From Brice Sensabaugh to Justice Sueing, one thought on each Buckeye to play in Maui
LAHAINA, Hawaii – All that was left for Ohio State was a final day on the glittering beach and clear waters off the island of Maui.
In the program’s first trip to the Maui Invitational in 19 years, the Buckeyes closed the event with a 2-1 record and fifth-place finish after an 80-73 win against No. 21 Texas Tech. The Wednesday game tipped off at 9:30 a.m., and afterward they regrouped at the Hyatt Regency for a team meal before venturing out into the sunshine. The tournament had marked the first real tests for a rebuilt roster featuring seven new players in the primary rotation as well as the reality that not everybody can play, score and contribute equally.
After beating the Red Raiders, coach Chris Holtmann was seen in a video released on the team’s official social media accounts telling his players that everyone wearing an Ohio State jersey, regardless of whether they played or not, was a part of the victory. It was a lesson Oklahoma State graduate transfer Isaac Likekele, a fifth-year player and team captain, said he reinforced
“I think we learned that we a great ball team and that we up for challenges,” he told The Dispatch. “Also, if you’ve got so many talented pieces, you’re going to have games where some guys have a five-game stretch of playing very well and some other guys might not be doing as well as they wanted to.
“Brice (Sensabaugh) is hot. Sway (Justice Sueing) is hot. I just want to keep on seeing that, but when they do hit those lows they’ve got to know we still believe in them just as much as whenever they was hitting those highs.”
Nine Buckeyes saw minutes in all three games in Maui. Here’s one takeaway on teach of them, listed in alphabetical order.
Roddy Gayle goes largely invisible
After making at least one 3-pointer and three total field goals in his first three games, Gayle found himself toward the end of the rotation in Maui and was the least-used Buckeye to see action in all three games. Gayle finished with 2 points on 1 of 5 shooting against San Diego State and would not score again in the tournament while going 1 for 9 overall (11.1%) from the floor and posting a team-low plus-minus rating of minus-13.
Gayle did spend some time running the point, and his ability to score at three levels and defend at a high level will ensure that he remains a core rotation player as the season progresses. This was just a rough tournament for the freshman.
Tanner Holden’s acclimation to high-major competition is ongoing
Holden’s gaudy numbers in three seasons at Wright State made him an early-season fan favorite to be a leading scorer candidate on this rebuilt Ohio State roster, but this marked the first time the fourth-year wing has played top-100 competition in consecutive games. Not surprisingly, Holden made limited contributions off the bench against San Diego State, Cincinnati and Texas Tech and did little to distinguish himself in Maui. His playing time dropped with each game, and Holden finished with 10 points on 3 of 7 shooting.
Holden did tie Zed Key for the team lead with 10 defensive rebounds, and his 12 total boards were fourth-most in Maui. His adaptation to consistently playing against high-major competition remains a work in progress, but his athleticism is helping keep him in the rotation.
Zed Key is quietly growing into a force
The word “quiet” isn’t often used in association with a player who celebrates and-ones by shooting off finger guns and dunks by raising the roof as he runs back up the court, but Key shook off a rough opening game against San Diego State to finish with a solid stat line on the island. His averages of 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds were fifth and tied for second, respectively, among the Buckeyes, but Ohio State was a team-best plus-34 when Key was on the floor. He was the only Buckeye with a positive plus-minus against the Aztecs, a number affected by four fouls that limited him to 20:54 of playing time.
Otherwise, Key stayed out of foul trouble and drew a team-high 18 fouls during the three games. Significant size still have the potential to affect him, but in his third season Key is emerging as a key low-post threat.
Isaac Likekele struggles from the field
Seated outside the team’s meeting room, Likekele cringed at his offensive stats but said he’s got confidence his drives will start to fall and he will finish his floaters again. In Maui, he proved his bona fides as a physical, versatile defender as well as a critical rebounder, but Likekele missed 12 of the 14 shots he attempted and finished with only six points in the three games. Likekele wasn’t brought to Ohio State to be a leading scorer, but it was an unusually difficult stretch for a player who never shot worse than 43.7% for a season during his four years at Oklahoma State.
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Otherwise, Likekele’s size allowed the Buckeyes to go small at times and his physicality helped him box out opponents for rebounds or to clear space for his teammates to drive the basket. His eight assists were the most among the Buckeyes and his 14 rebounds tied for the second-most on the roster.
Sean McNeil breaks out, goes quiet again
A high-level shooter during three seasons at West Virginia, Sean McNeil transferred to Ohio State to showcase more of his game and also provide a consistent shooting threat that would help provide space for his teammates. McNeil was scoreless in the final pre-Maui tune up against Eastern Illinois, missing two 3-point attempts, but more than equaled his scoring total for the season by pouring in 22 points in a losing effort against San Diego State.
He scored 18 in the final two games to finish third in scoring at 13.3 points per game, and McNeil made six of his team-high 18 3-point attempts (33.3%) while finishing second in plus-minus at plus-33. He’s also proven to be a valuable weapon at the free-throw line, where he was perfect on six attempts in Maui.
Felix Okpara flashes raw ability
Ohio State isn’t asking the freshman center to do much other than protect the rim and provide high-energy, physical minutes off the bench when Key needs a break and the Buckeyes don’t want to go small. Within those parameters, Okpara lived up to expectations, blocking three shots, grabbing eight rebounds and scoring 10 points despite playing the second-fewest minutes among Buckeyes to see action in all three games.
He’s still raw and finding his way, as evidenced by one ill-advised jumper from the wing and a dropped pass under the basket that otherwise would’ve been a wide-open slam dunk, but Okpara attacked the glass with enthusiasm in limited minutes and affected multiple shots while on defense. He’s shown enough flashes to be excited about what continued development could look like.
Brice Sensabaugh’s offense carries the way
He didn’t have a 33-point game like Sueing, but Sensabaugh’s offense was just as impressive across the course of the three games. The only Ohio State player to score in double figures in each game in Maui, Sensabaugh had 17 against the Aztecs and Bearcats and 10 against the Red Raiders to finish second in scoring at 14.7 points per game. A reserve in each game, Sensabaugh shot 56.0% (14 for 25) from the floor and tied for a team-best 58.3% (7 for 12) from 3.
It could have been more, but Sensabaugh played a season-low 11:48 against Texas Tech after a couple of defensive mistakes sent him to the bench for the final 9:28. The freshman has solidified himself as one of the team’s most dangerous scorers, but his defense will determine how much he can stay on the court. He’s the first Ohio State freshman to score in double figures in his first six games since Michael Redd in the 1997-98 season.
Justice Sueing showcases his potential
The sixth-year forward and team captain was fully healthy, but his game hadn’t quite reflected it through the majority of the first five games of the season. After scoring 17 points on 7 for 24 shooting in the first two games in Maui, Sueing left his home state in style with a 33-point outburst against Texas Tech that was impressive from tip to whistle. Sueing left the island as Ohio State’s leading scorer thanks in large part to that performance, but also as its leading offensive (10), defensive (10) and total rebounder (20).
It’s unrealistic to expect Sueing to consistently finish with the stat line he posted (33 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, eight fouls drawn, no fouls committed and one turnover in 31:23) against the Red Raiders, and his 3-point shooting (he was 1 for 10 in Maui) remains a work in progress, but the playmaking ability Ohio State sorely missed last season remains within him.
Bruce Thornton plays beyond his years
Life as a freshman point guard is notoriously fickle, but Thornton’s first three games against high-level competition showed that he’s up to the challenge so far. Ohio State led Texas Tech for 37:03 and kept the Red Raiders at arm’s length every time they attempted to make a run, and on his third game in as many days Thornton played a team-high 38:32 in the win. He had 9 points thanks to 3-for-4 shooting from 3-point range and added four assists and a steal with one turnover, keeping things flowing for Sueing while also contributing on the defensive end.
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Thornton also tied Sensabaugh for the best shooting percentage in Maui, making 13 of 23 shots (.565), and the most 3-point makes (seven) despite having hit only two in his first three games.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: One thought on each Ohio State player to play all three games in Maui
