Ohio State senior guard Tanner Holden (1) and junior forward Zed Key (23) celebrate following an Ohio State three during Ohio State’s 101-57 win over Chaminade in Columbus on Tuesday. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
The Ohio State men’s basketball team enters its 124th season in program history looking to forge a new identity after an offseason of roster turnover.
Of the 14 players shaping Team 124, only four remain from last season’s Buckeyes team (20-12, 12-8 Big Ten) that exited the NCAA Tournament in the second round for the third time in five seasons under head coach Chris Holtmann.
Ohio State opens its regular season Monday against Robert Morris in a nonconference opener at Value City Arena. After a 101-57 win over Chaminade Tuesday in the final exhibition game of the offseason, Holtmann said he likes a lot from the Buckeyes, but there’s still a lot to work on.
“To be honest with you, we struggled in a couple of areas in the scrimmage,” Holtmann said. “We rebounded it fairly well, but we did not defend well enough. We got beaten in transition a lot. So, that was good to take from that.”
There were 12 different Buckeyes who saw game action against Chaminade, which allowed Holtmann to experiment with different lineups heading into the season opener. Two newcomers in the form of senior guard Tanner Holden and freshman guard Bruce Thornton led the way on offense with 25 points and 11 assists, respectively.
Holden said the roster knows the questions surrounding it, but the Buckeyes are focused on playing their games and adjusting how the coaches see fit.
“I think overall, everyone’s adjusting very well,” Holden said. “There’s a lot of new people, a lot of new faces, a lot of questions. We’re putting those on the back end, sticking to our guns and just playing our game.”
Holden was one of four transfers Holtmann brought in to reshape an Ohio State roster that lost multiple players — including former guard Malaki Branham and forward E.J. Liddell to the NBA Draft. The Wheelersburg, Ohio, native, transferred in from Wright State where he averaged 20.1 points per game last season and 1.2 steals per game across 92 games for the Raiders.
The Buckeyes also added who they hope are key contributors in the form graduate guards Isaac Likekele and Sean McNeil from Oklahoma State and West Virginia, respectively. McNeil left West Virginia 12th all-time in program history for career 3-pointers made at 155, while Likekele was a two-time All-Big 12 honorable mention.
Holtmann said he expects challenges with figuring out the rotation, but it’ll become clearer as the season progresses.
“I think I’m going to have to give some liberties to our rotation,” Holtmann said. “We won’t compromise on effort, but we will allow them to play through mistakes. You’re certainly going to see some, but I think that’s going to be necessary for us to grow.”
Holtmann begins his sixth season leading the Buckeyes, after becoming the second Ohio State head coach in program history to win at least 20 games in each of his first five seasons. The 2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year recruited the No. 8 overall class in 2022, according to 247Sports, to revamp his roster.
Freshmen were among the key contributors in Ohio State’s exhibition win over Chaminade. Thornton dished out 11 assists while freshman center Felix Okpara led the Buckeyes with 11 rebounds. Thornton and Okpara are among the four top-100 recruits Holtmann brought to Ohio State during the offseason.
Thornton said he feels this Ohio State team is blending together better each day, while trying to find what its identity is going to be this season.
“I just feel like we’re getting better day by day,” Thornton said. “The exhibition game gave us a good gauge of what we need to work on. For the upcoming game versus Robert Morris, I feel like we’re in a really good space.”
Alongside Okpara and Thornton among the top-100 recruits are fellow freshmen guard Roddy Gayle Jr. and forward Brice Sensabaugh. Gayle was the No. 2 shooting guard in his class, according to 247Sports, and Sensabaugh was named Florida’s Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball as a senior.
While the roster saw a lot of turnover, the Buckeyes return a few players who contributed to last season’s team. Redshirt senior forward and two-time team captain Justice Sueing only played in two games last season, but juniors forward Zed Key and guard Eugene Brown III return after each saw action in at least 25 games.
Key, who scored the game-winner in last season’s opener against Akron, shot 56.2 percent from the field in his second-year and looks to be the primary post presence in his third. Brown is a defensive threat who has appeared in 55 games across two seasons for the Buckeyes.
While Holtmann said he hasn’t seen a primary scoring threat emerge like Liddell last season, going into this season he wants the team to build good habits that he believes will translate to on-court success.
“I think our habits have gotten a little bit better,” Holtmann said. “It’s not just been our freshmen. We’ve been on Zed and a couple of other guys with that. But for them, they are building habits of resiliency, and that’s good to see, but that’s going to be a season-long thing.”
