Ohio State freshman Devin Royal working on growth: 'It's a process'
The talk around Ohio State during the summer was that it was going to take a while for Devin Royal to settle in. Once the freshman did, and Ohio’s Mr. Basketball as a senior at Pickerington Central realized his potential at the Division I level, there was a juicy comparison for him to live up to.
As a freshman, E.J. Liddell averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds while playing 16.6 minutes per game off the bench for the 2019-20 Buckeyes. Liddell appeared in every game, showed steady improvement through the season and closed with double-digit scoring efforts in the final two games of the year before the COVID-19 pandemic brought it all to a premature end.
The same path was envisioned for Royal. A 6-6, 210-pound forward with a proven scoring ability at every level before getting to college, he entered the 2023-24 season poised to grow into a role player.
Midway through the Big Ten, he’s not quite there yet. He’s shown flashes, but the freshman will play at Iowa on Friday night ninth in minutes (7.5 per game) and scoring average (2.9). He’s been a healthy, unused substitute in three games, all against Big Ten teams, but has flashed scoring ability in limited minutes as Ohio State has now lost six of seven and passes the midpoint of league play at 13-8 overall and 3-7 in the conference.
“It’s going good,” Royal said of how the year has met his expectations. “I expected us to win a little bit more, but it’s going good. We’re learning new things. In my opinion, we’re a great team. We’ve got a lot of skill. We’ve just got to keep working.”
A four-star prospect, Royal was the No. 52 overall prospect in his class and the top player in Ohio according to 247Sports.com. He picked the Buckeyes ahead of Michigan State and Alabama in what was a heated recruitment. As a freshman, Royal saw action in the first nine games of the season but was not used in an 83-80 loss at Penn State on Dec. 9.
In a home win against Central Michigan on Nov. 29, Royal scored 11 points in 12 minutes as Ohio State cruised, 88-61. He then played in six of the Buckeyes’ next nine games, totaling seven points in only 42 minutes of playing time. After not seeing action in a Jan. 6 loss at Indiana and a Jan. 10 home loss to No. 15 Wisconsin, Royal’s production has started to tick slightly upward.
In seven minutes, Royal had seven points in a Jan. 15 loss at Michigan. In five minutes, he scored eight points in a Jan. 20 home win against Penn State. Last time out, Royal finished with seven points in seven minutes in an 87-75 home loss to No. 14 Illinois.
“They say keep doing my job,” he said. “Just keep being ready when I get in. Keep getting my defense better. Just be ready for when they call my name.”
It’s mostly been other aspects of his game that the coaches have cited as having kept Royal from more consistent playing time. This season, he has committed multiple fouls right as opponents have grabbed defensive rebounds, sending them to the free throw line all the way at the other end of the court. At times, Big Ten big men have switched onto Royal in the post and bullied him under the basket for easy finishes. Although he’s gotten in better shape, Royal is still growing in his ability to defend on the perimeter.
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“He’s got to continue to grow defensively,” coach Chris Holtmann said Jan. 19. “He’s played always on the interior defensively, now he’s playing out on the perimeter and on the interior some, but he’s working at it. That’s probably been the biggest challenge for him, that and the normal speed of the game. He’s a terrific rebounder and done some really good things there.”
As Ohio State’s offensive efficiency has continued to dip (it is 10th in Big Ten games at 71.1 points per game), Royal could be an option to give the Buckeyes a few extra buckets with more consistent playing time. As he works to get to that point, Royal said he’s trying to just continue putting in work to improve.
“It’s a process,” he said. “Me being a freshman is a process, getting minutes, getting more time. For me, it’s keep working. I’ve worked my whole life. Just keep working and strive for better.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Devin Royal on freshman year growth: 'It's a process'
