When Ohio State flamed out against Dayton in the NCAA Tournament last year, one thing was clear: the Buckeyes had to improve on offense. Enter five-star recruit D'Angelo Russell.
Russell has been even better than advertised in 2015. He has a natural shooting stroke, and can create offense off the dribble. He is a skilled passer, and he pulls his weight on defense by recording steals.
He is currently sixth on Chad Ford's Top 100 2015 Draft Prospects. Odds are, Russell is leaving Columbus for the NBA after just one season.
Against Iowa on Saturday, Russell racked up 27 points and 14 rebounds. Ohio State lost anyway, a worrying sign for the rest of Ohio State's offense.
Nobody is more important to the Buckeye offense than D'Angelo Russell. He took 36% of Ohio State's shots, more than double the rate of the next leading shooters (Marc Loving and Shannon Scott). Russell made more three-pointers than the rest of the team combined, and he had had nearly half of Ohio State's offensive rebounds. With production like that, a 2:3 assist-to-turnover ratio is easily forgiven.
As Ohio State's offense regresses, Russell is taking on more of the workload. He has used 29.4% of Ohio State's possessions in 2014-15, making him one of the 100 most active players in Division 1. If he were as active in every game as he was against Iowa, he would have the third-highest usage rate in the country.
Russell's usage rate is the highest for a Buckeye since Evan Turner in 2010. Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas and LaQuinton Ross all used fewer possessions than Russell, and they all had more seasoning by the time they were asked to be the focus of the offense.
| Player | School | USG% |
|---|---|---|
| Terran Petteway | Nebraska | 33.2 |
| A.J. Hammons | Purdue | 30.3 |
| Isaac Haas | Purdue | 29.8 |
| D'ANGELO RUSSELL | OHIO STATE | 29.4 |
| Dez Wells | Maryland | 29.1 |
| D.J. Newbill | Penn State | 29.0 |
| Frank Kaminsky | Wisconsin | 28.0 |
| Kadeem Jack | Rutgers | 27.4 |
| Shavon Shields | Nebraska | 26.3 |
| Rayvonte Rice | Illinois | 26.1 |
With so much riding on Russell's continued success, it's disappointing that only two other players stepped up against Iowa. Marc Loving has made significant progress from his freshman season, becoming Ohio State's most potent three-point shooter. Jae'Sean Tate had a poor shooting game, but he grabbed five offensive rebounds and drew ten free throws. Tate's scoring was too little too late, but his rebounding and free throw rate signify that he has plenty to contribute on offense.
The lack of progress from the veterans on the team is mystifying. Shannon Scott is asked merely to keep defenses honest, but he shot 3-of-9 and had three turnovers. Amir Williams was a ghost; in 23 minutes of game time, he shot the ball twice, missed three free throws and was outrebounded by three teammates half a foot shorter than him. Sam Thompson contributed eight points on seven shots, but he didn't do anything down the stretch. Trey McDonald has always been a defender, never an offensive contributor.
Even more concerning is how little the other newcomers are contributing. Neither Kam Williams nor Anthony Lee scored against the Hawkeyes. Keita Bates-Diop, a top-30 recruit, rode the pine.
If this team continues on this trajectory, its NCAA Tournament hopes are in jeopardy. The Buckeyes did nothing in the non-conference schedule, and they have maybe-sorta quality wins versus Illinois and at Minnesota. They are on track for a 10- or 11-seed, which would be the lowest tournament seed in school history.
It's not all doom amd gloom. On paper, the basketball Buckeyes have the talent to be a title contender, and there are two months left to evolve. Thad Matta has never won fewer than 20 games in a season, and Kenpom projects the Buckeyes to win 22.
It's not time to panic yet, but squeaking into the NCAA Tournament with a player like D'Angelo Russell should raise some eyebrows.
