The Ohio State coaching staff expects Bynum to be a “day one” guy.
With the not-so-great news Thursday night that former Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams is headed to North Carolina State rather than Ohio State, roles are beginning to look a little clearer for the rest of the roster.
We still expect Jake Diebler and his staff to add another player before the summer is up, but Williams was one of the last impact players available. More likely than not, Ohio State will add a rotation player who won’t start.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated which city has provided the Ohio State men’s basketball program with the most talent over the years. 51% of the readers sided with Connor, who picked Toledo. Justin chose Columbus, which picked up 23% of the vote.
Dayton (11%), Cleveland (10%), and Cincinnati (1%) took up the rear. 4% of readers thought it was another city aside from those five.
After 205 weeks:
Connor- 93
Justin- 86
Other- 20
(There have been six ties)
This week, we’re discussing one of Ohio State’s incoming freshmen, A’mare Bynum. A top-100 recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, Bynum stands 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds at power forward. He likely won’t crack the starting lineup right away, but he is expected to see minutes pretty much every night.
This week’s question: What do you expect from A’mare Bynum?
Connor: 19 minutes per game, nine points, five rebounds per game
The more I read about Bynum, the more I wonder if he will become the latest Ohio State freshman to skyrocket up recruiting boards during the season and unexpectedly become a one-and-done player.
Bynum is a big body, and was able to bully high school competition in the post because of his size and strength. During his last two years of high school, Bynum and his coaches shifted their focus to the perimeter, and he now enters college as a more than respectable outside shooter.
While he needs to continue to improve his shot selection, Bynum has a crazy strong motor that never stops. He is going to grab rebounds and will also present a matchup issue for opposing bigs if he can knock down some shots from the perimeter. NBA teams love a big man who can stretch the floor, and I suspect he will have scouts attention come January.
While he probably won’t start as a freshman, Bynum is going to force his way onto the floor as one of the first few players off the bench. I expect him to play quite a bit of power forward as well as some small-ball center at times.
Bynum’s ability to knock down jump shots and also finish at the basket will lead to him having a few big games — don’t be stunned if he puts up a 20-point game at some point this season.
As evident by the players he has recruited and the players he leans on the most, Diebler loves players who are willing to run to exhaustion and play with the motor on 100%. That’s why Bynum is going to earn minutes at Ohio State.
Justin: 16 minutes per game, six points, four rebounds per game
I think Bynum will significantly contribute to this team regardless of Josh Ojianwuna’s status next year, but he becomes a huge piece to the team of Ojianwuna cannot play. Bynum will likely play the four, but depending on Ojianwuna’s status, he can also play the five.
The thing about Bynum was that he excelled against top competition in high school. Eric Bossi of 247Sports called Bynum a power four starter, and said this about the incoming freshman:
“Live bodied, energetic and versatile, Bynum is a player whose best days are ahead of him on the college level,” Bossi put in his evaluation.
Bossi added, “A long and wiry strong 6-foot-8 interior player, Bynum is a capable defender at either the power forward or center position. Offensively, he’s in the process of going from a player who relied on hustle points, lobs, and quick drives from the high post for his scoring to a much more skilled player. Bynum can now step out and make threes, his passing out of the low post and from the free throw line extended has also improved.”
These things indicate a player who can play day one and will need to for the Buckeyes.
Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel were brought in to play heavy minutes for the Buckeyes. Still, Bynum could slide in as the backup to both of them, depending on the status of Ojianwuna and the production of second-year center Ivan Njegovan, making for solid minutes and stats for the freshman.