Despite the program failing to meet expectations in numerous seasons recently, there are still a number of Buckeye basketball players who deserve recognition for their efforts.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about Ohio State heroes. Whether they are the biggest names in Buckeye athletic history, or underappreciated icons; perhaps even players who made major impacts off the field.
You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Buckeye Heroes” articles here.
The last decade for Ohio State basketball has been inconsistent. Following the tail end of Thad Matta’s tenure in Columbus, the school turned to Chris Holtmann, who took the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament on two occasions before the school moved on from Holtmann in the middle of last season.
Now Jake Diebler is leading the program. The jury is still out on Diebler since he has only been on the job for a little more than a year. While things can change quickly in college basketball, the first full season under Diebler left a lot to be desired when it comes to results on the court.
Despite Ohio State underwhelming for the most part over the last decade, there have been a number of players who have impressed with their efforts on and off the floor during that time. Even though none of these players were able to experience the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament during their time at Ohio State, they certainly left their mark with some of their performances, as well as the leadership qualities they displayed as they tried their hardest to lead their teams to postseason glory.
There are six Buckeye basketball players over the lead decade who should be recognized for going above and beyond what was expected of them, giving their all to try and uphold the standards that were set by Ohio State teams under Matta earlier in the century.
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It became obvious early on that Russell wasn’t going to be in Columbus for very long. After coming to Ohio State as a five-star recruit, the guard showed the hype was definitely real when he scored 32 points in the third game of the 2014-15 season.
Russell would go on to record the first triple-double by an Ohio State freshman later in the year when he finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a win over Rutgers.
With Russell leading the charge, Ohio State was able to make the 2015 NCAA Tournament, drawing VCU in the first round. Russell would finish with a team-high 28 points in the 75-72 overtime victory over the Rams. The Buckeyes would bow out of the tournament in the next round in the 73-58 loss to Arizona, with Russell scoring just nine points in the game, marking only the second game in the 2014-15 season where Russell would fail to score at least 10 points in a game.
With his play during his freshman season, Russell would go on to be named a consensus First Team All-American, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and winner of the Jerry West Award, which is given annually to the best shooting guard in college basketball.
The Los Angeles Lakers would draft Russell with the second pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, and in 2019 Russell was selected to the NBA All-Star Game as a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
Jae’Sean Tate
Part of the same recruiting class as Russell was forward Jae’Sean Tate. The two players would go on to have wildly different college careers. Russell was only at Ohio State for one year, while Tate would play four years in Columbus before he would move on to the professional level.
There was little doubt early on that Russell was bound for the NBA. Tate wasn’t drafted and had to make several stops overseas before the Houston Rockets took a chance and signed him to a contract.
Tate fought for everything on the basketball court. Despite being undersized, Tate would often line up against taller opponents since the Buckeyes didn’t have a ton of size, especially during his freshman season. As a junior, Tate had to take on more offensive responsibility since Keita Bates-Diop was injured.
Then as a senior, Tate decided to return for one more season at Ohio State even though Buckeye Nation would have understood if he moved on after Thad Matta was replaced as head coach.
Since signing with the Houston Rockets prior to the 2020-21 season, Tate has appeared in nearly 300 games, averaging 8.3 points per game. Following his rookie season, Tate was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, becoming just the second undrafted player to earn those honors.
Kyle Young
Originally Kyle Young was set to play college basketball at Butler, but those plans changed once Chris Holtmann accepted the Ohio State coaching job in June 2017. Young came to Columbus as a four-star recruit from Stark County. After coming off the bench in 25 games in his first season with the Buckeyes, Young saw his role increase in his sophomore season, starting 14 games.
Young’s final three seasons in the scarlet and gray was when he did his best work. As a junior, Young averaged 7.5 points per game and a career-high 5.8 rebounds per game. The COVID shortened 2020-21 season saw Young’s best scoring season as a Buckeye, averaging 8.6 points per game, followed by 8.2 points per game in 2021-22.
Will Young be remembered as an all-time great at Ohio State? No. What Young will be remembered for is his heart and loyalty. Young battled a number of injuries during his time as a Buckeye but was always working to try and get back on the floor.
There also was a number of opportunities where Young could have looked elsewhere to close out his college career. Instead, Young stuck it out with Holtmann in Columbus, playing five years as a Buckeye.
Even though his work is unheralded, Young deserves recognition for playing in 135 games over five seasons.
Keita Bates-Diop
One of the more surprising rises in Buckeye basketball history came from Keita Bates-Diop. The forward went from averaging 3.8 points per game as a freshman during the 2014-15 season to being named Big Ten Player of the Year in 2018. Following his freshman season where all 33 of his appearances came off the bench, Bates-Diop started 33 games as a sophomore, averaging 11.8 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game in 2015-16.
Unfortunately for Bates-Diop, his momentum was slowed since he suffered a stress fracture in his leg in 2016-17, limiting him to just nine games in Thad Matta’s final season as head coach. After he was given a medical redshirt, Bates-Diop returned to the court with a vengeance the next season, averaging 19.8 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Bates-Diop scored 24 points in Ohio State’s first round NCAA Tournament victory over South Dakota State before netting 28 points in a loss to Gonzaga in the second round.
Bates-Diop was selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Following a season and a half with the Timberwolves, Bates-Diop has suited up for the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Brooklyn Nets, and Phoenix Suns. Most recently, Bates-Diop signed with the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association.
E.J. Liddell
After being named Illinois Mr. Basketball in his junior and senior seasons in high school, E.J. Liddell came to Ohio State as a four-star recruit. Despite not starting a game in his freshman season, it was obvious that Liddell had the talent to hang in the Big Ten, averaging 6.7 points per game and nearly a block a contest while seeing just over 16 minutes of playing time per game.
Over the next two seasons, Liddell would start each of the 61 games he appeared in for the Buckeyes.
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As a sophomore, Liddell was one of the most improved players in college basketball, boosting his scoring to 16.2 points per game as Ohio State would make the NCAA Tournament as a two-seed before being upset by Oral Roberts in the first round.
After flirting with entering the NBA Draft, Liddell decided to return to Columbus for one more season, posting the best numbers of his college career, finishing with 19.4 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game. Liddell was not only named to the All-Big Ten First Team, he earned Third Team All-American honors.
Liddell was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans, but he suffered a torn ACL in NBA Summer League action a few weeks later. Since then, Liddell was traded to Phoenix but never played for the Suns before the team waived him. Most recently, Liddell appeared in 12 games for the Chicago Bulls during the 2024-25 season, averaging 4.4 minutes per game.
Bruce Thornton
If we’re being honest, Bruce Thornton should be looked at as the biggest hero in recent memory for the Buckeyes because of his loyalty to the program. In this day and age of the transfer portal, it would have been completely understandable if Thornton decided to take his talents to a true contender over the last few seasons.
Instead, Thornton has stuck it out in Columbus even after the firing of Chris Holtmann. Through his first three seasons with the Buckeyes, Ohio State has failed to make the NCAA Tournament, which has to be eating at Thornton.
As a junior, Thornton registered the best offensive season of his career, averaging 17.7 points per game. It looked as though Jake Diebler brought in some reinforcements to help Thornton when Meechie Johnson transferred back to Ohio State. Unfortunately, Johnson only played a handful of games, meaning Thornton again would have to shoulder a heavy load. The guard gave it his all, hitting the 30-point mark in wins over Maryland and Kentucky. With 13 more points, Thornton will reach 1,500 career points as a Buckeye.
There’s a lot of reasons to be frustrated with the men’s basketball program for their performances over the last few years. None of that frustration should be directed at Thornton, since he is doing the best with what he has to work with. Hopefully Diebler and company can put together a strong 2025-26 season to close out Thornton’s Ohio State career with a bang.