The college basketball season is officially here. Full-team practices began on Wednesday and the regular season is scheduled to begin on Nov. 25.

Ohio State makes its much-awaited return to the hardwood sporting a noticeably different roster than the one it took into March; one that only returns two starters and loses a large portion of its production on both sides of the ball.

Even with the best offense of the Chris Holtmann era and a defense that finished the season top-20 in efficiency (per Ken Pomeroy), there were still clear weaknesses on last season’s squad. Let’s take a look at those less-than-stellar areas and break down how Ohio State can fill in the gaps with a new-look roster.

Probably the most glaring red flag from a season ago was Ohio State’s inability to finish consistently at the rim. As a team, it ranked No. 159 in two-point percentage and only scored 44 percent of its points inside the arc, a bottom-50 number nationally.

Only two returnees shot above 50 percent from two-point land on a high number of attempts: senior Kyle Young and sophomore E.J. Liddell, the two projected starting big men for Ohio State. Young led the Big Ten in two-point percentage, finishing 63.6 percent of his looks on the interior.

The volume of chances will grow for Liddell and Young with increased playing time. Liddell has already shown flashes of impressive strength near the rim and will continue to mature in his second season.

The sophomore is able to finish through multiple defenders and has high-level balance, showing improved composure and patience inside as his freshman year went on. A confident Liddell on the interior can be a force.

On the other hand, Ohio State's returning leading scorer, Duane Washington Jr., was No. 2 on the team in attempts inside the arc but shot just 41.4 percent, one of the worst numbers in the Big Ten for a high-volume shooter.

Oftentimes last season, the junior settled for contested floaters and off-balance layups instead of attacking the glass.

Washington mentioned his main goal in the off-season was getting stronger and improving his ability to finish at the rim through contact. With a more keyed-in approach, his threat as a scorer becomes even more deadly. Any sign of growth inside the three-point line from Washington will be massive for Ohio State.

Also encouraging is the reputation of two players taking the court for the first time at Ohio State. Holtmann has said on multiple occasions that freshman forward Zed Key is strong and physically mature for a freshman, and the 6-foot-8, 245-pound Key will receive plenty of bench minutes to back that up.

Transfer Justice Sueing is another important name to look out for. He shot over 50 percent from two-point range in two seasons at Cal, and drew fouls at an impressive rate, crucial for a Buckeye team that loses a large chunk of its free throw production.

Sueing showed legitimate promise as a slasher, using moves and double moves to find space inside and finishing with both hands nicely.

Those two additions combined with the promising signs of potential from Washington and Liddell create a level of optimism for this team's improvement on the interior. It won’t be dunking on anyone or pounding through contact LeBron-style, but there is a nice mix of strength and maturing players on this roster.

For a team that shot well under 48 percent from two in conference play, any new sources of scoring near the rim will add an entirely new dimension to the Ohio State offense.

There are a couple of permissible reasons for Ohio State’s incredibly slow pace last season.

For one, Holtmann uses a pack-line defense, meaning every man stays connected as if on a string. The main goal is to keep the ball and offensive player in front of you at all times- gambling for steals or live-ball turnovers is frowned upon.

Secondly, the Big Ten plays slow. Simple as that. It’s a physical, grinding league that places a large emphasis on protecting the ball and limiting transition.

Even so, the fact that Ohio State ranked No. 291 nationally in steal rate (per Pomeroy) is borderline ludicrous.

It was a good defensive team with plenty of athletes willing to run the floor. That steal percentage combined with a bottom-quartile pace strongly limited the team’s chances for easy baskets on run-outs.

RELATED: How Chris Holtmann controls the tempo of games

The loss of pace-changing big man Kaleb Wesson means this Ohio State team has to find other ways to create points beyond outside shooting. Part of that goes back to attacking the basket, which is largely based on creating baskets in transition, something the Buckeyes struggled with mightily last season.

There is no truly frightening defender on the court- no Aaron Craft or Greg Oden to snatch balls away and start the break.

The opportunities are still there, however. Sueing posted an above-average steal rate while at Cal and has a tendency to take some (much-needed) risks on defense.

Senior point guard C.J. Walker had a solid year defensively as well, showing quick hands and the ability to strip defenders. He picks and chooses opportunities to create those fastbreak advantages, but will need to increase the tempo this season with the athletic wings and big men around him.

Holtmann noted that Walker improved greatly on defense towards the end of last season, and said the senior will often end up guarding opponents’ best offensive player. He certainly has the awareness and intangibles to create havoc on defense.

Along those same lines, Liddell showed promise as a shot blocker in his first season, leading the Buckeyes in blocks in limited minutes.

Having a consistent threat defending the rim leads to less drives deep into the paint, more action on the perimeter, and more opportunities to take the ball away in the open court.

Ohio State does not need to become an all-out pressing team. It certainly will never be anything close to that under Holtmann. But it does have to find a way to generate points in new ways after losing Wesson.

Opening games up a little bit more and capitalizing on any chances to run seems like the most obvious way to do so.

This season’s makeup is very different for a handful of reasons. Ohio State brings in a largely changed roster and it will be tested from the very beginning and in nearly every game of the non-conference.

The squad Holtmann led last year was his best as a head coach, but it was far from a complete team.

With multiple new pieces coming in and a new level of aggression and athleticism, 2020-21 could end up even more successful for the basketball Buckeyes.