Northland's Towns, Nation's Top Transfer, May Pick OSU
Seth Towns wasn't kidding when he posted on Twitter that his decision on where he'll transfer as a graduate from Harvard will come, "this week."
There won't be much of the week left, only a few hours, when he apparently goes live on ESPN SportsCenter Saturday night to announce whether he will become an Ohio State Buckeye or a Duke Blue Devil.
Or surprise everyone.
OSU and Duke appear the front-runners for the former Ivy League player-of-the-year, who has missed the past two seasons rehabilitating from a knee injury.
There's a lot to love about the 6-7, 215-pound Towns:
- He will be immediately eligible to play next season.
- He will be only a junior in eligibility, and thus have two years remaining.
- He possesses a lethal three-point shooting touch.
- He's a former Ivy League player-of-the-year.
- He's a Columbus native, having played at Northland High School, where he's the leading career scorer in front of both Jared Sullinger and Trey Burke.
Towns averaged 16 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and shot 63-of -143 (44.1%) on three-pointers to make unanimous first-team All-Ivy League and win conference POY in 2017.
Because Towns has his undergraduate degree, he is barred by Ivy League rules from playing basketball as a graduate student.
OSU coach Chris Holtmann has room for Towns because of the transfer plans of freshman D.J. Carton.
The expected departures of Kaleb Wesson and Alonzo Gaffney also leave space for OSU to add another graduate transfer.
Harvard point guard Bryce Aiken would fit nicely in to the spot Carton vacated. Aiken, who averaged 16.7 points in the seven games he played this season before a season-ending injury, averaged 22.2 points in 2018-19.
Holtmann has an enviable track record with graduate transfers to market, having gotten production from Andrew Dakich in 2018 and Keyshawn Woods in 2019.
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