Ohio State guard Scotty Middleton plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

Ohio State freshman Scotty Middleton announced plans to enter the transfer portal Monday morning, according to a tweet from On3’s Joe Tipton.

Here was Tipton’s post relaying the news:

“Ohio State freshman guard Scotty Middleton is entering the transfer portal, per his IG. Former four-star recruit.”

During his lone season in Columbus, Middleton appeared in 30 games for just over 15 minutes a contest, averaging 4.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. He was also a bit of an enigma, shooting the ball at 45.2% from the 3-point line while barely making 33% of his 2-point tries.

Middleton’s move comes after a coaching change during the season for Ohio State. Middleton had committed to head coach Chris Holtmann during the last recruiting cycle but saw him forced out midway through the season before Jake Diebler took over. Following a spirited end to the season, Diebler’s interim tag was removed and he earned the job going forward.

Now, Middleton will enter the portal and evaluate other opportunities. He should have plenty of suitors with that strong mark from the 3-point line plus his recruiting pedigree. Middleton was the No. 54 overall player in the 2023 On3 Rankings and a four-star prospect.

Ohio State adds new hoops assistant

Ohio State is adding a familiar face to a prominent role on new coach Jake Diebler‘s staff, tapping USC Upstate coach Dave Dickerson to be the new associate head coach, according to a report from analyst Jeff Goodman.

Dickerson and Diebler were on staff at Ohio State together from 2013-16, when Diebler served as the program’s video coordinator and Dickerson was the associate head coach.

The now-former USC Upstate coach was actually on staff at Ohio State longer than Diebler during that time period, serving with the Buckeyes from 2010-17, with six seasons as associate head coach on Thad Matta‘s staff.

The new arrival to the Buckeyes’ staff has spent the past six seasons at USC Upstate, where he helped guide the Spartans to one of the most successful runs in school history.

USC Upstate reached the semifinal round of the Big South Men’s Basketball Championship twice in a row in 2022 and 2023. USC Upstate set a program record for conference victories in the Big South in 2021-22 with 10.

Dickerson has more than 20 years of college coaching experience with stops at Gardner-Webb, James Madison, Radford, Maryland, Tulane and Ohio State.