THE Ohio State Buckeyes I haven’t been good at fielding a starting lineup with length on the field before in a long time. In fact, every time the Buckeyes have a 7-footer at center, it seems like the next tallest starter is around 6’6″ or 6’7″. Last year’s team is a perfect example: Felix Okpara, 6’11”, was usually joined in the front court by Evan Mahaffey, 6’6″.

This season looked to be different for the Buckeyes as two former McDonald’s All-Americans were set to start on the field. Kentucky Aaron Bradshaw is 7’1″ tall and started the first four games of the season at center. His counterpart, 6’9″ Sean Stewart is a Duke transfer and started the first four games at power forward.

Although both players are extremely talented, they have yet to prove themselves at the collegiate level due to minimal playing time in their first seasons. Regardless of their statistical impact as scorers, their playing time together provided potential for dominance on the glass and numerous blocked shots.

Unfortunately, this new and positive game plan for Ohio State is already undermined in the first month of the season. On Friday night, Stewart missed the game against Campbell due to a concussion. Although he is expected to return soon, Bradshaw remains the real question mark.

Ohio State released a statement earlier today saying Bradshaw was not currently participating in team activities and due to federal privacy laws they could not share more information For now.

With very little information known at this point, it’s difficult to speculate whether Bradshaw will be back at some point this season or not. Even losing it for a long time hurts.

The safe assumption for the starting lineup without Bradshaw is that Jake Diebler will accompany Devin Royal and Sean Stewart in the frontcourt, joining Bruce Thornton, Meechie Johnson and Micah Parrish in the backfield.

Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. has already established himself as an incredible six man off the bench. Evan Mahaffey should then clearly be the first attacker off the bench and No. 7 in the rotation. His abilities as a defender, rebounder and athleticism on the court are an asset in small-ball lineups.

Beyond those seven players, Ques Glover should still see time once he returns from injury and big man Austin Parks should get some minutes. One player who should see an increase in time is freshman Colin White. The 6’6″ winger from Ottawa, Ohio has impressed in limited minutes over the past two games. His athleticism, shooting ability and defensive potential are particularly intriguing in small-ball lineups.

After hanging 104 points on the Camels Friday night without big size, there is some hope with a smaller lineup on the field consistently. Shooting 65% from three-point range will be difficult to emulate consistently, but the Buckeyes have the shooters this year who rely heavily on the three ball.

If this team plays fast in transition, moves the ball, and takes open threes, then the Buckeyes should win a lot of games. The challenge will be in physical Big Ten Conference games, when a stout defense will slow down Ohio State and force them to run a half-court offense all game. On the defensive side, the Buckeyes will have to double the dominant bigs with their backs to the basket and hope to force errors.

In past seasons, this could be detrimental and cap the team’s ceiling. In Jake Diebler’s system with these shooters, it might not be the end of the world. The journey might have gotten a little tougher, but the path is still open for this team to compete for a Big Ten title and an NCAA Tournament birth.

While everyone awaits further information on the status of Aaron Bradshaw, the truth is that this group of guards still makes up the core of this team. Gradually, this team will leave.