Making a case for Bruce Thornton, Jamison Battle and an incoming freshman as the Buckeye who will replace Brice Sensabaugh as Ohio State’s go-to guy on offense in 2023-24.
Thornton’s resurgence started with a 22-point explosion in a tight loss on the road against Michigan and he didn’t slow down much after that. In the final 13 games of the season, Thornton averaged 14.5 points while shooting 51.4% from the floor and 36.7% from long range. Thornton was rewarded for his stellar four-game stretch in the Big Ten Tournament with a spot on the All-Tournament Team, becoming just the 10th freshman to do so.
Thornton persevered through the toughest Ohio State season in the Holtmann era and pushed through the freshman wall, and the experience he gained along the way should make him even better in 2023-24.Only one player on the retooled Buckeye roster has actually led a Big Ten team in scoring for an entire season. For that reason alone, Minnesota transfer forward Jamison Battle may be the best bet to provide instant go-to offense for Ohio State in 2023-24, perhaps only besides Thornton.
However, his follow-up season at Minnesota wasn’t quite as successful. Battle’s scoring average dropped to 12.4 points per game and he shot just 37.1% from the field and 31.1% from beyond the arc. Battle dealt with injury issues during his fourth year of college basketball and struggled to be quite as productive with North Carolina transfer Dawson Garcia – who averaged 15.3 points per game in his first year at Minnesota – on the floor.
Another factor in Battle’s favor is his 3-point shooting prowess, which Ohio State will need in spades after losing the likes of Sensabaugh and Sean McNeil this offseason. Battle hasn’t shot fewer than 6.4 3-pointers per game in any season of his collegiate career, and he’s hit a total of 257 threes to this point. Ohio State often didn’t attempt enough 3-pointers last season, and Battle may be tasked with stretching the floor consistently given the shooting that’s departing from the program.
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