Saw a reference to the 2012 team and decided to do my own position-by-position analysis. Sure there will be much debate, so chime in on your recollection and your opinions.

Cooper vs. Simmons
Simmons is solid and he can get the job done. His shooting, both from the floor and FT line are more consistent and he doesn't make as many head scratching plays (ie: hoisting up 30 foot ill-advised bombs when you least expect it). Yet still, Cooper is an all-time OHIO great and had the "It Factor."
ADVANTAGE: Cooper (2012)

Kellogg vs Dartis
Wow, tough one as Kellogg is one of my all time OHIO favorites and Dartis is my favorite on this years team. Kellogg was smart, provided leadership and was clutch. But I think Dartis may be further along as a Soph. than Nick was at that point in his career. In 2012 Nick had begun diversifying his game and being more than just a spot up shooter. Whether Jordan will develop into the finished product Nick ended up being by their Senior years only time will tell. I could go either way on this one and I'm sure this will be debated, but...
ADVANTAGE: Even

Baltic vs. Kaminski
Good Ivo, or bad Ivo at the end is really the question here? Kenny is by far the superior shooter, but Ivo brought driving, slashing, rebounding and the mid-range game to the table when he was right. Kenny is very one dimensional and if his shot isn't going, brings little else to the table. I'm trying not to remember only the Ivo down the stretch, or the cold shooting KK, so...
ADVANTAGE: Baltic (2012)

J. Smith vs. Campbell
Actually had to look up the starting lineup of the UNC game to remember Keely didn't start, but instead J. Smith did. Jon Smith played way bigger than 6'7." While he had no offense, he did the little things this team needed. But at the end of the day, Campbell is the MAC Player of the Year, so...
ADVANTAGE : Campbell (2016)

Bench:
Keely vs. Taylor
Keely as I recall could guard the post well for his size, could post up well, was active around the rim and didn't try to join the other four guys at the 3 point arch. He knew his role and didn't stay from it, as didn't Jon Smith.
HUGE ADVANTAGE: Keely (2012)

R. Johnson vs. Culver
I think Culver has much more upside than Ricardo, but when you compare Freshman Culver to a more seasoned Johnson, Ricardo was a little more polished, though he looked much like Culver (a bit out of control) as a Freshman. However at the end day and by the end of the season, they probably bring about the same assets to the table, so I'll call it...
ADVANTAGE: Even

TJ Hall vs. Carter
Same as above, Carter will be the better player down the road but right now as a Freshman, TJ was more polished in 2012. This time next year I think I'll probably be giving the edge to Carter, but for right now...
ADVANTAGE: Hall (2012)

The real differentiators up to this point are DJ had the "IT Factor" and we had Keely/Smith who knew and fulfilled their roles in the paint both on offense and defense. But in my opinion, when I analyze the two rosters side-by-side, the thing that separates the two rosters is the last starting position I left for last:

Offutt vs Block
It could be a by-product that Walt was a R-Jr. in 2012 and Gavin's only a true Soph., but this position comparison is worlds apart. Walt not only provided toughness, leadership and experience, but he could also attack the rim while being competent from the perimeter. If I could pin-point one thing the 2012 team had that the 2016 team does not currently have, I'd say it's a Walt Offutt type slasher. Some would argue it's DJ Cooper and I can't argue that, but Simmons is very good. Walt IMO is what separates the two teams. if the 2016 can recruit or develop a Walt type, you're golden and it's the missing ingredient.

HUGE ADVANTAGE: Offutt (2012)

In summary, I have the 2012 team winning 5 position battles, the 2016 team winning 1 position battle and I called 2 a tie. 5-1-2 in favor of 2012. To reiterate, in many of the position battles the 2016 team has young guys (ie: Culver, Carter, Dartis, Taylor and Block) so it's not 100% comparing apples to apples. But I tried to compare the 2012 team to the 2016 team with players in their current state of development as we must play with the hand we have right now and not what we think may happen looking forward.

To conclude, the 2012 team at the end of December was 12-1 with their only loss being a 5 point defeat on the road at #5 Louisville.

Thoughts?

I don't get the TJ Hall-Jason Carter comparison at all. I love TJ and what he brought to the table, but they are completely different players. Carter plays more like Reggie Keely than he does TJ Hall. It's an apples to oranges.

Really, 2016 has two Reggies in Doug and Jason and 2012 had two Rodneys in TJ and Ricardo.

I don't think this team will go 3-5 on the road in conference play.

I guess if we were gonna go that route we could just lay it all out on the table. Which would you rather have?

Keely, Hall and Johnson

Carter, Culver and Taylor

I think the upside for the latter three is greater, they just haven't hit that point yet because of their youth. Keely was a seasoned vet in 2012.

I think better comparisons would pit Laster/Culver vs. Johnson/Hall. Bench wings vs. bench wings. I think sophomore Ric and freshman Rodney are pretty similar. Hall was able to give more as a sophomore than Laster is doing as a freshman. Mike seems to prefer getting inside and muscling up shots in traffic. He would be far more successful if he had TJ's build.

How about comparing Carter and Goard? I think Carter wins this in a landslide. Goard eventually turned into a serviceable player at Marshall, but Carter has a good build already and is able to score 15 on a good night. I never felt Goard was a threat to score more than 10.

I am taking KK over Ivo every day and twice on Sunday.

FIFTEEN? That is an amazing stat.

Adding to that stat, Ivo was an outstanding free throw maker. The Soph year I think he was in the 80% area. That change in his game was a sports psychology case study. He had All-MAC talent, in my opinion, and was effectively a good, not great player in the end. I always liked him and thought he was a good guy too.

I shared this years ago when it was happening but I strongly believe that Ivo's sudden shift away from driving was due to anxiety of the free throw line just like Jon Lester throwing the ball to first base. It's an outrageous and perhaps slightly offensive claim but I feel strongly about it if you follow the progression:

2/4/12 - He air balled a free throw against Central Michigan late in the game.
2/8/12 - The very next game he missed BADLY on 2 free throw attempts just a couple minutes into the game.
Rest of 2012 season - Went to the line just once in the final 13 games of the season, making 1 of 2.
2013 season - Made 5 of 13 attempts the entire season.
Pro career - Despite having a strong skillset that could have played very well in Europe, Ivo's pro career was just 13 games in Croatia, in which he went 1 for 3 from the line and that was the end of it.

This means he was 7 for his final 19 attempts in his playing career. He was 163 for 257 in his first 2.5 seasons. Jim Christian explicitly said his play was "not by design" but he never took him out of the rotation. It is honestly one of the more fascinating stories I have ever seen play out in sports.

I remember that ANdrew. Pretty good take. I had not extended it to his pro career though I have pondered the brevity much....kid with a dual passport and decent skills was set to make a ton of Money. Teams over there lust after players that do not count against their 3 from the US limits. That is really intriguing....

I'm not sure about that. And I mean that literally. Walt was an excellent leader, and good offensive players. He could also defend multiple positions pretty well.

Taylor showed flashes of being maybe a better offensive player than Walt, but we never got to see the rest of his game develop to know what he might have become.