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Ohio State Makes Top-Five For Transfer Guard Cedric Russell

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Colin Hass-Hill's picture
July 8, 2021 at 4:04pm
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A little bit of news in the men's hoops realm.

Cedric Russell, a Louisiana guard who entered his name into the transfer portal on June 30, included Ohio State among his top-five schools today. The Buckeyes are in there, along with Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Marquette, and St. John's.

The skinny on Russell: He's a 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard who was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection last season by averaging a team-high 17.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 33.6 minutes per game. Also shot 41.9 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3 (on 7.3 attempts a game) and 76.7 percent from the foul line. In other words, he's a veteran guard who can get a bucket by himself and could help make up for some of the shot-making lost when Duane Washington Jr. stayed in the draft. Him being undersized and not having a history of creating for others, as the 1.2 assists per game shows, is notable. But he would add some shooting and, importantly, depth to the backcourt.

He told 247Sports he plans on committing toward the end of the week.

Some notes...

  • Initially, I didn't think Ohio State would make an addition when E.J. Liddell came back and Washington went pro. I thought they'd stand pat at 13 scholarship players. Now, I think I was probably wrong. If you asked me today, I'd say I think they add somebody, and I think there's a good possibility that it could be Russell. I know they're also talking to another double-digit scorer from a high-major, so it's not an all-eggs-in-one-basket type of situation, but I believe Russell is the most likely candidate at the moment.
  • A large part of what's behind Ohio State's interest in checking out the backcourt options in the portal is the guard depth. Right now, there are basically four guards who can handle the ball – Meechie Johnson, Malaki Branham, Jamari Wheeler and Jimmy Sotos. And if you break it down individually, Johnson's a second-year who enrolled in the middle of last season, Branham's a true freshman, Wheeler's a transfer and Sotos is a former transfer still coming off a shoulder injury. There's an uncomfortable lack of both depth and experience, even if people like Johnson's development and Branham's potential. The thought is pretty simple: If there's a good fit, it's probably worth adding one more guy to that mix. (The "good fit" part is big)
  • The in with Russell is Tony Skinn, who recruited him when he was at Louisiana Tech. Russell ended up at Louisiana, but they know each other.
  • No, don't expect them to go after Kofi Cockburn or any other forward/center transfers. If they get another transfer, it would be a guard who can handle the ball and provide some shot-making.

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