Where does this leave the Buckeyes next season? Here are the positives, negatives, and unknowns…
Guards
The biggest hit this offseason has been in the backcourt. For the past five years, Jacy Sheldon has led the Scarlet and Gray on both offense and defense. Buckeye’s career is now over, and he is set to play professional basketball. Celeste Taylor, a one-year Ohio State guard, joins Sheldon. The shooting guard who topped the Big Ten in defensive rating and steals has joined Sheldon in the WNBA Draft pool of players.
These were the involuntary departures; after all, NCAA eligibility only extends so far. However, all three transfers reduced the Buckeyes’ guard numbers.
Emma Shumate and Diana Collins were the first people through the portal. This year, both athletes got some time on the court, but not as much as they or their supporters would have hoped. Shumate averaged 9.6 minutes, with Collins slightly higher at 9.9.
Their absence made sense throughout the 2023-24 season. After all, the underclassmen were trailing a group of five guards that included Sheldon, Taylor, Madison Greene, Rikki Harris, and Taylor Thierry. There are, of course, arguments for increasing depth, but those are now moot as the pair seeks brighter pastures outside of Columbus.
Even with the transfer announcements, there had a strong returning group and two incoming freshmen. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, they suffered a setback Wednesday when Harris added her name to the list of players entering the portal.
Harris has missed exactly one game for Ohio State this season due to illness. For the next 31 games, Harris came off the bench to provide defense, an occasional deep shooting threat, and whatever else head coach Kevin McGuff required.
The five-year Buckeye, who redshirted one season, has played every position except center over the last three years, demonstrating versatility and leadership.
That transfer, in particular, provides a wrinkle to next season’s roster.
Greene will be the only guard anchor on Ohio State’s roster next season. Thierry is a third-guard who cannot be assigned to a specific position. The upcoming senior plays all over the court and does not fit into the standard guard position. There is also sophomore Kaia Henderson and redshirt Kennedy Cambridge.
Henderson played 111 minutes across two seasons with the Buckeyes, averaging 4.5 minutes this season, all in non-competitive situations. Coach McGuff redshirted Cambridge, giving her three seasons at Ohio State. Prior to joining the Buckeyes, Cambridge played for the Kentucky Wildcats and takes pleasure in her defensive abilities.
Greene’s natural position is point guard, but the redshirt senior has suffered with knee issues. Due to season-ending knee injuries in two straight years, the Pickerington, Ohio native did not start a game this season but contributed from the bench.
Along with Greene and Henderson, the only guards on the roster are freshmen, but one has the potential to be exceptional.
Jaloni Cambridge, Kennedy Cambridge’s younger sister, has the ability to join the Buckeyes and start right away as Coach McGuff’s point guard. Cambridge demonstrated her abilities during the McDonald’s All-American game on Tuesday. Cambridge runs the floor while reading, grabbing attention and locating teammates, or shifting into another gear to get to the basket.
That might mean Greene transitions to a shooting guard role, or the Buckeyes use the transfer portal to bring in a starting guard to fortify the position.
There’s also incoming four-star freshman Ava Watson. In high school, the Georgia native was named the region’s player of the year. Will she follow in the footsteps of other guards such as Shumate and Collins, who joined the squad but left before seeing the court?
Regardless of who comes in, it will be difficult to replace Sheldon and Taylor’s effect, but owing to transfers, the position is even more uncertain.
