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In the preseason rankings, Taison Chatman is at number 16

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In the preseason rankings, Taison Chatman is at number 16

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The first year of the Jake Diebler era will feature the most scholarship players in Ohio State men’s basketball history.

Technically, the Buckeyes will have a full roster of 13 scholarship players for the 2024-2025 season. But with Ohio State building its roster for the year and dealing with a summer injury to an expected rotation player, first-year coach Jake Diebler could add another piece to the puzzle as a walk-on, the cost of which will be covered by NIL compensation. of registration with the state of Ohio.

The Buckeyes are projected to finish eighth in the annual unofficial media poll conducted jointly by The Dispatch and The Indianapolis Star, and are aiming to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing each of the past two seasons. Ohio State went 22-14 last season when Diebler was named coach after taking over on an interim basis midseason.

Sorting through a 16-man roster with nine new faces, including two walk-ons, takes effort, and The Dispatch has you covered. To prepare for the season, The Dispatch is once again publishing its annual preseason power rankings. Each weekday leading up to the Nov. 4 season opener against Texas in Las Vegas, we’ll be counting up as we project which players will play the biggest role in the 2023-2024 season. This isn’t just a measurement of who will lead the team in a given statistical category, but a series of educated guesses about which player contributions will take the longest to lead to where the Buckeyes finish.

The series starts today with sophomore guard Taison Chatman.

No. 16 – Taison Chatman

Position: Guard

Eligibility: Second year (three remaining)

Height/weight: 6 feet 4 / 175 pounds

Jersey number: 3

Important: Sports industry

Background

According to 247Sports.com, Chatman is the No. 33 national prospect and the highest-rated member of Ohio State’s four-man 2023 recruiting class. Chatman, a standout at Fridley (Minnesota) Totino-Grace, was his state’s No. 1 player and ranked listed as the nation’s No. 7 combo guard.

Ohio State began recruiting Chatman in the spring of his junior year, and his official visit to campus coincided not only with visits from the entire class of 2023, but also with an unofficial visit from Bronny James, LeBron’s son who now is at USC. At the time, Ohio State had a commitment from guard George Washington III, but after the visit he rescinded his commitment and ultimately signed with Michigan. That decision opened up a position that Chatman filled within a few weeks.

The Buckeyes viewed him as a guard who could play off the ball but also direct the offense to the point, a key factor in his decision to select Ohio State from a list of finalists that also included Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia and Xavier. The Golden Gophers, his hometown school, have pulled back a bit in their recruiting after landing Cameron Christie, a four-star shooting guard from Rolling Meadows, Ill., at No. 84 in the class.

With his commitment out of the way, Chatman battled through injury and helped Totino-Grace capture a second straight state title. He averaged about 17 points, eight assists and eight rebounds despite the injury, finishing the year with 20 points and 12 rebounds in the 50–46 win against DeLaSalle in the championship game.

Summary of the 2023-2024 season

The injury that had hampered his senior year at Totino-Grace ultimately required Chatman to undergo surgery early in the fall to repair his meniscus. It cost the freshman valuable time during the preseason and kept him out of action for the first four games of the season.

Chatman made his debut as a substitute late in the first half of what would be a 92-81 victory against No. 15 Alabama as part of the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida.

He suffered a concussion in December, and when he was fully healthy again, Chatman found himself on the outside of Chris Holtmann’s rotation, looking in. The freshman played in just eight of Ohio State’s first 25 games, totaling 25:46 of playing time without scoring. one point. In Diebler’s first game, a home win against No. 2 Purdue, Chatman was on the field for 2:57 after being a healthy, unused substitute in six of the previous seven games and totaling just 1:14 of playing time in his lone game . appearance.

It was the start of a slightly bigger role for Chatman under Diebler, as he played in nine of the final eleven games of the season. Chatman scored his first career points on a floater in the paint while playing in front of the Minnesota crowd, finishing with 18 points in those last nine outings.

“Coming out of high school, I was more of an elementary ballhandler,” Chatman told The Dispatch after scoring in Minnesota. “Over the past eight months I have been adjusting to playing in the fall and without the ball. I practiced both.”

In total, Chatman had a total of 45 minutes of playing time under Diebler and approximately 29 minutes for Holtmann. On April 11, Chatman announced his return to Ohio State in a social media post that also featured THE Foundation, the premier collective supporting the men’s basketball program.

“Taison has done some really good things for us in the last few weeks,” Diebler said on March 22.

Need to know

He has shared an AAU backcourt with Tamin Lipsey, an Iowa point guard who signed with Iowa State as part of the 2022 class. Diebler was his chief recruiter. During his official visit to Ohio State, Chatman met with athletic director Gene Smith and program alumnus Evan Turner. His younger brother, Tian, ​​is developing into a Division I prospect in the class of 2026. He was the fourth and final member of the class of 2023 to commit to Ohio State.

Outlook for the 2024-2025 season

When he returned to Ohio State for his sophomore year, Chatman was in line for a key role in the backcourt. Although veterans Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson Jr. will take up the bulk of the minutes at the two primary guard spots, Chatman’s late-season growth and offseason work had him taking on a primary backup role in the rotation.

That all changed in June, when he landed awkwardly during a workout and suffered a torn ACL in his left knee.

“He’s not going to practice, but he doesn’t have to wear a brace to walk around and stuff, and he can get around,” Diebler said before the first practice of the fall. “He has a long progression. We are happy with his progress, but it will take some time.”

It is the same knee that had the meniscus injury, but the two situations are unrelated. Over the summer, Chatman spent time talking with former Buckeye EJ Liddell, who suffered a torn ACL before his rookie season in the NBA.

Chatman will miss the entire 2024-2025 season, wear a medical redshirt and spend the interim working to get back to full health.

Additional reading material

From injury to state title in Taison Chatman’s senior season

Jake Diebler: EJ Liddell helps Ohio State’s Taison Chatman deal with ACL injury

Now that the roster has been set, here’s one question about each member of the 2024-25 Ohio State Buckeyes

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@AdamJardy

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