Ohio State basketball star Devin Royal looks to be trending toward a major college program in the transfer portal already
Devin Royal was the first Buckeye who decided to transfer away and the Columbus native looks to be heading to a major college program for his final season.
The Michigan Wolverines took the national championship on Monday night with a win over UConn. With the college basketball season over, the transfer portal opened at midnight and it’s going to be a busy time for the Ohio State basketball program.
Junior forward Devin Royal was the first Buckeye to make his transfer intentions clear last week. Royal was joined by forward Colin White, as well as guards Gabe Cupps and Taison Chatman. With Royal officially in the portal, it appears he could be trending toward a major college program.
Devin Royal is predicted to transfer to Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies
Jeff Ermann of 247 Sports has predicted Royal will be transferring to play for UConn, which would be quite the development after transferring from Ohio State. UConn is one of the premier college basketball programs and Royal could be a key piece for the next season.
Royal played in 96 games with 59 stars for the Buckeyes over the last three seasons. As a junior, the 6-foot-7 forward matched his sophomore average at 13.7 points per game. Royal added 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game this past season for the Buckeyes.
It didn’t make a whole lot of sense for Royal to return to Ohio State unless he were to come off the bench. Ohio State has five-star small forward Anthony Thompson coming in and he will likely start as a true freshman. The Buckeyes will slide Amare Bynum to the four and the center job will go to a transfer or Josh Ojianwuna.
Royal going to UConn to be a sixth man for a stronger college basketball program rather than returning to Ohio State to take a demotion is an easy choice.
With the portal open, players can elect to transfer to new schools at any time now. Along with the departures, Ohio State will have some key additions to make that they can’t miss. It’s key for Jake Diebler to get the transfer portal right this offseason.
