BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 28: Cody Zeller #40 of the Indiana Hoosiers shoots the ball while defended by Adreian Payne #5 of the Michigan State Spartans during the Big Ten Conference game at Assembly hall on February 28, 2012 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Which 2012 Basketball Player Leaving Ohio State

This is the way the Ohio State basketball conference race and roster are shaping up for next season, and how to know which 2012 basketball player is leaving Ohio State:

Cody Zeller of Indiana fame along with Christian Watford made an announcement Tuesday that they are going back to the Hoosiers. Trey Burke, a Michigan player who also shared an award with Zeller which was the 'Big Ten Freshman of the Year', made the decision to be back come Monday.

Ohio State, a team that has either won or at least shared 5 out of the past 7 Big Ten titles, will not be having an easy go of it in this Big Ten conference next season.

Out of eleven players who were able to make the first or second team 'All Big-10, either from coaches or from media voting, there are just 4 that will be back next season. These would be-

Tim Frazier (Penn State Guard)
Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State Forward)
Burke & Zeller

The Ohio State University player Jared Sullinger will be gone, along with six seniors who are-

Draymond Green (Michigan State)
Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin)
Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
John Shurna (Northwestern)
William Buford (Ohio State)
Matt Gatens (Iowa)

There were also an additional sophomore Meyers Leonard, who had been projected to be one of the first-round picks for the NBA draft, who selected to go to the pros and by-pass school.

Still the expectations for the new season are high. Especially once the Big Ten has been seen as one of the deepest conferences in the 2011 to 2012 season. It actually tied one of the conference records by having 4 teams make it to the sweet 16.

As stated by Scout.com there are 3 Big Ten teams with recruiting classes that rank up there with the top ten all across the country for 2012. Indiana came in at number 3 while Michigan was number 7, and Michigan State held down number 10. With that being said, the Hoosiers actually had their top five scorers return who are Zeller, Will Sheehey, Victor Oladipo, Jordan Hulls, and Watford. They also get to have Maurice Creek back since the injury. This makes many people view Indiana as the number one team with the most potential for the preseason.

There was an early CBS.com report that was released about the top 25. This was let go before Thomas made the decision to come back to Columbus. At this time he was still being seen as a departure. At that time Ohio State was ranked number 24 in the county. And they were only ranked number 6 within the Big Ten. Indiana held down number 2 while Michigan, who had Tim Hardaway,Jr., Burke, Jordan Morgan, And Jon Hortford (back from injury) and the number 7 best recruiting class in this country, came in at number 5.

There are 13 scholarships still available. Ohio State should be in good shape with their ten outstanding players. When you have fewer players it can sometimes translate into having fewer issues which can be a good thing. Players who do not get the amount of playing time they believe they should can really cause friction among the ranks.