Ohio State basketball in pursuit of son of NBA legend in portal

Could Ohio State bring in the son of a former NBA legend to help rebuild the roster?

The college basketball transfer portal officially opened up on Tuesday, and reportedly, there are already over 1,500+ players who have submitted their names. Ohio State has not been safe from the chaos, already having multiple players from last year's roster enter the portal, as well as one of those players being projected to go to a team that played in the national championship just a few days ago.

The Buckeyes are not just standing pat, however. 24/7 Sports (subscription required) has reported that the Buckeyes are a team to watch for Justin Pippen, a guard who announced his transfer out of California. Justin, the son of Hall-of-Fame NBA forward Scottie Pippen, spent one season at Michigan, where he played in 28 games off the bench and averaged 1.6 points in 6.7 minutes per game. He entered the portal after that freshman year and later landed at Cal, where he made a much bigger impact, averaging 14.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 4.6 assists this season.

Pippen’s biggest strengths are his ball-handling, decision-making, and ability to run offense for others. Scouting notes have described him as a versatile combo guard who is comfortable scoring from multiple levels and setting up teammates, which matters for a team like Ohio State that needs backcourt help. His sophomore leap at Cal also points to a player whose confidence and command have steadily improved.

Ohio State has already lost multiple players to the portal, including Devin Royal, Taison Chatman, Gabe Cupps, and Colin White, leaving major holes in the rotation. It seems the Buckeyes need a starting guard, a starting-caliber center, and several depth pieces, with more than half the roster gone. With Michigan now a national champion, the Buckeyes have even more incentive to reload quickly and avoid falling further behind their biggest rival.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Ohio State basketball pursuing son of NBA legend in transfer portal