After playing a season-low four minutes Wednesday night in Ohio State’s 67-54 win over Northern Illinois, freshman guard Austin Grandstaff opted to transfer from the program Thursday.
It was a surprising move considering Grandstaff was just 10 games into his collegiate career, but the 6-foot-4 guard from Rockwall, Texas, decided to move on even though his future — like the Buckeyes’ overall — seemed bright.
Grandstaff’s decision won’t impact this season’s Ohio State team. He was a luxury on the offensive end because of his ability to stretch the floor, which is the only thing the Buckeyes will miss this year.
Grandstaff struggled a bit on the defensive end to keep guys in front of him, though he showed signs of improvement as the season progressed. But the bottom line is he was only playing just over 11 minutes per game and averaging 4.4 points. He only converted 33 percent of his 3-pointers over the first 10 games of the season.
The decision to transfer impacts Ohio State beyond this rebuilding season, though. Grandstaff figured to be a key part of the program's future, a player head coach Thad Matta said was "going to be a really, really good player here.” That’s not the case anymore.
“The odds in college basketball nowadays of a team staying together is almost slim to none,” Matta said Nov. 12. “We have to do our job in terms of being prepared if something happens. NBA, overseas, transfers, whatever that situation may be, we have to be ready.”
The move opens up a scholarship for Ohio State, and there’s a player in the 2016 class the Buckeyes have targeted for quite some time now: five-star guard Kobi Simmons out of Alpharetta, Georgia.
Simmons, who has had Ohio State in his final three with Kentucky and UNLV for some time, was supposed to choose his college during the early signing period, but opted to push back his decision date until the spring.
The Buckeyes were thought to be in front of Simmons’ recruitment throughout the fall, but there was a pressing issue Ohio State did not have a scholarship available to give him as it was at the full allotted limit of 13. With the transfer of Grandstaff, however, there’s a spot open for Simmons should he pick the Buckeyes.
Should Simmons opt to go with UNLV or Kentucky, though, Matta could go hard after someone remaining in the 2016 class, but the more likely option seems to be banking the scholarship for 2017 and going after a position of need like five-star guard Gary Trent Jr.
Matta and Co. have options now. If Ohio State is able to land one of these big-time guard prospects, it would make the Grandstaff transfer decision a bit easier to cope with.
