Projected Scholarship Breakdown

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Updated 08/10/2009

Breakdown of scholarships by year. This information will be updated whenever it changes due to early departures, APR issues, future verbals etc.

2008-2009

12 Scholarship Players

Kyle Madsen (Jr)
David Lighty (Jr)
P.J. Hill (Jr)
Jeremie Simmons (Jr)

Nikola Kecman (So)
Jon Diebler (So)
Dallas Lauderdale (So)
Evan Turner (So)

Walter Offutt (Fr)
B.J. Mullens (Fr)
William Buford (Fr)

Zisis Sarikopoulos (transfer)

2009-2010

11 Scholarship Players.

Kyle Madsen (Sr)
P.J. Hill (Sr)
Jeremie Simmons (Sr)
David Lighty (Sr/(Medical Redshirt-Jr)

Jon Diebler (Jr)
Dallas Lauderdale (Jr)
Evan Turner (Jr)

Nikola Kecman (Jr/Medical Redshirt-So)
Walter Offutt (So)
William Buford (So)
Zisis Sarikopoulos (So)

2 scholarships unfilled due to APR penalties

2010-2011

13 Scholarships

Jon Diebler (Sr)
Dallas Lauderdale (Sr)
David Lighty (R-Sr)
Evan Turner (Sr)

Nikola Kecman (Sr/Medical Redshirt-Jr)
William Buford (Jr)
Walter Offutt (Jr)
Zisis Sarikopoulos (Jr)

Jared Sullinger (Fr) -verbal
Cameron Wright (Fr) -verbal
DeShaun Thomas (Fr) -verbal
Jordon Sibert (Fr) -verbal
Lenzelle Smith (Fr) -verbal
Aaron Craft (Fr) -verbal
J.D. Weatherspoon (Fr) -verbal

0 spots available, assumes APR improvement, 1 early departure

2011-2012

13 Scholarships

Nikola Kecman (Medical Redshirt-Sr)
William Buford (Sr)
Walter Offutt (Sr)
Zisis Sarikopoulos (Sr)

Jared Sullinger (So) -verbal
DeShaun Thomas (So) -verbal
Jordon Sibert (So) -verbal
Lenzelle Smith (So) -verbal
Aaron Craft (So) -verbal
J.D. Weatherspoon (So) -verbal

3 spots available

[BengalsAndBucks]

Here is how I see our scholarship situation currently. My math very well may be wrong here, and please feel free to tell me I'm an idiot if it is.

We currently have 13 players on scholarship:

Seniors: None

Juniors:
David Lighty
Kyle Madsen
PJ Hill
Jeremie Simmons

Sophomores:
Evan Turner
Jon Diebler
Dallas Lauderdale
Zisis Sarikopoulos
Nikola Kecman

Freshmen:
William Buford
Anthony Crater
BJ Mullens
Walter Offutt

This means that, if we have no departures, we have 0 scholarships to give for 2009, and 4 to give for 2010 (we currently have 5 committments, and Adrien Payne would make 6).

However, it is very probable that BJ will be gone after this season, as he is a top-5 NBA draft pick on potential and athletic ability alone. Assuming he does, that would free up one scholarship. Lets say we give it to Dashonte Riley. Assuming no one else leaves after this season, we would be at 13 scholarships for the 2009 season, with all the players listed above just moving up a class year and Riley replacing BJ as the only freshman.

Now looking at 2010- we would have 4 scholarship players graduating after the 2009 season. This means we would be one scholarship short for our current class of 5 committs, and 2 scholarships short if Payne does decide to become a Buckeye. I have no idea where we stand right now or the likelihood of this, and hopefully the staff has a better idea than we do. Lets say Payne does committ. This means, to accomodate the 2010 recruiting class, we need 2 more players to leave early.

Now, I don't know the odds of this happening, but I would say its not completely out of the realm of possibility. Evan Turner had a good freshman year last year, and looks to do even better this year. Some people are saying he may be able to go after this year- I don't know about that yet, but we are one game in. However, after two more seasons, with his size, if he can improve his outside shooting from last year (which certainly wasn't terrible, but wasn't NBA caliber) and improve his A/T ratio from last season, then I could definitely see him going early and getting drafted.

From what I have seen so far from William Buford, I would not be shocked to see him gone after this season, and would be suprised if he wasn't gone after next season (barring injury). Kid can flat-out score, he has great touch from beyond the arc, and he has very good size and athleticism for an NBA shooting guard. If he can put on some weight, I could definitely see him being gone by the end of the 2009 season.

(FWIW, Draftexpress.com is currently projecting Buford at 17 in 2010 NBA Draft, Turner at 33, and Lighty at 44).

I could definitely see this scenario coming true. And the point of me typing this ridiculously long breakdown is that I would love to get Dashonte in this class. While we wont desperately need a big in 2009 with DL, Kecman, Zisis, and Madsen, it would allow us to bring Dashonte along slowly (if he is indeed a project, as many people are claiming) and expect big contributions from him in 2011-2012 with his size. Clearly, the staff has a much better grasp of this situation than I do, but I hope they are able to find a way for us to get Dashonte this year.

[Best Buckeye]

Edited the scholarships to reflect the transfer of Anthony Crater.

[LitlBuck]

Lets try and keep the discussion about the number of scholarships available to this thread instead of posting in individual player's thread.

As of this date, we have 11 players on scholarship with 4 guys graduating next year so we should have a total of 6 scholarships available to offer in 2010 unless we bring someone in this year. If that happens and Turner goes early next year, we will still have 6 scholarships available for 2010 and there is always the possibility that Buford might leave early.

There has been some discussion that due to KK leaving that we lost one scholarship for the 2009 season but I have not any release from Ohio State which verifies that. With the departure of Crater and Mullens, if that is true, that would not hurt us if we gave out a scholarship this spring for next year.


There has also been quite a bit of discussion regarding Lighty and if you will stay for his senior season.

[Buckskin86]

Ohio State men's basketball: Scholarship decision pending
Team figures to lose one; a second hinges on rate of academic progress
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio State expects to forfeit one men's basketball scholarship for next season. It is not certain yet whether it will have to give up a second.

The athletic department is awaiting word from the NCAA on the results of the latest Academic Progress Rate, which will not be announced publicly until May but is expected to be provided shortly to schools.

"It could be one, it could be two," John Bruno, the university's faculty athletics representative, said of the scholarship penalty.

He said he could not make an educated guess on which it will be.

"I think we're doing a good job with the basketball program," Bruno said. "I think the (players) are working hard. I think the academic support people are working hard. Obviously, Kosta didn't help matters."

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Ohio State men's basketball: Scholarship decision pending

[LitlBuck]

Dispatch


I don't think having any scholarships, or maybe one, for 2009 will hurt us in any way especially considering the following.

2009 point guard off the board
Darius Smith, one of the last of the unsigned high-school-senior point guards worth getting involved with, made an oral commitment to Connecticut last night, the Chicago Tribune reported. He can sign with the Huskies beginning April 15.

I checked with Smith?s coach at Chicago Marshall last week and was told that Ohio State had not contacted him about Smith.

The 6-foot-2 Smith said that Missouri, Purdue, Kentucky, Indiana and Marquette were among the 10 other schools that offered him a scholarship.

Posted by Bob Baptist, March 31, 2009

[crazybuckfan40]

09 is done....

[buckeydoptimist]

Kecman should be put in the 09-10 Soph class as the Dispatch and other sources have said he will get a redshirt for 2008-2009 and will still have 3 years of eligibility left.

[LitlBuck]

Originally Posted by buckeydoptimist

Kecman should be put in the 09-10 Soph class as the Dispatch and other sources have said he will get a redshirt for 2008-2009 and will still have 3 years of eligibility left.

I think you're probably correct but it is also possible that the NCAA has not notified Ohio State lady will be granted a redshirt and maybe he will not stick around for 3 more years. One never knows.