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Who is Ohio State's best shooter? Dunker? Dresser? The Buckeyes sound off in annual poll
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- Who is Ohio State's best shooter? Dunker? Dresser? The Buckeyes sound off in annual poll
Members of the Ohio State men's basketball team have opinions on members of the Ohio State men's basketball team.
This year, the Buckeyes will open the season with a 14-man roster. Half of those players have yet to play for the program . Roles are still being sorted out and playing time is being earned, but after months of working out together, they pretty much know who can do what.
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So The Dispatch conducted its annual survey. Below are the resulting player-voted superlatives.
A few notes: Players are granted anonymity in exchange for their votes. They are allowed to vote for themselves, and they are permitted to split votes. Percentages might not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Best shooter – John Mobley Jr.
The sophomore guard won in a landslide. Last season, Mobley shot 38.5% (77 for 200) from 3-point range, the second-best percentage on the team behind Bruce Thornton (42.4%, 59 for 139). He led the team in 3-point shots made and attempted, connecting on 18 more than anyone else and attempting 47 more.
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The 77 makes are tied for 10th-most in a single season and are the second-most by an Ohio State freshman in program history. His shooting percentage was also the ninth-best freshman mark in program history. A reserve to start the season, Mobley moved into the starting lineup when Meechie Johnson Jr. left the team after 10 games and has since said that the grind of the season wore him down by the end. In his final seven games, Mobley went 14 for 51 (27.5%) after shooting 42.3% (63 for 149) in his first 25 games.
Last season, Ohio State's John Mobley shot 38.5% (77 for 200) from 3-point range,
Thornton and sophomore Colin White (4 for 13, 30.8%) also received consideration from their teammates.
Here's how the voting broke down:
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1st:John Mobley Jr., 81.8%
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2nd (tie):Bruce Thornton, Colin White, 9.1% each
The 2025-26 Ohio State men's basketball team huddles at midcourt after an October 20 open practice at Value City Arena.
Best passer – Bruce Thornton
Coach Jake Diebler has been adamant all offseason that this year's team will look more fluid offensively because he has a team of players with high basketball intelligence who are all able to spread the floor and share the ball.
That was reflected in the voting for this category, which saw the most varied responses. Seven different players each received at least one full vote, with the three-time leading assist-getter Thornton edging out junior forward Devin Royal and senior center Christoph Tilly for top billing. Thornton's 92 assists led the 2022-23 Buckeyes, his 168 assists led the 2023-24 Buckeyes and last year's 148 assists were the most on the roster.
Bruce Thoronton's Ohio State teammates voted him the team's best passer.
His 408 career assists are 10th most in program history . The only player to lead Ohio State in assists for four straight seasons is Aaron Craft, the program's all-time leader with 694.
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Royal's inclusion is interesting as he makes the move from power forward to small forward. He has 47 career assists, 35 of which were last season as his playing time increased significantly. The 7-foot, 240-pound Tilly has averaged 1.9 assists in each of the last two seasons at Santa Clara and has been billed as a connector in the Ohio State offense.
Here's how the voting broke down:
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1st:Bruce Thornton, 27.3%
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2nd (tie):Devin Royal, Christoph Tilly (18.2% each)
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4th (tie):Taison Chatman, Mathieu Grujicic, John Mobley Jr., Colin White (9.1% each)
Best dunker – Amare Bynum
There was no debate. Every Ohio State player asked who they thought was the best dunker on the roster almost immediately responded with freshman Amare Bynum. A 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward from Nebraska who played at Branson (Missouri) Link Academy, Bynum was the No. 44 national prospect in the 2025 recruiting class according to 247Sports.com.
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And apparently, he can really dunk.
Here's how the voting broke down:
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1st (unanimous):Amare Bynum, 100%
Best dresser – Bruce Thornton
No question elicits more of a debate annually than this one, and this year, for the first time, a member of the coaching staff received a vote. Also, one player received a negative vote. After pondering this question, one player simply responded, "Not Gabe (Cupps)."
The winner, by a surprisingly wide margin, was Thornton, who was the only player to receive multiple votes.
Here's how the voting broke down:
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1st:Bruce Thornton, 59.1%
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2nd (tie):Ivan Njegovan, Brandon Noel, Devin Royal, Christoph Tilly (9.1% each)
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6th:Jake Diebler, 4.5%
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @ cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @ AdamJardy .
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who does the Ohio State basketball team consider their best players?
