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Does Ohio State basketball have enough 3-point shooting? Coach Jake Diebler thinks so
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- Does Ohio State basketball have enough 3-point shooting? Coach Jake Diebler thinks so
One year ago, Jamison Battle bet on himself and came to Ohio State for his final season of college basketball.
A Minnesota product with a reputation as a dangerous 3-point shooter, the lefty had connected on 35.0% of his career shots from deep but was coming off a career-worst shooting season. In his final season at Minnesota, Battle finished at 31.1%, sinking 59 of his 190 attempts for the Golden Gophers.
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The expectation was that he would be better for the Buckeyes in a bounce-back year. It paid off, and Battle finished at a career-best 43.3% (91 for 210) mark that's the fifth-best single-season percentage in program history .
This year, the Buckeyes added four transfers in Aaron Bradshaw , Meechie Johnson Jr. , Micah Parrish and Sean Stewart . Together, they add NCAA Tournament experience, veteran presence and varying degrees of high-level upside.
What they don't immediately add is a Battle-like ability to knock down 3-pointers. Externally, it's an area of concern as the Buckeyes enter their first year with Jake Diebler as coach .
Feb 18, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) shoots over Purdue Boilermakers guard Lance Jones (55) during the first half of the NCAA men’s basketball game at Value City Arena.
Internally, though, Diebler didn't seem too worried as he met with reporters Monday morning for his first offseason press conference.
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"The last couple years, (Battle's) 3-point field goal percentage wasn't near what he finished at this last year," Diebler said. "Development's an important part of it. I don't know that anybody could've predicted Jamison was going to go from maybe low 30s to low 40s in a season. Our guys certainly have the permission to do that. I'd love for them to do that."
Third-year guard Bruce Thornton, who went 58 for 174 (33.3%) in 2023-24, is the only returning Buckeye to have made more than five 3-pointers last season. The last time Ohio State had so few 3-point makes returning was Thornton's freshman season of 2022-23, when Gene Brown III was the team's leading returning 3-point shooter.
The year before, Brown had gone 8 for 35 (22.9%) as the Buckeyes remade the roster with Thornton's five-man prep recruiting class and the addition of three transfers. It was a struggle: Ohio State went 16-19 in 2022-23, setting the stage for coach Chris Holtmann's midseason firing in 2023-24. But even with Battle's career year, the Buckeyes only made 34.5% of their 3-point attempts, their lowest mark since going 264 for 774 (34.1%) in 2018-19.
"A big part of it's going to be development," Diebler said. "I believe we're going to be a program that can help develop guys quickly, certainly with the staff we hired but also with the resources we have here at Ohio State, which are top of the line."
Mar 21, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Meechie Johnson (5) shoots the ball against Oregon Ducks center N'Faly Dante (1) in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
There are pieces on the roster who should be able to help. During his last three full seasons of college basketball, Johnson has shot 32.1%, 32.7% and 32.1%, respectively, from 3, while showing an ability to knock down deep shots late in the clock.
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"Certainly Meechie's going to be able to be a threat," Diebler said. "You've got to guard him way out there at times."
Fifth-year wing Parrish is a career 33.2% 3-point shooter but shot a career-low 29.2% (47 for 161) while attempting a career-high number of 3s last year at San Diego State.
As a freshman, Thornton shot 37.5% (42 for 122) and was at 41.8% through the first 10 games last season before tapering off. Diebler said he's expected to take a jump from beyond the arc and that he's capable of doing so.
Similarly, forward Devin Royal went 3 for 20 (15.0%) from 3 last season but was cited by Diebler as someone who has already put significant work into his perimeter shot this offseason. Classmate Taison Chatman , slowed during the early going with a knee injury and then a concussion, is actually the team's second-leading returning 3-point shooter, having hit 4 of his 15 attempts (26.7%).
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Then there's freshman John "Juni" Mobley Jr., nicknamed "The Sniper" by 247Sports as the best shooter in his 2024 recruiting class .
"Juni Mobley in my opinion was one of the very best shooters in the country regardless of class," Diebler said. "I think some of our guys with size, the way we're going to play there's going to be some more spacing and there's going to be opportunity for them to shoot. I like the pieces we have.
"It's something we'll monitor certainly but I'm confident in it."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jake Diebler confident Ohio State has enough 3-point shooters
