After their disappointing loss to Florida in the title game, things only got worse for Ohio State Basketball. Not only did OSU lose Oden, as expected, they lost Mike Conley and Daequan Cook also. To add to that, graduating senior Ron Lewis would play his last game.

This next season will not be about rebuilding, however. Thad Matta has put Ohio State on the basketball map again and recruits have noticed. Matta couldn't have repeated the success he had with last year's top recruiting class, but he came close. The new recruiting class boasts several top talents looking to prove they can fill the shoes of Oden, Conley and Cook.

Guards

Point Guard will be manned almost single-handedly by Senior Jamar Butler. Jamar has been here during the first Big Ten title and the Baby Boom era. Butler averaged only 8.5 PPG last season, but as the leader this season should look to regain his score-first mentality.

Backing up Butler will probably be Jon Diebler. Diebler is a natural shooting guard, but will probably be asked to help at PG since that position is thin. Diebler offers a Michael Redd-like sharpshooter for OSU's offense. Diebler broke the Ohio high school scoring record last year. He is deadly from all areas of the court.

PJ Hill is another possibility at the 1. A junior college transfer, Hill is unproven at a big stage level. However, since Diebler isn't a true point guard, he may be called upon if he can handle the ball well.

Diebler will also see many minutes as a backup to the likely starter, David Lighty. Lighty showed a lot of heart last year. Lighty averaged only 4 PPG last year, but his minutes were very sporadic. Look for him to become the player he was promised to be out of high school.

As with any college basketball team, OSU has a couple walk-ons that you hope get some playing time (because that means we're up by 50 points). Last year's Mark Titus and Danny Peters return to the bench this year, hoping to provide an underdog mentality to a ranked team.