Exodus leaves only one member of Ohio State's prized freshman class

Only a few months ago, Ohio State's JaQuan Lyle was a key member of a five-man freshman class ranked among the best in the nation.

Now Lyle is the last of that class left in Columbus.

Lyle posted the above picture hours after Ohio State coach Thad Matta announced that guard A.J. Harris, forward Mickey Mitchell and center Daniel Giddens intend to transfer out of the program. Freshmen shooting guard Austin Grandstaff previously left the program in December and enrolled at Oklahoma in January.

Those departures are a blow to Ohio State's depth in the short term and a blow to its future in the long run.

On the one hand, the Buckeyes expect to return their six leading scorers from a 21-win team that lost in the second round of the NIT earlier this month. On the other hand all four players were Rivals 150 recruits who would have been at minimum key reserves next season and potentially played an even bigger role thereafter.

Of Tuesday's departures, the most prized player is Giddens, a raw 6-foot-9 center whose 3.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game this season don't fully reflect his potential. Giddens is already a capable shot blocker and has a chance to blossom into a standout if he develops his low-post game and plays with the same energy without fouling as frequently.

Mitchell made seven starts as a freshman, averaging 2.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 12.8 minutes. Harris put up 2.8 points and 1.6 assists.

The silver lining for Ohio State is that the transfers came early enough to to replenish next season's roster. Having to scramble late isn't ideal, but the transfer market should offer chances to address the holes created by Tuesday's exodus.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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