Kee On Sports Magazine Volume 1: “The Genesis”

Cole’s Corner: Built for a Deep Tournament Run – Ohio State Basketball 2021-22 Season Preview

By Cole McDaniel

Basketball season is back and the whole country should be on watch for the Big Ten once again. The conference is loaded from top to bottom and by far the current best basketball conference out there.

Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Indiana and Iowa will all likely find their way to the big dance come the spring. It’s actually the team currently ranked 17^th in the preseason polls that might actually pose the biggest threat down the stretch.

Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes had a strong year last year, making them the two seed in their March Madness region. It only led to early disappointment as the 21-9 Buckeyes fell in the first round to Oral Roberts.

As good as that Ohio State team was, they lacked depth. The primary ball handler situation became the biggest problem.

Point guard C.J. Walker injured his hand and missed some time, plus when he did return, he was not fully healthy. Jimmy Sotos transferred in from Bucknell and was the direct replacement for Walker during Walker’s absence. He then suffered a season ending shoulder injury which required surgery.

Abel Porter, a transfer from Utah State, unfortunately never was able to put on the jersey and stepped away due to an underlying health condition. Meechie Johnson Jr. left high school early to fill the spot of Porter.

During Walker’s absence, Duane Washington Jr. and Justice Sueing acted as primary ball- handlers. The problem is that this had to continue even once Walker returned and he would be getting a quick breather on the bench. Washington Jr. is a scoring guard, not a distributer and Sueing is a true wing.

Team 123 will not have any issues with depth this season, baring major injuries. Here is what the 2021-22 team will look like.

The Bigs

E.J. Liddell returns as the star of this team and finds himself on several preseason award watchlists, including the John R. Wooden Award.

The 6’7” junior forward averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last year. Liddell had a tough task last season as he often found himself at the five on defense, matched up against much taller players. He did well but that will be limited this season.

Zed Key, a 6’8” sophomore who saw a lot of time as a freshman and Joey Brunk, a 6’11” grad transfer from Indiana will limit the time that Liddell or even 6’8” fifth-year senior Kyle Young will be at the five.

Young, who averaged 26.3 minutes per game last year, is extremely aggressive defensively, battles on the boards and hustles all the time. Young’s presence will once again be perfect for this team as he is a great compliment around scorers. His level of play leads to knocks and last season he spent most of the season on limited practice due to injuries.

I expect Liddell and Young to start most games together at the four and five, but Young’s minutes might be cut a bit in order to keep him healthy.

If Seth Towns can get healthy, he may also see some time as a stretch power forward.

The Wings

Redshirt senior Justice Sueing gets to once again be a wing rather than a 6’7” fill-in point guard, which will benefit the team much more this season. Sueing averaged 10.7 points per game in just over 28 minutes per game. Expect his scoring to pick up a little now that Washington Jr. is with the Indiana Pacers.

Justin Ahrens, the 6’6” senior captain was one of the most dangerous three-point shooters in the country last season. He was hitting 42.5% from three and sank 54 total threes. Ahrens will look to even take it up a notch as a three and D player. Despite being listed as a forward on the roster, he will likely also see some time at shooting guard.

Malaki Branham and Eugene Brown III are both listed as guards on the roster. For the sake of this preview, I am going to properly refer to them as wings. Similarly, to Ahrens, both will get minutes at shooting guard and small forward.

Ohio Mr. Basketball in 2020-21 was in fact St. Vincent-St. Mary’s star Branham. The 6’4” freshman will quickly become a star for the Buckeyes. Branham has the opportunity to learn from a veteran team and add starter level play coming off the bench.

Finally, Gene Brown III did not touch the floor last year and his minutes off the bench went to the experienced Musa Jallow. Jallow was the better defender but Brown added a little more offense. The problem for Brown was that his inexperience limited him and defense was actually the need.

Now Jallow has transferred to Charlotte and the 6’6” sophomore, Brown stayed in Columbus all summer to greatly improve his game. Brown’s minutes may increase a tiny bit, yet he will be waiting in the wings as important depth in the event of injuries. The 2022-23 season will likely be his time to shine.

The Guards

Graduate transfer Jamari Wheeler becomes the new starting point guard for the Buckeyes. The 6’1” Wheeler actually terrorized Meechie and Sueing last year when the Buckeyes faces the Penn State Nittany Lions. Wheeler is not a perineal scorer, but instead adds exactly what this team needs, a tenacious defender with quick hands, another experienced leader and a calm ball-handler.

When Wheeler is off the floor, the 6’2” freshman guard Meechie Johnson Jr. will be ready to run the offense. Declaring early gave the young Cleveland guard some great experience. Meechie brings more explosiveness offensively than Wheeler. The two will be excellent complements and allow Holtmann to choose what is needed on the floor at any given moment.

Ohio State was blessed with fantastic graduate transfers this year. The top scoring transfer is 6’2” shooting guard Cedric Russell. Russell put up 17.2 points per game last season at Louisiana Lafayette, while shooting 40% from three.

The adjustment for Russell will be the physicality of the Big Ten compared to the Sun Belt, but Russell gives the Buckeyes another deep-ball weapon.

The last guy to mention is Jimmy Sotos. Many were surprised that Sotos did not transfer in the offseason. I am sure Chris Holtmann and his staff are happy to have him back because Sotos adds depth at both the one and two guard positions. He is coming off the shoulder surgery but has been full-go for many weeks now and competing for some minutes. Sotos is a good shooter and a solid passer.

Predicted Starting Lineup

G – Jamari Wheeler

G – Justin Ahrens or Cedric Russell (Depending on the game and form)

F – Justice Sueing

F – Kyle Young

F – E.J. Liddell

First off the Bench:

F – Zed Key

G – Malaki Branham

G – Meechie Johnson Jr.

Rest of Depth:

C – Joey Brunk

G – Jimmy Sotos

F – Seth Towns

G – Gene Brown III

Realistic Projected Player Stats

E.J. Liddell – 30.1 MPG, 19.8 PPG, 7.8 REB, 1.7 AST, 1.6 BLK, 78% FT, 49% FG, 36% 3PT

Justice Sueing – 27.4 MPG, 12.6 PPG, 6.8 REB, 1.5 AST, 1.3 STL, 79% FT, 48% FG, 37% 3PT

Jamari Wheeler – 26.8 MPG, 8.2 PPG, 2.9 REB, 3.6 AST, 2.4 STL, 67% FT, 41% FG, 38% 3PT

Kyle Young – 23.5 MPG, 7.9 PPG, 5.8 REB, 2.0 AST, 1.1 BLK, 83% FT, 55% FG, 27% 3PT

Cedric Russell – 23.3 MPG, 13.7 PPG, 2.8 REB, 1.4 AST, 81% FT, 43% FG, 42% 3PT

Justin Ahrens – 21.9 MPG, 11.4 PPG, 2.7 REB, 1.0 AST, 76% FT, 47% FG, 45% 3PT

Zed Key – 19.2 MPG, 8.3 PPG, 5.1 REB, 1.2 AST, 1.1 BLK, 60% FT, 54% FG

Malaki Branham – 17.2 MPG, 8.5 PPG, 2.2 REB, 1.1 AST, 79% FT, 41% FG, 38% 3PT

Meechie Johnson Jr. – 15.2 MPG, 7.6 PPG, 1.3 REB, 2.1 AST, 85% FT, 39% FG, 40% 3PT

Joey Brunk – 10.6 MPG, 4.2 PPG, 3.9 REB, 1.6 BLK, 52% FT, 60% FG

Jimmy Sotos – 9.8 MPG, 5.1 PPG, 2.3 AST, 86% FT, 34% FG, 34% 3PT

Seth Towns – 8.3 MPG, 4.7 PPG, 1.1 REB, 81% FT, 42% FG, 35% 3PT

Gene Brown III – 5.4 MPG, 3.6 PPG, 1.2 REB, 73% FT, 39% FG, 37% 3PT

Final Thoughts

If the team stays healthy overall and they move the ball around to find the open shooter, rather than forcing everything through Liddell, then the ceiling is limitless. Team 123 will be a must watch and I expect them to be a two seed at minimum come March. I also believe they will make it to the Elite Eight with potential of winning the National Championship.