Ohio State basketball: Keys to the Buckeyes’ breakthrough season

The introduction of Holtmann and veteran players stepping up have played key roles.

The addition of Holtmann immediately drew praise from the Buckeye community and others surrounding college basketball. Holtmann has been largely successful in his career with a 132-89 overall record.

Achieving the Big East Coach of the Year award last season doesn’t hurt either. Not only has he made the NCAA tournament in each of his last three seasons at Butler but he’s also made it passed the first round in every bid.

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Holtmann’s coaching style has brought the team together in ways that nobody has seen from the Buckeyes in quite a while. He’s taught them how to play team basketball and most importantly how to win. The Buckeyes used to lose many games that they were supposed to win, now they hardly know how to lose.

Though first-year coach Holtmann doesn’t have all of his own recruits on this team, the roster was already made very pliable. The departures of Loving and Lyle have allowed for a passing of the torch in terms of leadership roles.

This also made it much easier for Holtmann to manage the roster as a whole. His management of player usage has been masterful so far this season.

This has allowed for the eventual emergence of redshirt junior forward Keita Bates-Diop. Bates-Diop looked great to begin last season while averaging almost 10 points a game and five rebounds but ended up getting redshirted due to a leg injury that ended his season.

Now, he’s gotten full trust from Holtmann and his team to be the star. Keita has flourished in the featured role as he’s averaged almost 20 points per game, nine rebounds, and almost two blocks per game.

The most exciting aspect of Bates-Diop’s game is he looks and plays like a young Kevin Durant. His great 6’7″ size and length combined with his ability to shoot and handle the ball makes him impossible to guard. Bates-Diop leads the Big Ten in points per game while maintaining an above 50% shooting efficiency. Even with a player like Michigan State‘s Miles Bridges in the conference, Bates-Diop is still easily in the lead for Big Ten Player of the Year.

Senior forward Jae’Sean Tate has not slowed down this season. Since he was just a freshman, Tate has been a major influence for the Buckeyes on and off the floor. His presence only gets greater with each season.

Tate’s confidence combined with his sheer tenacity while on the floor has made him a true leader. He led the team in points last season and is second on the team this season with 13 per game and six rebounds per game.

The improvement of sophomore guard C.J. Jackson has been an underrated key to the success of this team. Jackson’s minutes were limited last season with Lyle and Loving controlling the ball most of the time.

With Jackson now being inserted into the starting lineup as the primary ball handler, he has taken hold of the opportunity and thrived with it. His scoring and efficiency have doubled along with increasing his assists to a team-high 4.3 per game. He is also tied for second in scoring with almost 13 points per game which outlines his ability to be a scorer and distributor.

The Buckeyes have added some important pieces to their roster this season whose impact is definitely worth noting. The notable newcomers include freshman center Kaleb Wesson and transfer senior guard Andrew Dakich.

Wesson has been a force down low for the Buckeyes this season. His large size at 6’9″ and 270 pounds combined with the ability to score efficiently in the paint has given Ohio State another dimension.

The development of Wesson early this season was a great relief as the loss of veteran center Trevor Thompson at the end of last season was significant. Wesson and Micah Potter have been a great combination underneath for the Buckeyes this season.

The addition of Dakich likely raised many eyebrows at first. Dakich transferred from that school up north after spending his years of eligibility there on the bench. However, he’s now one of the most significant difference makers on and off the court for the Buckeyes.

He provides solid minutes off the bench and plays hard on offense and defense which makes up for his lack of size. Dakich also leads the team in three-point percentage and is third in assists.

Overall, the Buckeyes have been a much different team than they were at this time last year. The entire feel and mentality are different and there isn’t much to dislike about that.

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This Buckeye basketball team is on a mission and has the look of a team that can do some damage down the stretch. The majority can underrate Ohio State now but they can’t deny that this team is for real.