Ohio State basketball team loses key guard to transfer portal

The Ohio State basketball team is trying to keep as many key players from this past year’s team as they can. Now that the transfer portal is open, the Buckeyes are scrambling to keep their guys. Jake Diebler mentioned that his number one priority this offseason is roster retention heading into next year.

So far, the Buckeyes have lost Bowen Hardman to the portal. The reserve guard only played in 25 games in the past two seasons and was not a big part of the rotation. He’s going somewhere else where he can get more playing time, which makes sense. Unfortunately, they have now lost another guard they would have preferred to keep.

The Ohio State basketball team loses their best three-point shooter off the bench

Backup guard Scotty Middleton has decided to enter the transfer portal. He only spent one year with the Ohio State basketball program. He averaged just 4.4 points per game off the bench and shot under 40% from the field. How he finished the season is why the Buckeyes would have loved to keep him for next season though.

In his final eight games, he shot 60% from three. That’s an insane clip. He was the guy off the bench that Diebler could count on to take shots and make them from the outside. Middleton isn’t scared. He would have played a lot more next season and was probably going to be the sixth man off the bench.

Instead, he has decided to find somewhere else that might want to start him. Middleton is a talented shooter. Losing him is not ideal for the Buckeyes. He was one of the guys that I wanted to see them keep. Perhaps Diebler goes into the transfer portal to try and replace what they lost in Middleton.

This is good news for incoming freshman Juni Mobley though. Now he has a chance to earn some playing time right away.