As Devin Royal scores in double figures, Ohio State looks for continued growth from him
Devin Royal knows how to put the ball in the basket. In four seasons at perennial powerhouse Pickerington Central, Royal didn’t just score for the Tigers: he scored more than anyone else in program history. The final total was 1,542, outpacing Ohio State product and current Houston Rocket Jae’Sean Tate late in his senior year.
It made him a four-star prospect, one the Buckeyes landed in a heated recruitment that saw Michigan State in serious contention. But that’s not what will determine how much playing time or what kind of impact Royal makes as a freshman for the Buckeyes.
It’s everything else.
“He’s a gifted scorer,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said after Wednesday’s 88-61 win against Central Michigan. “He’s going to be a very good scorer in college, but I don’t know that that’s going to happen this year right away, so he can’t be tied to that.”
For the first time this season, the scoring was on display for Royal against the Chippewas. After having scored nine points in his first six games, Royal was one of five Buckeyes in double figures, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. He hit his second 3-pointer of the year, a major point of emphasis for him during the offseason, and added two rebounds, an assist and a turnover in 11:43.
He also was the first substitution of the game. With freshman Scotty Middleton sidelined with a foot injury that is unlikely to affect his status for Sunday’s game against Minnesota, Royal replaced sophomore Evan Mahaffey only two minutes into the game. Afterward, Holtmann said he needed more physicality from the 6-foot-6, 200-pound Mahaffey, leading to Royal’s quick insertion.
“My coaches just tell me to go in and do what I need to do,” Royal said. “The game will come to me. Me coming in and doing what I need to do for my teammates, rebounds I got, couple open shots. Go in and do what I do and help us get more points.”
It’s that latter point that lines up with Holtmann’s thoughts on where Royal’s season is headed. Entering the Central Michigan game, Royal was the only Buckeye to have played in all six games who was not averaging double-digit minutes per game. Royal was at 7.8 per game and had played less than half the minutes of any of the other eight players in the rotation.
Learning to consistently contribute at this level has been a process for Royal, as it is for all freshmen. When Royal was asked what the biggest adjustment has been, sophomore center Felix Okpara immediately chuckled. Seated to his right, Royal looked at him and asked, “Why are you laughing?”
Okpara composed himself and said, “As a freshman, it was the same for me, trying to balance going to practice and class and doing that again the next day.” Royal listened, nodded and echoed his teammate’s thoughts.
On the court, though, Royal is still learning that many of the things that helped establish him as an elite high school player go only so far against collegiate competition.
“I kind of felt that in the summer,” he said. “Trying to do some of the stuff I did in high school wasn’t really working. The coaches helped me with new moves, helped me develop as a good player. It helped a lot.”
The internal belief is that, by the end of the year Royal will have posted a stat line somewhere similar to what E.J. Liddell did as a freshman. Before blossoming into an all-league player, Liddell averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 46.4% in 16.6 minutes per game as a freshman during the 2019-20 season.
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There’s a lot of work to be done to get there. With his 11-point effort against Central Michigan, Royal is averaging 2.9 points and 1.7 rebounds while shooting 57.1% (8 for 14) from the floor and playing 8.4 minutes per game.
Holtmann said he did like the “pop” Royal gave the Buckeyes off the bench against the Chippewas.
“I always look at, is he doing what we need him to do in terms of rebounding?” Holtmann said. “Is he guarding the ball on switches? Is he blocking out? What’s his details on the scouting report? I thought tonight he just went in there and played. He played hard and did some good things and out of that made some shots, made some open looks.”
For Royal to claim a bigger role, that will be the recipe for success.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Devin Royal working on more than just scoring for Ohio State
