{"id":188419,"date":"2026-04-10T22:29:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=188419"},"modified":"2026-04-11T11:33:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T15:33:59","slug":"ohio-state-gets-commitment-from-scottie-pippens-highly-touted-son-6-11-croatian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/10\/ohio-state-gets-commitment-from-scottie-pippens-highly-touted-son-6-11-croatian\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio State Gets Commitment from Scottie Pippen’s Highly Touted Son And 6-11 Croatian Big Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justin Pippen<\/a> is headed back to the Big Ten. Pippen committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes<\/a> after playing at Cal-Berkely last season, per Joe Tipton of On3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ohio State Gets Commitment from Scottie Pippen’s Highly Touted Son And 6-11 Croatian Big Man<\/h2>\n

Pippen had a breakout sophomore season in his lone year with the California Golden Bears. The 6-3 combo guard averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 31 minutes over 32 appearances. He drained 1.7 threes and compiled 1.9 steals with shooting splits of 37.0\/32.7\/82.7. In addition, the 2025-26 Honorable mention All-ACC<\/a> selection scored in double-figures in 26 of 32 appearances, topping the 20-point\u00a0 mark three times.<\/p>\n

Pippen demonstrated real command as a lead guard and high-level facilitator with the Golden Bears, posting an assist percentage of 29.2. A late bloomer, like his father Scotty Pippen<\/a>, Justin has also shown the ability to follow in his father’s and older brother Scotty Pippen <\/a>Jr.’s\u00a0footsteps as a strong on-ball defender with outstanding instincts.<\/p>\n

Pippen does a good job getting to the free-throw line, where he is a career 83% shooter. Additionally, he improved as a three-point shooter this past season, but the 20-year-old still needs to work on his efficiency. He is at his best in pick-and-roll situations and still needs to work on shot selection and finishing at the rim, particularly against length.<\/p>\n

Pippen is not an elite athlete, though he has some craftiness to his game. Additionally, he needs to work on developing his body this summer by adding muscle.<\/p>\n

Pippen, Scottie Pippen’s youngest child, was ranked 79th among transfers on the On3 porta3.\u00a0 The consensus No. 68 recruit in 2024, Pippen chose to attend Michigan<\/a> out of Sierra Canyon High School (Cali.). However, he totaled only 187 minutes in 28 appearances for the Wolverines.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Bob Donnan, Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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Buckeyes Must Replace A Lot<\/h3>\n

Ohio State made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons this past year. The Buckeyes, who earned a No. 8 seed, finished with a 21-13 record and 12-8 in the Big 10. While the Buckeyes ended eighth in the conference, it marked their best Big Ten record since 2020-21.\u00a0 The Buckeyes have reached the NCAA Tournament in five of the last 10 years, though they have not made it to the second weekend since 2015.<\/p>\n

Ohio State is 46-31 under coach Jake Diebler<\/a>, who took over the program towards the end of the 2023-24 campaign. The Buckeyes were outstanding on the offensive end this past season, ranking 38th in efficiency and one of the top shooting teams in the nation. They also did an excellent job limiting turnovers to just 10.6 per contest.<\/p>\n

However, the Buckeyes were in the bottom third of the country defensively. The Buckeyes guarded decently well, but they struggled on the glass, forcing turnovers and fouling.<\/p>\n

Diebler must replace three starters this offseason, including leading scorer Bruce Thornton Jr. Devan Royal, another Buckeye starter, has entered the transfer portal and\u00a0is expected to land<\/a> at UConn.<\/p>\n

The Buckeyes, who went nine deep this past season, also saw reserve guards Gabe Cupps and Taison Chatman, along with backup forward Colin White, enter the transfer portal. Additionally, John Mobley Jr<\/a>. is testing the NBA waters, though he is expected to return.<\/p>\n

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What Is Next For The Buckeyes?<\/h4>\n

Mobley is expected to return to Columbus this summer to look to increase his production once again. Mobley, second on the Buckeyes in scoring this past season, increased his production to 15.2 points per game from the 13 he averaged as a freshman. He also developed into one of the Big Ten’s best 3-point shooters.<\/p>\n

If Mobley does indeed return, he and Pippen are expected to start in the backcourt, per Andy Anders of Eleven Warriors.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Pippen is likely to start at guard for Ohio State alongside junior John Mobley Jr. in 2026-27,” Anders said. With his tremendous passing skills, Pippen can run point in many Ohio State sets while Mobley plays his more natural off-guard position.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Pippen’s defense should also be a great complement to Mobley, who improved but still had his shortcomings in that area in 2025-26, Anders continued. “Pippen’s length at 6-foot-3 and defensive instincts were a real challenge to the ACC’s perimeter players this past season, as he logged a team-high 1.8 defensive win shares.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Amare Bynum, the consensus No. 60th recruit in 2025, had a strong final three months as a freshman and is also slated to return. Like Mobley, Bynum — a 6-8 power forward — could have found his running mate today.<\/p>\n

According to ESPN’s Jonathan Giovany<\/a>, Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavi\u0107 has committed to Ohio State. Early this evening, Jelavic spent last season with the Wildcats after playing two seasons with Mega Superbet in the Adriatic League.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Kentucky transfer Andrija Jelavi\u0107 has committed to Ohio State, per Mi\u0161ko Ra\u017enatovi\u0107,” Giovany tweeted. “The 6’11 Croatian sophomore started 18 SEC games, averaging 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds in 16 minutes.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Is Andrija Jelavic?<\/h3>\n

Jelavic is a 21-year-old big man with extensive international experience. Jelavic started his career coming off the bench, though he started the final 20 games for the Wildcats. He had four double-figure scoring games, though he was much more efficient against poorer teams.<\/p>\n

Jelavic is expected to have a huge role for the Buckeyes, who were reportedly looking for a starting center. Jelavic moves well for a player his size and possesses a nice touch around the rim, though he can stretch the floor with his shooting. He is an elite finisher and a good cutter. However, he does need to improve defensively and add muscle.<\/p>\n

With Jelavic and Bynum in the fold, the Buckeyes should be pretty well set up front. Seven-foot-1 Croatian Ivan Njegovan,\u00a0 6-10 Nigerian Josh Ojianwuna — who took a medical redshirt this past season — and 6-9 incoming freshman Alex Smith provide depth. Six-foot-8 forward Anthony Thompson, a consensus five-star recruit, is the gem of Diebler’s two-person 2026 high-school recruiting class.<\/p>\n

Diebler is expected to add some more depth, with likely an emphasis on the backcourt. The Buckeyes have been linked to BYU guard Rob Wright, Duquesne guard Jimmie Williams, Davidson guard Devin Brown, and FAU guard Devin Vanterpool.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Justin Pippen is headed back to the Big Ten. Pippen committed to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes after playing at Cal-Berkely last season, per Joe Tipton of On3. Ohio State Gets Commitment from Scottie Pippen’s Highly Touted Son And 6-11 Croatian Big Man Pippen had a breakout sophomore season in his lone year with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":188452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773,2,3],"tags":[2785,2306,3772,49901,776,866,1619],"class_list":["post-188419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","category-featured","category-news","tag-big-ten-basketball","tag-california-golden-bears","tag-college-basketball-recruiting","tag-jake-diebler","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188419"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188453,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188419\/revisions\/188453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}