COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There's this team located about an hour from where D'Angelo Russell grew up. You may have heard of it.

The college basketball super team that hasn't lost, the one loaded with unparalleled talent and depth, the one that's the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and perhaps the heaviest favorite to win a national championship the sport has ever seen.

There's another team located directly in Russell's hometown. That one is a No. 4 seed, is led by a legendary coach, has a deeper roster than Ohio State and is more familiar with deep NCAA Tournament runs than early trips home.

The first one is Kentucky. The other is Louisville.

Yet Russell left Louisville, left Kentucky, for Ohio State, a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament that will face No. 7 Virginia Commonwealth in Portland, Oregon on Thursday. The Buckeyes aren't expected to get out of the first weekend despite having Russell, a first-team All-American and a projected top-five NBA Draft pick.

Which gets you thinking: In a world where teaming up is a trend - you can thank Cleveland Cavaliers megastar LeBron James for that -- why is Russell at Ohio State when maybe he could've stayed home with a flashier team? Why did he leave his city? Why did he leave his state?

Above all, now that it's March and his freshman season and maybe his college career are coming to an end, what's been the difference for Russell between staying home and being at Ohio State?

"Probably a couple million dollars," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said.

Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell could have stayed in Kentucky and played for a team more equipped to win a national title this year. He decided to go to Ohio State instead.

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Russell likes to joke around and sometimes he playfully caused trouble in middle school. It was nothing ever serious, just a little clowning around. Kids.

But one time when he was in seventh grade he was asked to come after school and help set up the stage for a school play. Russell and a friend showed up after school for three hours and helped set up. He swears by it.

A teacher saw it differently. Russell said she wanted them to stay longer, and from his viewpoint that was unnecessary, so he left. That teacher felt disrespected, Russell's principal found out, and he was forced to miss one of the most important games of his middle school career.

Missing the game stung, but that wasn't the hardest part.

"Everyone thinks their teachers lie on them, but I really got lied on," Russell told Northeast Ohio Media Group last weekend at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. "She really hated me. And my dad believed her over me."

You could see in Russell's eyes that he was still hurt by it, though it may seem insignificant now. The argument with his father, Antonio, turned into a life-changing event. Russell moved out, and moved in with his mother, Keisha, for three months.

Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell remembers a three-month period in his life while he was in seventh grade that molded him to what he is today.

Everything changed. No more new Air Jordan sneakers, no more new clothes, no more advantages he had living with his father. He was with his mom now, and he described her as a "working woman."

"We shared the same cereal bowl," Russell said. "The same forks and spoons."

Because Keisha was always working, Russell had to become self-sufficient despite being 13. That responsibility turned into a regimented schedule: Bus, school, bus home, walk his dog, eat, then off to the nearby basketball court to work on his game.

"I remember all of my priorities were set," Russell said. "I never set my life to be on a routine, but it was the same routine. It was utopia."

Of course Russell moved back in with his father in a few months after everything blew over. Russell refers to Antonio as not only his father, but a brother, a role model and someone he can always share his life with.

D'Angelo Russell's game really started to flourish when he enrolled at Montverde Academy in Florida.

But that minor school incident, that disagreement Russell had with his father, taught him how to survive by leaning on himself. That turned out to be necessary, because midway through Russell's high school career he left Kentucky to go play at Florida boarding school Montverde Academy.

"That was the best thing for him," Antonio said. "He was a man about it, hung in there and got the best out of that situation to get him to this point."

Russell's game took off at Montverde. That's when he became one of the most sought-after college basketball prospects in the country. That's where he learned how to be a man. And maybe he wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for what happened to him in middle school.

"That was a big moment of my life," said Russell, reflecting back on his time with his mother. "It's the reason I am what I am."

*****

The two easiest recruitments Matta ever had were former one-and-done players Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden. He puts Russell in that same category. Incidentally, those three players would be the debate points for "best freshman in Ohio State history."

Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said D'Angelo Russell was one of the easiest recruitments of his career.

You can see why Russell's recruitment was so easy, though. There were no Instagram posts, no Twitter posts, no announcements, no ceremonies and he took only one official visit. ... to Ohio State.

"It wasn't a dog and pony show," Matta said.

A former five-star prospect, Russell immediately clicked with Matta. He wanted to commit months earlier, but his father urged him to take his time. Time changed nothing, then Russell committed with more than a year to go before he could sign.

But there were no second thoughts, secret visits or coded social media posts. Drama-free.

"He didn't have a superstar mentality," Ohio State assistant coach Jeff Boals said. "The great ones, they are easy to recruit because they know what they want."

The great ones, though, usually make a spectacle out of it. In reality, Russell was so quick and closed off, he may have cost himself other opportunities. When he chose the Buckeyes, Russell had scholarship offers from Arizona, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Tennessee, Virginia and others.

Kentucky hadn't offered yet, but given Russell was rated in the 247Sports composite rankings the No. 5 shooting guard in his class, the Wildcats may have gotten on board despite the fact it signed five top-10 players the previous year.

"You see through all that BS," Russell said. "You get over the hype, you see what matters and doesn't. I told my dad I didn't wanna go through all that crazy recruiting stuff. I always prided myself in being different. Just growing up, I didn't wanna go through official visits. Before, I want to be on ESPN and all that, but once reality set in and things got tough for me, it was just irrelevant.

"Coach Matta recruited me the best, I had a close relationship with him immediately and I saw a great opportunity at Ohio State. Sometimes it's just that simple."

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This is Russell's reward for doing it this way, for coming to Ohio State and taking the challenge of being the Buckeyes' go-to guy. This season could have been easier for Russell elsewhere, he could have been on a national championship-caliber team.

Instead, he'll have to shoulder the load for the Buckeyes if they have any chance of getting past VCU and a likely second-round matchup with No. 2 Arizona. He'll have to go even above and beyond what's already made him a projected top-five pick in this summer's NBA draft.

That he's in the position to do it, though, has paid off. Literally.

"I've always been my own guy," Russell said. "The attention I am getting now, I probably wouldn't get that if I were on a Kentucky team where it's a big list of all-stars. I just went my own way, and it's working out for me great."

D'Angelo Russell's collegiate career could be winding down in Portland this weekend.

Don't take that the wrong way. Russell is adamant that he hasn't made a decision yet, but when you're a top-five pick, that decision has been made for you. It's impossible to turn down that money.

Initially, Ohio State envisioned Russell would be a two-year guy -- "I don't think anyone had a one-and-done approach with him," Boals said -- but he's quickly acclimated to being a dominant force.

"There's something to be said about being given the green light to do whatever he wants," said NBA Draft expert Aran Smith, who has Russell the No. 2 overall pick on NBADraft.net. "I think if he would have ended up at a place like Kentucky, it would have held him back. I think at Ohio State, he has the luxury to take over and be the leader of the team and really show what he can do as a focal point."

Ohio State can't win without that.

But even if the Buckeyes' season ends in Portland this weekend and Russell's Ohio State career comes to a close, he's already proven to be one of the best players of the Matta era. And for a superstar to do it the way Russell did? It was worth ...

A couple million dollars.