Ohio State basketball is on the board in the transfer portal with a commitment from a player with major NBA ties
Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes badly needed another starting guard and they’re on the board. Ohio State basketball has picked up their first commitment from the transfer portal.
With the loss of Bruce Thornton to graduation as well as two backup guard Gabe Cupps and Taison Chatman leaving in the transfer portal, it was key the Ohio State basketball program attacked adding a guard from the portal.
Ohio State has been connected to multiple top guards in the transfer portal, and now they’re adding a former Michigan Wolverine to the program.
Ohio State lands former Michigan Wolverines guard in transfer portal
According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, California transfer guard Justin Pippen has committed to Ohio State. Pippen is the No. 78 overall player in the 247 Sports transfer portal rankings, as well as the No. 13 combo guard. Notably, Pippen played his freshman season at Michigan before one season with the Cal Golden Bears.
Pippen is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard who can play the point guard or shooting guard positions. The son of NBA great Scottie Pippen was a four-star recruit in the class of 2024 out of Sierra Canyon (CA) where he committed to Michigan. Pippen appeared in 30 games at Michigan but played in just 6.7 minutes per game scoring 1.6 points on average.
This past season Pippen was able to return to the state of California and started all 32 games he played in for the Golden Bears. Pippen averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game with California. Ohio State will likely plug Pippen in alongside John Mobley Jr. in the starting lineup, as long as Mobley returns to school and withdraws from the draft process.
Pippen is a crafty guard with the ball in his hands who gets to his spot with ease to look to score or create for teammates. The 32 percent mark from three-point land is a number needing to improve for the newest Buckeye with two years of eligibility remaining.
One commitment down for the Ohio State basketball program and there are multiple more coming down the pipe. Ohio State will need to add another guard as well as size inside. Adding Pippen is a promising start, but it likely means they missed out on the top target Rob Wright from BYU.
