Ohio State basketball program won’t be getting Bronny James

The Ohio State basketball program was in the running for Bronny James when he was deciding on a college. He had the Buckeyes in his final three schools but ultimately decided to go to USC. After his freshman season, he decided to enter the transfer portal and also enter the NBA Draft at the same time.

Bronny now looks like he’s going to stay in the NBA Draft, according to various reports. What that tells me is that there is at least one team that has given Bronny assurances that they will draft him when he comes to their slot, probably in the second round. Bronny is not an NBA-ready player right now, yet he’ll be going to the league.

Ohio State basketball program won’t be landing Bronny James from the transfer portal

Ohio State had been on the list of schools that Bronny had been considering while he was in the portal. With Chris Holtmann gone, that connection clearly wasn’t as strong. James also isn’t the kind of player that Jake Diebler is attracted to with the roster he’s built. James can’t shoot at all, although he’s a solid defender.

The Buckeyes still have one scholarship available for their team this year. It’s unclear who they are going to get yet, but they have some time to figure that out. They are looking for either a guard or a forward who can come off the bench and make some threes. The Buckeyes already have reconfigured their roster around making more threes and playing at a faster pace.

Ohio State is going to be a much better team in 2024-25 than they were a season ago. I’m not even sure that the Buckeyes were pursuing Bronny that hard. It seemed like his connection with Ohio State was stronger when Chris Holtmann was leading the program.

Ohio State basketball fans should be excited for the upcoming season.