A native of Louisville, Ky, D’Angelo Russell went to high school in Florida to prepare himself for this moment. At basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy, Russell honed his hardwood skills against the nation’s top prep competition as a precursor to the next step of his career. Instead of a step, Russell took a leap in his dominant freshman campaign at Ohio State.
Now, he’s headed to the pros.
Russell will likely be a top-10 NBA draft pick after he announced his intentions to leave school early for a shot to play against the best in the world. Russell is just the latest Thad Matts product to join the professional ranks. It’s a formidable list that includes Greg Oden, Mike Conley, B.J. Mullens, Kosta Koufos and Daequan Cook as players that had bypassed their remaining years of collegiate eligibility for NBA glory.
If the opportunity is there, take it.
That wasn’t the case with Jared Sullinger. Now with the Celtics, Sullinger returned for his sophomore year with the Buckeyes after averaging a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds in his first year with Ohio State. Clearly, the professional talent was there and Sullinger easily would have been a first round draft pick, but his contributions meant a little bit more than the average Buckeye baller. Sullinger was a Buckeye by birth as a Columbus native. In 2011, Ohio State was bounced from the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed in the Sweet Sixteen. Sullinger felt he owed the fans, and himself, a better effort. So, he returned as a sophomore, averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game, and took the Buckeyes to the Final Four.
Conversely, this past year, Russell stood out on a team that lacked the overall talent to make a deep run in the Big Dance. Ohio State was “Big Ten good” but not big time good. The Buckeyes finished sixth in the conference with a 24-11 record. They wouldn’t have been that good without Russell. He averaged nearly 25 points with six assists per game and only had two turnovers, on average, each outing. He basically had played himself out of Columbus and into the box of bouncing ping pong balls.
Ohio State was eliminated in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament this past season, falling to Arizona. Russell scored just nine points in what would be his final college contest, but just getting past the second round wouldn’t have happened without Russell’s 28-point overtime performance.
It was indicative of his entire run with the Buckeyes.
He accomplished all he could with a team that will likely finish in the same spot among the Big Ten next season. It was a mediocre year, but one with another accomplishment for Coach Matta. Almost under the radar, he is becoming a magnet for top talent. Not only that, he’s molding top talent into superior ability.
Russell came into Ohio State as a McDonald’s All-American, but also as a player with professional potential. He wasn’t tabbed as a one-and-done player like nearly all of John Calipari’s recruits at Kentucky. Under Matta’s guidance, he quickly developed into the runaway for conference Freshman of the Year and a consensus All-American.
First round draft pick D’Angelo Russell will be his next title. For that, he has Thad Matta to thank.