What to Expect from Ohio State Basketball in 2010-11

Yes, college football hasn't even started yet, but with so much uncertainty surrounding college basketball this upcoming season, and in particular, Ohio State, now is as good a time as any to try and anticipate what could end up being an immensely successful season for the Buckeyes come November (right around the time they get done beating Michigan in football).

The Departures

The best player in the country last year is gone from the Bucks. I won't go too much into Mr. Turner as anyone who followed the Buckeyes last year would know that he meant more to the Buckeyes as any player has meant to his team in the last decade. He did everything, literally.

We shouldn't blame him for leaving early, as he was the #2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, but man, would it have been incredible had he decided to return for his senior season. Two words: National Championship.

Other less publicized departures are that of guards P.J. Hill and Jeremie Simmons. While neither averaged more than 12 minutes per game in Thad Matta's rotation (or lack thereof), both players provided depth and a single skill.

Simmons was a solid shooter, shooting close to 40% from 3 point range. Hill was a scrappy defender who would frustrate a team's second or third best player into making a handful of mistakes. Both players also made few mistakes as they knew their roles and never did anything out of their skill set.

Center Kyle Madsen's departure won't be that big of an issue due to the newcomers (more on that next slide), though he was the top backup in the frontcourt and was a banger inside.

All four players will be missed, though one more than the rest.

The Newcomers

For the fourth time in five years, Thad Matta has assembled a top 10 recruiting class (this time at #2 or 3 depending on where one looks).

The two studs of the class are power forward Jared Sullinger and small forward DeShaun Thomas (seen above driving to the rim).

Sullinger, from Columbus and younger brother of former OSU standout J.J. Sullinger, is widely regarded as the best power forward in the class and somewhere in the top 6 overall. He's a massive guy (6'8" 250+) with soft hands and probably the most polished low post game of any of Matta's recruits (which include first rounders Greg Oden, Kosta Koufos, and B.J. Mullens).

Thomas is a scorer, flat out. Think Michael Redd, only bigger, and a better defender. He's regarded as one of the best three players at his position and a top 20 player overall. Chances are he may be the newcomer that helps fill Turner's massive shoes on the perimeter as he can slash into the paint.

The other highly touted recruits are guards Jordan Sibert, Lenzelle Smith, and Aaron Craft, along with small forward J.D. Weatherspoon.

Sibert and Smith are both regarded as top 100 overall players in the class. Sibert, a shooting guard out of Cincinnati, had a broken leg two springs ago, which put his ability into question. However, he had a stellar senior season and should be a solid player for the Buckeyes for the next three or four years. Smith is a guy I'm not too familiar about, but he's pretty big (6'4" 205) and has the ability to play both guard positions.

Aaron Craft is the future point guard for the Buckeyes. The question will be, if the future is now. It's uncertain as to whether he's skilled enough to take the reins this early, but he's a great defender and doesn't make many mistakes (probably a better version of P.J. Hill).

J.D. Weatherspoon was the last addition to the squad. He was a teammate of Sullinger's at Northland High School and put up big numbers against perennial powerhouse Oak Hill Academy when the team effectively doubled Sullinger every play. He's easily the best athlete of the bunch, but will take a couple years to develop into a significant contributor.

The Backcourt

The obvious strength of the team last year will still be its strength, though it may not be as obvious. The two guys pictured above (William Buford and Jon Diebler) along with David Lighty return to form a trio of scorers looking to improve their numbers in order to make up for the loss of Turner.

The big question surrounding this bunch is who's going to be the primary ball handler, or is it going to be by committee? Lighty is probably the likely candidate being a redshirt junior, but his defensive responsibilities of likely guarding the opposing teams best player may make it hard for him to do this effectively.

Diebler's responsibilities probably won't change much as he is what he is: a sharpshooter. Sure, he may be asked to handle the ball a little more and drive to the hole on occasion, but he's best on the three point line daring his man to sag off him as one of the slashers drive the lane.

As already discussed, the new guards will see some action, though it's unclear how much. Craft could start for the team, or only see the floor in limited action. Of all of them, I'd expect Craft and Sibert to be the first guys off the bench.

Buford could end up being the team's best player. He recently spent time playing against the U.S. National team as part of the college squad sent in to scrimmage against them. That should only have helped him. The talent has always been there with him, and with Turner gone, it may be time to show the world just how much talent he has.

The Frontcourt

Dallas Lauderdale was really the only line of defense for the Buckeyes last year once an opponent got into the paint. He did a solid job, averaging over two blocks per game. Luckily for him, he'll be getting some help in the newcomers Thomas and Sullinger as well as a couple seldom used returnees in Nicola Kecman and Zisis Sarikopoulos.

Expect Sullinger to possibly supplant Lauderdale in the starting lineup if Matta elects to go with his four guard lineup he used last year. Otherwise, Sullinger and Lauderdale should provide the squad with a formidable frontcourt.

It's unclear whether Thomas will be used on the wing or in the paint, but with the backcourt so deep, I'd think he'll be the first guy to spell either Sullinger or Lauderdale. While he isn't a big body (6'7" 225), he's the type of player who can score from anywhere on the court and Lighty has shown the ability to guard bigger players which would allow Thomas to use his size to his advantage outside the paint.

Not much is known about Kecman and Sarikopoulos, but chances are they'll get some time if the freshman take awhile to get accustomed to the next level.

Biggest Question: The Rotation

For the first time since probably 2006, Matta is going to have something many coaches can only dream about: quality depth.

Last year, Matta typically only played six or seven players, with Buford, Turner, and Lighty playing all 40 minutes. Now, with the influx of a top 3 recruiting class, most of which can make an immediate impact, it will be interesting to see how Matta decides to use this new tool.

Will he go with a 4 guard starting lineup like last year? How many players will he typically use in a game? 7? 8? Will they use this depth to use a press at times?

As one can see, the possibilities are endless for how Matta elects to use his assets.

As a guess, I think the starting lineup will be Buford, Diebler, Lighty, Sullinger, and Lauderdale. No player smaller than 6'4", but no player bigger than 6'8". I think he'll go with three guys off the bench with Craft and Thomas being locks for 15 minutes per game and either Sibert or Smith getting 10 or so depending on whoever's playing the best at the time.

Should the big guys get in foul trouble and I think Matta will decide to go small and try to out run the opposition kind of like how they did last year when Lauderdale was out of the game.

The Prediction

It's going to be interesting to see how this team develops as the season wears on and the younger players get used to Big Ten play.

Is a Big Ten title possible? Absolutely, though with powerhouses like Purdue and Michigan State in "Final Four or Bust" mode, it won't be easy at all.

I expect the team to be in the top 3 of the conference regardless. Whether they win the conference or not is completely unknown.

As for the NCAA's, they should be hoping to get a top 4 seed, which should be guaranteed if they finish in the top 3 of what's supposed to one of the toughest conferences this season.

Realistically, Elite Eight should be a solid accomplishment for this team. After that, it'll be all about the matchups and if it falls into place, a Final Four appearance could definitely be in the future.