COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With Ohio State basketball coming off of the worst season of the Thad Matta era, and its first season under 20 wins since 2003-04, some things need to change. Matta is coming back next season, so that change isn't happening.



So beyond that, here are five changes that can fix the program.

1. Accountability. I have a stat from this season. I call it the Loving. It's how many times Marc Loving had a game with a personal turnover total equal to or greater than his number of made field goals.

That happened 16 times, and Loving averaged 33 minutes on the floor in those games. Ohio State went 8-8 in those 16 games, including one-point losses to Purdue and Nebraska, and two-points losses to Virginia and Northwestern.

I understand that the injury to Keita Bates-Diop kind of hamstrung Matta a little bit, taking a forward out of the rotation and basically leaving him with Loving, Jae'Sean Tate and Andre Wesson as the only usable players at the 3/4 spot. But leaving Loving, or any player, on the floor when he's having a game like that sends the wrong message.

There's a fine line between yanking a guy quickly at the risk of losing that player's trust, and leaving him in so long on a day that he just doesn't have it to the point that it's detrimental to the team and sends a message that it's OK to play with that lack of mental focus. Matta shaded too far to that latter, especially with Loving and with guard Kam Williams in some late-season games.

If the biggest problem with the program over the past two-plus seasons -- however long you want to define this downturn -- is a lack of buy-in, energy and execution, then those habits shouldn't be rewarded with game minutes.

This is another way of saying use your whole roster. Mix and match the pieces until you find something that works on that particular night. I can recall one night in which Matta did that, a nice win at Michigan in February. But his hand was forced then by injuries and foul trouble. It should become the norm. Either you have the depth to do it, or you don't. And if you don't, then you've assembled your roster poorly.

2. Defend, defend, defend. I wrote earlier this season that this was shaping up to be the worst defensive performance in Matta's 13 years at Ohio State, and it was. The Buckeyes finished 98th in the country in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency, which is points allowed allowed per 100 possessions adjusted for opponent.

That number was 101.1, nearly six points higher than it's been at any other point in Matta's tenure. This was a poor defensive team playing a system that's supposed to be predicated on defense first. Ohio State lost that identity, which was partly due to losing its best defender, Bates-Diop, at the beginning of Big Ten play.

Ideally you'd like to have guys who can switch onto any position on defense, but the Buckeyes really only had two guys who could do that last year in Tate and Wesson. Adding Bates-Diop back into the fold, and taking the redshirt off of forward Derek Funderburk -- both of those guys have 7-foot wingspans and can defend five spots -- should help.

But Matta shouldn't be hesitant to mix it up on defense either. Toss in a zone when it makes sense, put on a press early and try to get some easy offense. Matta's been coaching a long time, and has had a lot of success coaching a specific system. But it's not working now. So tweak it.

If you missed our latest Buckeye Talk Podcast discussing the future of Ohio State basketball, you can listen below:

3. Floor balance. Trevor Thompson deciding to forgo his senior season at Ohio State could actually work out well for the Buckeyes in the sense that it will unclog the middle of the floor. Thompson and Tate were the two best players last year, but they like to score from similar areas of the floor, and weren't helping each other by both being in the paint.



With Thompson out, Tate and incoming center Kaleb Wesson will be the only players to bring a steady interior scoring punch. And if managed right, Ohio State could get back to playing a one in, four out style that could lead to a more free-flowing offense.

Here's a quick roster breakdown for next year as it stands now:

Post players: Jae'Sean Tate, Kaleb Wesson, David Bell.

Wings/stretch forwards: Keita Bates-Diop, Andre Wesson, Derek Funderburk, Micah Potter.

Guards: JaQuan Lyle, C.J. Jackson, Kam Williams, Braxton Beverly.

There's a lot of area there to put four players around Tate or Kaleb Wesson and create the kind of setup Matta would prefer to have. Tate is undersized for that role at 6-foot-4, but we've seen how he scores in the post against bigger players every game. He can do it. Wesson can also stretch the floor as a center, and Potter (more of a natural stretch power forward than a true center) would be in a more comfortable spot.

4. Social media. Some might find this a silly change, but Ohio State needs to become cool, or relevant, with the players it's recruiting.



Nothing is cooler than winning. I get that. And it's a major reason why the football program is so successful at the social media game (Twitter, SnapChat, graphics, videos). But you have a football program pushing the envelope in this area, and a basketball program the hardly uses the platform.

Here's one example of the stuff the football team is putting out:

It seems minuscule, and a player won't make a college decision based on something he saw on Twitter, but this stuff does matter. If it gets a hat on a table on National Signing Day, it's worth it. It's a new arms race in college athletics, a way of brand expansion, and Ohio State's basketball program is lagging behind.

The athletic department recently hired a graphic designer for the men's and women's basketball programs, and the men's team had a videographer join the staff this past season. That's a good investment for a stagnant program needing a jolt.

5. Recruiting. This is what it really comes down to. You can make all the changes you want, but it won't work without the right people. Ohio State's national recruiting misstep and the problems it bore are well documented. It needed to change and it appears it has.



With Kaleb Wesson, arguably to top player in Ohio for 2017 signed, and three of the top five in-state talents committed for 2018, the Buckeyes appear to be on a better path on the home recruiting front.

The thing they need now is something they haven't had in three recruiting cycles: A dynamic guard who can elevate the talent around him. That was supposed to be Lyle, but he's yet to take that step. Jackson and Beverly could very well end up being solid college players, but neither has the profile of the kind of player I'm talking about.

He doesn't have to be D'Angelo Russell (though yeah, that would work). Just a guy you know is going to run the show.

Someone like Holy Name's Dwayne Cohill, or New Jersey guard Jahvon Quinerly, would fit the bill in 2018.