Ohio State Relying on Transfers, Development at Pivotal Frontcourt Positions

By Andy Anders on June 20, 2025 at 12:54 pm
Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel
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Perhaps the top storyline to watch with Ohio State basketball this season is how its frontcourt will mesh throughout the year.

Positions 1 through 3 are covered. Bruce Thornton returns as a two-time second-team All-Big Ten performer at one guard spot. At the other, John Mobley Jr. seems primed for a strong sophomore year after averaging 13 points and 2.2 assists per game as a freshman, despite being rushed into a starting role following the end of Meechie Johnson Jr.’s season and Ohio State career. Devin Royal will have adjustments to make shifting from power to small forward, but he is a proven rebounding and scoring threat.

Those players should give the Buckeyes a baseline of production. But the fulcrum of the team will be whether its two transfer frontcourt starters, Brandon Noel (Wright State) and Christoph Tilly (Santa Clara), can translate their games to the Big Ten. And whether sophomore Ivan Njegovan and freshman A’mare Bynum can provide enough depth alongside an out-to-start-the-year Josh Ojianwuna (Baylor) if and when he returns to the court.

“We know there's a foundation of what Bruce, June, and Devin can do, right,” Jake Diebler said in his press conference on Wednesday. “We know what they can do, and by all accounts of what we've seen so far, they're all going to continue to make a jump. As we tried to add to that, we felt like experience was important in the frontcourt, increasing our size. We're going to be bigger really at the 3, 4, and 5 positions. I feel like we're going to be bigger this year. That was important because rebounding was an issue for us last year, so we wanted to address that and raise our collective basketball IQ.”

Noel and Tilly will certainly be taller than last season’s frontcourt pairing, which in most games was Royal (6-foot-6) and the since-transferred Sean Stewart (6-foot-9). Noel stands 6-foot-8 and Tilly is a 7-footer.

Each weighing in at 240 pounds, both need to excel as rebounders for the Buckeyes to play their best ball. Ohio State was outrebounded by its opponents in 2024-25, 34 per game to 33.7 per game, and lost its most efficient rebounder, Stewart, who pulled in 12.5 rebounds per 40 minutes. Then again, consistent foul trouble kept him from sustaining a strong mark per game for a center (5.8). Royal led the Buckeyes in rebounds per game last season with 6.7, and was third behind Stewart and Njegovan with 9.6 per 40 minutes.

Tilly averaged between 8.7 and 8.9 rebounds per 40 minutes each of his three seasons at Santa Clara. Noel’s rate at Wright State was a tick higher at 9.1 per 40 minutes in 2024-25, with a peak of 12 per 40 in his freshman season. How both handle the physicality of defending Big Ten forwards will be another trend to monitor.

The most proven component of both players’ games is their scoring. Noel racked up 19 points per game to pace the Raiders, shooting 55.2% from the field and 35.8% from 3-point range. He flexed an ability to score at all three levels with good ball handling for his size.

For a team that lacked in the post-up scoring department last season, Tilly provides a fantastic boost. Like Noel, he’ll dribble-drive against slower defenders, and looked capable from 3-point range at 31.5% last year. But his 61.7% mark from 2 is what fueled his 12.5 points per game.

“Both of those guys have played a lot of college basketball,” Diebler said. “I get they didn't play a lot of Big Ten basketball, but they've both been well-coached. You could see on film an understanding of basketball IQ that I think will help the transition from their level to this level.

“But Tilly's played high-level international basketball, which is a whole other level, and that's going to be valuable. And I think Brandon and him both are really smart. You combine that basketball IQ with their skill level, being able certainly to make shots, but pass, make decisions, dribble, that stuff, that combination I think really is going to help that transition for them.”

Diebler added that Ohio State doesn’t need either player to be a superstar with the better collection of players around them than at their previous stops.

“We need them to be impactful, there's no question about it, but I don't think we need either of them to be the same player they were,” Diebler said. “This is going to be the best team that both of those guys have played on. It's not that they haven't played on good teams, but the best collection of talent that they've played on.”

Ojianwuna would be an ideal rotational piece to support Noel and Tilly, a defensive and rebounding menace out of Baylor who originally hails from Asaba, Nigeria. He picked up 10.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per 40 minutes in 2024-25, but he’s going to miss extended time to start the year. How much is to be determined.

“No updates as far as the end game, but I think he's working really, really hard (in rehab),” Diebler said of Ojianwuna’s injury. “We have an unbelievable team and he's become very good friends with them, and I think everything's progressing well. So we'll get a better feel, I think, going into the fall of what a timeline looks like exactly, but there's been no indication of hiccups or anything so far.”

One option to give Noel a rest could be to slide Royal over to power forward while freshman Mathieu Grujicic or sophomore Colin White subs in at small forward. But for spelling Tilly and the prospect of resting both Noel and Royal, Njegovan and Bynum will be crucial at the start of the year.

The 7-foot-1 Njegovan is a great story coming out of Croatia, but he did not look particularly ready for the spotlight as a freshman. Even as the Buckeyes struggled with frontcourt depth, he only saw 5.7 minutes per game and was still clearly adjusting to the speed and style of the collegiate game. But Diebler believes he’ll take a jump in year two.

Bynum signed as the No. 59 prospect in the 247Sports composite for the recruiting class of 2025. He’s got fantastic athleticism and talent with good skill for his 6-foot-8 frame, but will he be ready to contribute immediately?

“I feel really good on the way Ivan has improved since the end of the season to now, and he's got a window now to take an even bigger jump,” Diebler said. “So as long as he keeps working, he will. And A’mare, we're super excited about his upside. He's got a physicality to him that most freshmen don't have. Certainly, there's a size component to that, but he's got the height, he's got the length, he's got the athleticism and he plays with a force and physicality that's been impressive to see for such a young player.”

As Ohio State seeks to push its basketball program back in the right direction – namely, its first NCAA Tournament in four years – the men who pivot in the post will be pivotal to their efforts.

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