Forced to fill the positional – not statistical – void left by D'Angelo Russell's early NBA departure, things have yet to consistently click for Ohio State freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle.
The good news is that Lyle has the size and talent to be a difference maker for the young Buckeyes. The bad news is that Ohio State (4-5) is seemingly on the ropes after yesterday's dismal showing against Connecticut and the best chance to redirect the season's trajectory involves Lyle turning the corner from good to great.
For clarity, that's not to call out Lyle's inconsistency, it's totally understandable, and there are certainly a host of other major issues with this team in its current state.
But the fact remains, if Lyle can't quickly develop into a floor general that consistently gets his teammates in the right spots, uses his size to get into the paint to finish or create looks for teammates, and drastically improves his shooting percentages, it's curtains on this team.
Yesterday's blowout loss to the Huskies was Lyle's worst offensive outing to date as he tallied zero points on 0/7 shooting including 0/4 from distance with three turnovers against just one assist. Lyle lacked aggression and confidence which played into Connecticut's hands as he, forgoing his size, was content to take more than half of his shots from beyond the arc despite shooting below 30% from deep. The attitude of settling also yielded zero free throw opportunities. Further illustrating his passive afternoon, Lyle took just one shot in 11 2nd half minutes.
This same demeanor came to the forefront against the other long, athletic team Ohio State faced two weeks ago, Virginia, as Lyle took six of his seven shots from distance, hitting just one field goal in 36 minutes.
| OPPONENT | MIN | FG | 3FG | FT | REB | AST | STL | TO | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOUNT ST. MARY'S | 24 | 4/8 | 1/1 | 3/5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| GRAMBLING ST | 23 | 1/4 | 0/3 | 0/1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| UT - ARLINGTON | 34 | 5/10 | 1/3 | 4/9 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| LOUISIANA TECH | 31 | 2/11 | 0/0 | 6/6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| MEMPHIS | 37 | 8/14 | 2/5 | 0/2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 18 |
| #10 VIRGINIA | 36 | 1/7 | 1/6 | 0/0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| VMI | 28 | 3/9 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| AIR FORCE | 24 | 4/6 | 2/3 | 2/3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| UCONN | 26 | 0/7 | 0/4 | 0/0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| AVG | 29 | 37% | 29% | 57% | 3.9 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 8.9 |
While those two outings were the clear lowlights of Lyle's young season, he's shown flashes of what the Buckeyes need. In an overtime loss to Memphis, Lyle went for 18 points on 8/14 shooting with eight assists helping Ohio State generate a season-best 76 points.
Lyle also shot it well in last Tuesday's win over Air Force (4/6, 12 points) and controlled the action in a shocking loss to UT-Arlington with 15 points on 5/10 shooting with eight assists and six rebounds.
The key in those outings was obviously Lyle's shot selection and accuracy which is currently the biggest issue keeping him from turning the proverbial corner.
At 37% from the field, 29% from distance and 57% from the stripe, Lyle has the skill set to put upwards of six to eight points on his overall shooting percentage and maybe as many as 20 on his free throw percentage. For perspective, though the talent of defenders is obviously different, Lyle shot 53% from the field along with 78% from the stripe as a high school senior.
Considering Lyle shot just 32% from beyond the arc last year it's hard to think he'll drastically improve his current mark but what's more important is that he doesn't settle for as many threes versus making more of an effort to get in the paint where his effectiveness soars.
Last year 34% of Lyle's total shots were from distance. Through nine games with the Buckeyes he's at 37%. That's a sign of settling and/or not feeling like he can make things happen inside the arc at the same rate of effectiveness and something Thad Matta needs to address.
To his credit, Lyle is dishing out an impressive 5.0 assists per game thanks to a legit combination of court vision and unselfishness. Knowing Ohio State doesn't have a ton of guys who can get their own shot it's imperative Lyle maintain that mark or even improve it through a more aggressive approach in using his body to beat his man off the dribble and get to the elbow where he can create even more opportunities for teammates.
With that, tightening up his handles and decision making to decrease his 3.0 turnovers per game average remains an opportunity. Here and there Lyle fails to balance his job of valuing the ball with trying to make the low-percentage highlight reel pass creating an empty possession. Every coach wants his point guard to post an assist-to-turnover ration of at least 2-to-1 and that's a realistic ask for Lyle as he continues his development.
Again, each guy on the roster has a significant list of opportunities so this is not an indictment of a freshman. Lyle's potential ceiling just happens to be higher than that of any of his teammates and therefore if he can make meaningful strides in his opportunities then it could have a much larger impact on the team's won-loss record.
My belief is that Lyle can and will get there but with the team taking on water, it can't happen soon enough.
