6 G will be a JR, transfer from PSU
• Colby Baumann, 6-3 G will be a Jr, walk on from Houston via IMG
• Taison Chatman, 6-4 G will be a SO, 4* in 2023 class
• Austin Parks, 6-10 C will be a SO, 3* in 2023 class
• Kalen Etzler, 6-8 F will be a JR, 3* in 2021 class

Incoming:

• Meechie Johnson, 6-1 G will be a SR, 4* in 2020 class, transferred to USCe, returning
• Sean Stewart, 6-8 PF will be a SO, 5* to Dook in 2023, transfer
• Aaron Bradshaw, 7-1 C will be a SO, 5* to Kentucky in 2023, transfer
• Micah Parrish, 6-6 SF will be a SR, 1* to SDSU but 3* as a transfer
• Juni Mobley, 6-2 PF will be a FR, 4* from Utah
• Colin White, 6-6 SF will be a FR, 3* from Ottawa, OH

I *THINK* they have one roster slot available because Baumann is a walk-on but I could be wrong.  

Of the returning players Thornton (1179), Mahaffey (793), and Royal (369), played meaningful minutes in 23/4.  The others only averaged 2-3 MPG or less.  


I feel like trying to follow this sport is more of a complete crapshoot than ever:
Optimistic view:

• Stewart and Bradshaw were legit 5*'s and just misused/bad fits at Dook/Kentucky.  They'll show up as Sophomores and show why they were 5* guys.  
• Johnson and Parrish are quality transfers and will be great players.  
• Thornton, Mahaffey, and Royal will improve at least incrementally and with another year under their belts they will be great players.  
• Chatman will finally "click" and look like the 4* recruit that he was a few years ago.  
• Mobley will arrive on campus ready to at least fill in at PG to give Thornton breaks.  
• Parks will develop sufficiently to at least give Bradshaw breaks.  

The above is a great and a deep team that just might win the B1G and go DEEP in March.  

Pessimistic view:

• Dook and Kentucky moved on from Stewart and Bradshaw for good reasons and they'll never be more than serviceable at this level.  
• Johnson isn't really any better than he was when he left Columbus and Parrish isn't ready for the game-in, game-out grind of playing at this level.  
• Thornton, Mahaffey, and Royal have already hit their peaks and will continue to be no more than serviceable players at this level.  
• Chatman is just plain a bust and will never be a substantial contributor at this level.  
• Mobley will be unready.  
• Parks was a 3* guy despite being 6-10 for a reason and he'll never be a substantial contributor at this level.  

The above is a team that will not come close to a B1G title and they'll be lucky to even make it to March Madness let alone actually make it out of the first weekend.  

Honestly, this is so hard to follow.  To other tOSU fans, do I have this right:

Used up eligibility:

• Jamison Battle
• Dale Bonner
• Owen Spencer (walk on)

Transferred:

• Felix Okpara - Tennessee
• Roddy Gayle Jr - Michigan
• Scotty Middleton - Seton Hall
• Zed Key - Dayton
• Bowen Hardman - Akron

Returning:

• Bruce Thornton, 6-2 G will be a JR, 4* in 2022 class
• Devin Royal, 6-6 F will be a SO, 4* in 2023 class
• Evan Mahaffey, 6-6 G will be a JR, transfer from PSU
• Colby Baumann, 6-3 G will be a Jr, walk on from Houston via IMG
• Taison Chatman, 6-4 G will be a SO, 4* in 2023 class
• Austin Parks, 6-10 C will be a SO, 3* in 2023 class
• Kalen Etzler, 6-8 F will be a JR, 3* in 2021 class

Incoming:

• Meechie Johnson, 6-1 G will be a SR, 4* in 2020 class, transferred to USCe, returning
• Sean Stewart, 6-8 PF will be a SO, 5* to Dook in 2023, transfer
• Aaron Bradshaw, 7-1 C will be a SO, 5* to Kentucky in 2023, transfer
• Micah Parrish, 6-6 SF will be a SR, 1* to SDSU but 3* as a transfer
• Juni Mobley, 6-2 PF will be a FR, 4* from Utah
• Colin White, 6-6 SF will be a FR, 3* from Ottawa, OH

I *THINK* they have one roster slot available because Baumann is a walk-on but I could be wrong. 

I think that is right. They are supposedly still recruiting so they must have one spot left. I'm not sure what to expect. 

https://www.insidethehall.com/2024/05/10/an-early-look-at-where-each-big-ten-team-stands-in-bart-torviks-projections-for-the-2024-25-season/



Way too early but it is the offseason in both FB and BB so, from an IU site, Torvik's rankings based on rosters are being updated in real time with all the changes so here are the B1G teams with their national ranks:

• 10 UCLA
• 11 Purdue
• 19 Michigan State
• 21 Indiana
• 23 USC
• 27 Michigan
• 31 Rutgers
• 32 Northwestern
• 33 Ohio State
• 36 Wisconsin
• 38 Nebraska
• 44 Oregon
• 45 Maryland
• 51 Iowa
• 56 Illinois
• 74 Washington
• 82 Minnesota
• 92 Penn State

Honestly, I think that not only is now too early, it will still be too early even when the season starts.  I guess that has always been true to an extent but with the massive roster upheaval in the modern era I think things are MUCH more unpredictable than they ever were before.  

The craziest example of this is USC.  According to the link above, USC has:

• 1 guy returning
• 4 guys departed to the professional ranks and/or are out of eligibility
• 7 guys departing via the transfer portal
• 10 guys arriving via transfer or as recruits

You can rank based on talent but you've never seen those guys play together.  You have no idea how well they will all fit together.  

I don't mean to pick on USC because the same is true more-or-less everywhere including Ohio State where the starting lineup for 2024/5 will probably be something like:

• 1 returning player from the 2023/4 team - Bruce Thornton
• 1 player who originally signed with Ohio State out of HS, played for tOSU, then transferred to USCe where he was the leading scorer on a pretty good team last year and he is now back at Ohio State for what will be his senior year - Meechie Johnson
• 2 5* recruits who signed with Blue Blood CBB programs and played sparingly for those programs (Dook and Kentucky) last year and have now transferred to Ohio State - Sean Stewart and Aaron Bradshaw
• 1 1* recruit who signed with a mid-major school as a freshman years ago and played at a lower level for several years and now arrives at Ohio State with experience including playing on a team that finished in the top-25 last year, playing in the S16 last year*, winning a F4 game in 2023**, and playing in the 2023 NC game*** - Micah Parrish

* Micah Parrish against UCONN in the 2024 S16:

• Started and played 27 minutes.  
• 4-9 including 2-4 from long range.  
• 3 Rebounds
• 3 Fouls
• 10 points

** Micah Parrish against FAU in the 2023 F4:

• Played 20 minutes.  
• 2-6 including 2-4 from long range.  
• 5 Rebounds
• 2 Fouls
• 6 points

***Micah Parrish against UCONN in the 2023 NC:

• Played 16 minutes.  
• 0-5 including 0-4 from long range.  
• 3 Rebounds
• 4 Fouls

Final thought, it would be nice if we match that and avoid having any just dreadfully bad teams this year.  The last few, we have:

• In 2024 both Rutgers (103) and Michigan (133) had triple-digit final NET rankings.  
• In 2023 Minnesota's final KenPom ranking was 216
• In 2022 both Minnesota (109) and Nebraska (140) had triple-digit final NET rankings.  
• Nebraska was 109 in 2021.