What Could Have Been? Ohio State

For the sake of argumentation, let's have a little bit of fun real quick.

Take this year's Ohio State team. They made the NCAA Tournament as a nine seed before losing to Siena in overtime in Dayton last month. They already had a pretty young team, but if not for five early defections to the NBA in the past three seasons (including big man B.J. Mullens, who has already declared), the Buckeyes could have had a loaded team this year. Take a look:

PG -- Mike Conley Jr. (now with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies)
SG -- Daequan Cook (now with the NBA's Miami Heat)
SF -- Evan Turner (first team all-Big Ten selection this year)
PF -- Kosta Koufos (now with the the NBA's Utah Jazz)
C -- Greg Oden (now with the NBA's Portland Trailblazers)

The bench? Not too shabby, either. Think of Mullens, David Lighty, Jon Diebler, William Buford and Dallas Lauderdale. That's a team that can go ten-deep. Is there any doubter out there that thinks that team would not have been a legit Final Four contender?

In wake of their departures, Matta continues to reload and win. He has turned Ohio State into a launching board towards the pros, which is attracting top recruits to Columbus. Now, all he has to do is convince them to stay. If he can do that, Ohio State has a shot at winning a national championship.

To further illustrate my point, take a look at the list below. Matta has always been a fantastic recruiter, but take a quick look at his 2010 recruiting class list. NOTE: Due to no graduating scholarship seniors, Ohio State has no signees for 2009, though Mullens' departure opens one spot up.

-- Jordan Sibert, a 6'4" shooting guard from Cincinnati, OH (five-star; ranked #18 on Rivals.com's 2010 Top 150)
-- Lenzelle Smith, Jr., a 6'3" shooting guard from Zion, IL (four-star; ranked #97 on Rivals.com's 2010 Top 150)
-- Jared Sullinger, a 6'8" power forward from Columbus, OH (five-star; ranked #3 on Rivals.com's 2010 Top 150)
-- DeShaun Thomas, a 6'6" power forward from Fort Wayne, IN (five-star; ranked #8 on Rivals.com's 2010 Top 150)
-- Cameron Wright, a 6'5" shooting guard from Cleveland, OH

They're also in the running for five-star prospects Adreian Payne (Dayton, OH) and Dominique Ferguson (Indianapolis, IN). Matta is going for it all and succeeding.

Think their future is in good hands?