Published: Friday, 2/13/2015 – Updated: 36 seconds ago OSU freshman likely to make jump to NBA BY DAVID BRIGGSBLADE SPORTS WRITER COLUMBUS — After the most electrifying freshman in college basketball dropped jaws and shots in equal measure last Sunday night, Ohio State coach Thad Matta’s phone buzzed with a playful text from a buddy. The friend had just watched D’Angelo Russell string along Rutgers for a triple-double and was prepared to breathlessly declare the five-star guard “pretty good.” Matta laughed. “Can you imagine what he’ll be like when he’s a senior?” he replied. A coach can dream. Enjoy Russell while you can. At a time when the quality of college hoops is under siege — ESPN analyst Jay Bilas calls the game “unwatchable” as the pace of play and scoring plummet to all-time lows — the 6-foot-5, 180-pound combo guard from Louisville is a welcome antidote. Russell may be too good for Ohio State’s good beyond this season as he meteors up the NBA draft boards. But for one winter, he has made the No. 21 Buckeyes (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) appointment fare, melding a deft long-distance touch, a showman’s handle and vision, and prototype size to give a flawed team increasing hope of a March run. Since the start of Big Ten play, he leads the league in scoring (21.3 points) and assists (5.7), and is sixth in rebounding (7.3). Overall, Russell is shooting 47 percent and 44 percent from beyond the arc. Less quantifiable is the fun quotient. Think his no-look passes in games are something…
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