As draft looms for Brice Sensabaugh, which Ohio State Buckeyes have been one-and-dones?
When the 76th NBA draft draws to a close, Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh will have added his name to a short list.
Thousands of players have been selected in the annual event that dates back to 1947, when the Pittsburgh Ironmen tabbed Texas Wesleyan forward Clifton McNeeley with the first-ever pick. While being picked is an exclusive club on its own merit, Sensabaugh will become the 56th Buckeye to be drafted by an NBA team.
He will also become only the ninth Ohio State product to make it there after just one season. A four-star prospect from Orlando Lake Highland Prep, Sensabaugh led the Buckeyes in scoring and was named to the Big Ten’s all-freshman team in becoming Ohio State’s second one-and-done player in as many years. Sensabaugh is projected to be taken somewhere in the middle of the first round of the draft.
Here’s a chronological look at the other Ohio State one-and-done players.
Mike Conley Jr. – Memphis Grizzlies
A fine prep prospect in his own right, Conley was largely viewed as a decent player who would be Greg Oden’s sidekick when he arrived at Ohio State for the 2006-07 season. Instead, the lefty point guard grew into a first-team all-Big Ten selection who would set program records for most assists in a season (238) and help the Buckeyes reach the national championship game. Conley averaged 6.1 assists, the second-best total in Ohio State history, and a freshman-record 87 steals.
Conley was taken with the No. 4 pick in the draft after averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds with a 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio. He started all 39 games as Ohio State went 35-4 and won both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. The 2022-23 season was Conley’s 16th in an NBA career that has seen him also play for Utah and Minnesota.
Daequan Cook – Philadelphia 76ers
As a reserve guard, the Dayton Dunbar product averaged 9.8 points and shot 41.5% from 3-point range while playing alongside former AAU teammates Conley and Oden. Cook made one start and averaged 19.7 minutes off the bench for coach Thad Matta’s team before deciding to leave for the NBA.
Cook was taken by Philadelphia with the No. 21 pick but immediately was packaged as part of a deal that sent him to Miami. He totaled 328 games in six NBA seasons, averaging 6.4 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 36.9% from 3-point range in stops at Oklahoma City, Chicago and Houston.
![Former OSU basketball player Greg Oden celebrates senior day after graduating from OSU at Value City Arena March 10, 2019.[Eric Albrecht/Dispatch]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/MsTG2YkPGysXe.c.vHTuiQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTc1NQ--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-columbus-dispatch/0c02781c00f2cb48a2deded576e720a7)
Greg Oden – Portland Trail Blazers
After a monster season that saw him earn consensus second-team all-American honors, Oden became the first Ohio State player to be taken with the first overall pick. During his year with the Buckeyes, Oden shook off a right wrist injury that cost him the first seven games and forced him to wear a protective brace to average 15.7 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in 32 games. His 105 blocks are third-most in Ohio State history and most for a freshman.
Oden was a first-team all-Big Ten pick, the conference’s freshman of the year and both the national and Big Ten defensive player of the year. Injuries prematurely ended Oden’s NBA career, which amounted to 105 games in three seasons with Portland and Miami. He averaged 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while playing 19.3 minutes per game. Oden has also returned to Ohio State to get his college degree.
Kosta Koufos – Utah Jazz
In his lone season with the Buckeyes, Koufos took over for Oden at center and was named to the Big Ten’s all-freshman team after averaging 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds while shooting 50.8% from the floor. He also earned third-team all-Big Ten honors and took home the NIT’s most valuable player award after he had 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in a title-game win against Massachusetts. Among Ohio State freshmen, Koufos sits third in blocked shots (67), fourth in rebounds (247) and fifth in points (534).
After being taken with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2008 draft, Koufus enjoyed an 11-year NBA career where he averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 686 games with Minnesota, Sacramento, Memphis, Denver and Utah. His most impactful season was in 2012-13, when he averaged a career-best 8.0 points and 6.9 rebounds while starting in 81 games for Nuggets.
Byron "B.J." Mullens – Dallas Mavericks
As Ohio State’s third straight 7-footer to become a one-and-done, Mullens was named Big Ten sixth man of the year and a member of the all-freshman team after averaging 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 33 games. Mullens set a program record for freshman by shooting 63.8% (120 for 188) from the floor, a figure that would be the best for any Buckeye had he hit the threshold of 125 makes. He is eighth among Ohio State freshmen in blocked shots with 37.
Mullens was drafted with the No. 24 pick of the 2009 draft and traded that night to Oklahoma City, where he scored 39 points in 26 games during the next two seasons before being traded again. Mullens spent five years in the NBA with Charlotte, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 40.8% from the floor. His most prolific season was in 2012-13 when he averaged 10.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in 53 games including 41 starts for Charlotte.
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D'Angelo Russell – Los Angeles Lakers
Coach Thad Matta likes to tell a story of an early-season practice in which Russell threw a pass so impressive that it was at that moment he realized the guard would be a one-and-done. Russell became the first Buckeye to jump to the NBA after just once season in six years after one of the most dominant freshman years in Ohio State history. Russell was a consensus first-team all-American, Ohio State’s team MVP, winner of the Jerry West Award (given annually to the nation’s top shooting guard) and the Big Ten freshman of the year. He averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
His 675 points are most for a freshman in Ohio State history, as are his 95 made 3-pointers. He’s also second in scoring average and field goals made, third in assists, fourth in free-throws made and steals and seventh in rebounds. The Lakers made him the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft and through the end of the 2022-23 season has averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 36.2% from 3 and 42.6% overall in eight seasons including stops with Minnesota, Brooklyn and Golden State.
Malaki Branham – San Antonio Spurs
Ten games into his freshman year, Branham had showed promise but given little indication he’d be a one-and-done. Having averaged 6.3 points per game to that point, Branham would close the season on a tear by averaging 17.0 points in the final 22 games and clearing a path to the NBA. Branham announced himself by pouring in 35 points in an overtime road win against Nebraska, the most for an Ohio State freshman in a Big Ten game, and finished having averaged 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 49.8% from the floor and 41.6% from 3.
Branham was named Big Ten freshman of the year, third-team all-conference and a member of the all-freshman team. He was taken with the No. 20 pick and averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 66 games including 32 starts for the Spurs.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Which Ohio State players have been one-and-done NBA draft picks?
