2022-23 Big Ten Women's Basketball Preview: Ohio State
The core stayed intact, can the Buckeyes improve on a strong 21-22 campaign?
Apologies for not posting on Thursday, I was in New Mexico and thought I would be motivated to write something while on the plane. That did not happen.
Also… Rutgers check!
It is still that way on Sept. 5. Nice.
Besides those pesky Scarlet Knights, we are now at the top three. Buckle up folks.
Last week’s preview:
Last year was a big one for head coach Kevin McGuff. The long time head coach has been with Ohio State for nine seasons now, but had just come off of two straight years with NCAA Tournament-level teams not getting a chance to prove it. The first was due to COVID-19, the second was due to a self-imposed ban off of violations by a former assistant coach.
Prior to those years, the NCAA Tournament hadn’t been kind to McGuff’s Buckeyes, who consistently underwhelmed compared to regular season success. Ohio State also lost key pieces at forward last offseason, specifically star Dorka Juhasz, who left to join a somewhat decent UConn program.
And yet, despite all of that, Ohio State was awesome.
There was almost no way that the Buckeyes were going to be a great defensive team with the roster they had, and it was even less likely that they would dominate the glass. Instead of trying too hard to fix those issues, McGuff decided to make Ohio State play to its strengths.
The Buckeyes finished 21st in the country with 263 threes made, doing so on unbelievable efficiency. Ohio State was able to do that thanks to a frantic pace of play, something opponents struggled to keep up with, leading to a top-50 ranking in steals. It also led to plenty of trips to the free throw line, where the Buckeyes shot well at (73.4 percent).
All this led to 1.10 points per scoring attempt and 0.92 points per play, numbers that ranked 13th and 7th nationally. Doing that, with that pace, made for extremely fun basketball.
Ohio State started the year winning games it was supposed to while getting torched by teams it was supposed to lose to. Defeats of 19+ to Indiana and Michigan, the latter happening twice, set the tone that the Buckeyes were good, but not quite to the level of the conference’s elite.
But that immediately changed following the second 19-point loss to the Wolverines. Ohio State turned around and beat Iowa, then got a win over Nebraska 10 days later. Sure, there were still losses to Maryland and the Hoosiers after that, but they were much closer battles.
That momentum rode into the NCAA Tournament, where Ohio State won close over Missouri State before detonating on a very good LSU team. Yes, the Buckeyes fell to Texas in the Sweet 16, but it was a three-point defeat that came down to the final seconds.
This was all possible thanks to the Jacy Sheldon-Taylor Mikesell duo, quite possibly the most fun guard pairing in college basketball last season.
It was easy to see this coming for Sheldon. The former five-star prospect has seemed like a star from day one, and the signs were clear when she led the team in scoring (16.7 PPG) as a sophomore.
Yet again, Sheldon led the Buckeyes with 19.7 PPG while adding 4.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Her shooting numbers, as they have always been, were terrific, with 50.4/36.6/86.4 splits. But shooting is only part of the picture with her, as she is one of the best players in the country at capitalizing in transition and is a menace on defense thanks to an unbelievable motor.
Due to an injury to point guard Madison Greene, Sheldon handled a lot of the point guard duties, and she was able to take that over without much issue. A lot of that was thanks to Mikesell, who transferred over from Oregon last offseason and immediately became a star.
Mikesell didn’t add too much to the box score outside of scoring, but that doesn’t matter when you average 18.6 a night. That was thanks to 114 three-point makes, second-most in the country. She did so on 47.5 PERCENT SHOOTING FROM DEEP, a number that is hard to fathom.
To have that efficiency as one of the two clear primary scoring options is unbelievable. Mikesell used her free year of eligibility to return this season, and comes back along with Sheldon and Greene, who assumedly will pick back up the point guard duties. That backcourt is enough to get the reigning Big Ten regular season champs right back to where it was last season.
Sheldon (9.2) and Mikesell (7.9) combined for 17.1 win shares, while the rest of the team combined for 18.3, so it’s safe to say those two will lead this team again. As mentioned, Greene will be back after missing last year with an injury, and she is another excellent scorer and playmaker (13.4 PPG, 4.3 APG, 1.7 SPG in 2020-21) that will allow for even more spacing on offense.
Ohio State also largely succeeded thanks to some big contributions from Rikki Harris and Taylor Thierry. Harris (7.1 PPG, 1.6 SPG) shows up statistically more than Thierry (2.9 PPG, 54.1 FG%), but the latter really impressed down the stretch as a true freshman and should carve out a sizable role in year two.
There was also a bit of a bounce back in year three for Rebeka Mikulasikova. Her 9.4 PPG and 5.0 RPG were huge for a team that needed size, but she is still searching for her shot (28.8 3PT%) that has been missing since her freshman season.
There are some notable departures here, specifically Tanaya Beacham and Braxtin Miller. Both were key veterans that helped on both sides of the floor. Miller especially has been a calming two-way force that does plenty more than the box score would show, and it’ll likely be on Harris and Thierry to try and fill that void.
Kateri Poole is a former five-star and may finally find her footing under Kim Mulkey at LSU, but she never found it in Columbus. There were flashes of brilliance in her playmaking, but the offense never flowed through her as anticipated.
None of these losses feel too impactful considering who is still on the roster, and the incoming freshmen class gives plenty of reason to think that the Buckeyes can reload quickly. The star get here is Cotie McMahon, a near-five-star talent that stayed within the state and has the ability and size to come off the bench and make an immediate impact.
Kaia Henderson’s size (which may be taller than 5-5 but Ohio State has not updated its site with freshman info because it hates me) may be a question, but she was a dynamic scorer in high school who enrolled early and got more time to work with McGuff’s system. She didn’t see action last year, but that experience just in practice could be substantial.
Mya Perry, like McMahon, brings size to the table, something Ohio State still lacks. She was a solid scorer in high school and could find time as a four in a small-ball lineup.
Usually I bring up the transfers before the freshmen because they should make a larger impact, but this class seems to bring depth more than anything. Shumate is the exception as a former top-60 prospect, and she should basically be considered a freshmen after not playing at West Virginia. There is plenty of untapped potential there, but Karla Vres and Eboni Walker are upperclassmen who didn’t make sizable impacts on the floor at their most recent stops.
Vres adds some needed size, but played just 11.9 minutes per game for American in the Patriot League. Walker is a solid rebounder who has a lot of experience, and that could be all they need her to be with the amount of scoring in Ohio State’s backcourt.
Outlook
Ohio State stunned many, myself included, by finishing the regular season atop the Big Ten. The key cogs of that well-oiled machine are back, and that’s enough to make the Buckeyes a must-watch team once again.
This may be the final year for both Sheldon and Mikesell, and both are talented enough to (potentially) get looks at the WNBA. You should watch them any opportunity you can.
Bringing Greene back is also massive. She is another tremendous talent that is always a threat to drive to the basket and is a plenty capable shooter. This offense should be among the best in the country with these three healthy.
I don’t expect the rebounding woes to end with this current roster, but it wasn’t that big of a deal last year and it shouldn’t be again. If the shots are falling, the Buckeyes can make up for that rebounding deficit without much issue.
I would call this offseason’s transfer haul a whiff, though Shumate could be a big get, but the core is together and the freshman class has loads of potential to make up for it.
McGuff has yet to make an Elite Eight, even with some of the most talented teams in the country. He was three points away from doing so last year, and this team looks like it’s even better. That should be the goal, while getting back to the second weekend at all should be the expectation with this combination of talent and experience.
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I totally forgot that Madison is gonna be back! Extremely hype