Ohio State picked up one of most coveted transfer signings of the year when forward Seth Towns chose the Buckeyes over Duke in March.

The Columbus Northland graduate returns to the city he grew up in after four years and a degree at Harvard, where he played two full seasons.

Towns was the 2018 Ivy League player of the year but would not take the floor for the Crimson after that season’s Ivy League tournament, missing every game of his junior and senior campaigns with a series of devastating injuries.

A three-star recruit in the class of 2016, Towns received numerous Big Ten offers (including one from Ohio State) but eventually settled on Harvard. When it came time to make his second college decision- this time as a graduate transfer- it was widely expected from the start that he would come back to his hometown.

Watching Towns play, one thing is clear. He wants to score the ball. He averaged 16 points per game in his award-winning sophomore season and has scored 20-plus points on 15 separate occasions. Towns is a pure, three-level scorer- he can attack the rim and finish, he has a deep midrange arsenal, and shot 41.9 percent from three-point range over 58 games at Harvard.

However, a few red flags fly for Towns. He has not faced much high-level competition at Harvard, playing only four games against power six conference teams. More concerning than that, Towns has not played in a college basketball game in over 28 months. Injuries have destroyed his last two years and remain the biggest question mark to Towns’ success as a Buckeye.

Tommy Amaker and Harvard relied on Towns to carry a large chunk of the offensive load. The Crimson ran an almost NBA-like offense, using spread pick and roll and isolation plays that allowed Towns space to create his own one-on-one offense. The lack of a fluid system resulted in a below-average 41.9 percent shooting sophomore season for Towns.

Still, his knack for scoring in so many different ways is abundantly clear when you watch any Harvard game. If Towns remains the player he was two seasons ago, he will enter the Ohio State program as its best all-around scorer of the Chris Holtmann era.

As patient a scorer as there was in the Ivy League, Towns is a threat from every area on the court. He used this to his advantage in isolation situations, implementing multiple jab steps and head fakes to lull defenders to sleep.

At 6-foot-8, Towns has the ball handling skills of a guard and the one-on-one skills of a savvy pro.

In the clip above, Towns gets the Brown defender moving towards the baseline with a quick jab step. Now the defender is completely off-balance, and Towns has control over the situation. He uses a split-second head fake to bait the defender into jumping out at him, and blows by him with a quick first step.

It cannot be overstated how polished moves like these are for a sophomore. College systems do not usually have isolation plays built into them, but Towns was consistently in this position at Harvard. Coaches trust him to create a good shot on his own, and he usually does with an arrangement of moves and countermoves.

Scoring in the half court is something Ohio State struggled mightily with, especially without a post presence on the court. Having someone willing to take over a possession and hunt a shot with the ball in his hands will be an eye-opener for the Buckeye offense.

Towns had 25 points in this game against Kentucky, one of his few outings against a high-major team. At Rupp Arena, against a top-10 opponent, Towns still has the poise to control an offense as a 20-year old.

Isolated on the wing, Towns calls for and receives a ball screen. He gets the switch and the space he wants at the top of the arc, and without hesitation splits the defense with a between-the-legs dribble and finishes inside.

As a secondary ball handler in the Buckeye offense, Towns will have plenty of pick and roll opportunities. He has the ability to receive a screen and attack his match up in an instant. Combine that with high-level ball skills, and Towns can control late shot clock situations when the offense breaks down.

Within the three levels of scoring in basketball, the midrange is notoriously tough to perfect. As defenses shift to stop outside shots and prevent layups at the rim, a good in-between game can be deadly. Towns has a glossy array of ways to score between the paint and the three-point line.

In yet another iso on the wing, Towns stops on a dime and launches straight up into a bank shot from 15 feet away. Watch the way he goes into his shot- he has the control and confidence that many lack on pull-up shots.

Towns may have been overly eager to take a contested pull-up jumper at Harvard. He shot eight two-pointers per game on a below 41 percent clip as a sophomore at Harvard, not a pretty number for someone his size. Refining his midrange shot selection will further his quality as a scorer.

Of all the tough shots I watched Towns hit, the clip above shows what he could do better than nearly any other mid-major player when on the court.

The patience in this play is incredible. Towns starts his move at 10 seconds on the shot clock, and the ball goes through the net at two seconds. The defender plays perfect defense here too- Towns just wills his way into an open look, using a spin dribble and a picturesque step-through into a floater.

In late shot clock situations last season, Ohio State often looked lost, forcing a contested three-pointer or turning the ball over. Towns can take over an entire offense in the last ten seconds. If he can keep his control against more physical Big Ten opponents, he will become an invaluable weapon for the Buckeyes when the offense has dried up.

Towns did not work in the post as much as he could have against weaker Ivy League opponents, and he certainly will not against high-major teams, but he can be a weapon from either side of the court with his back to the basket.

The one-foot fade against Princeton is an extremely difficult shot; it’s reminiscent of a few of LeBron James’ best. But Towns has the touch and high release to at least become a threat in the post.

Towns is not just polished in the midrange. He’s exciting. With some work improving his shot selection, Towns can become someone to fear inside the arc.

As Towns takes on a decreased role at Ohio State, his sweet spot will remain at the three-point line. He attempted almost five per game in his second season at Harvard and shot a stellar 44.1 percent. To put that in context, Kaleb Wesson was Ohio State’s best shooter last season, hitting 42.5 percent of his 3.4 attempts per game.

Towns can bail a team out when hope is dwindling at the end of the shot clock, and he can also launch an early clock shot off the catch. His release is fluid and he should have the green light from Holtmann as soon as he steps on the court.

Against Cornell in the Ivy League tournament, Towns’ fluidity rivals that of an NBA player as he launches a deep pull-up three following a hesitation dribble that freezes the defense. A complete bail-out shot looks incredibly natural coming from Towns.

Confidence is what allows Towns to do all of the things he does. He has the skill level and the size, but his assurance in launching these deep, contested jumpers is the most valuable part of his game.

Towns will catch and shoot at any time on the clock from anywhere on the court. His range extends beyond the professional three-point line, letting him space the floor as a shooter when the ball is not in his hands.

Accepting a smaller role at Ohio State will take some getting used to for Towns. But once he is healthy and adjusted to the more team-oriented offense, his efficiency should skyrocket as a perimeter bucket-getter for a team that was sorely lacking one last season.

Towns can score from anywhere, and more importantly, he wants to score from everywhere. If he can return to 2018 form, he will be an outstanding addition for the Buckeyes.