From lyrics to defensive responsibilities, Ohio State's newcomers still learning plenty
No detail is too little to be overlooked at this time of year for this Ohio State team.
Tuesday night, the Buckeyes unofficially got the 2022-23 season underway with a 101-57 win against an overmatched Chaminade team in the lone public exhibition of the preseason. Real games loom when the calendar flips to next week, and there are still so many things a team with eight new scholarship players is learning.
Like, for instance, the lyrics to the school’s alma mater. It’s custom after home games for the Buckeyes to gather in single file along with cheerleaders, spirit squad members and Brutus Buckeye himself to sing along to the playing of “Carmen Ohio”, and this exhibition game was no exception.
The only problem: while trying to grasp their new responsibilities on a rebuilt roster, most players haven’t gotten around to memorizing the lyrics just yet.
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“I knew some,” Wright State transfer Tanner Holden, appearing in his first game with the Buckeyes, said after scoring a game-high 25 points. “I definitely knew the ending. I was cool on that, but throughout the thing I was struggling a little bit. No one told me the lyrics were on the (scoreboard), so I was making some up.”
To his right at the postgame press conference, freshman Roddy Gayle said he was fortunate to be standing next to sixth-year graduate forward Justice Sueing, now in his fourth season with the program. His proximity helped Gayle muddle his way through after he finished with 14 points, three assists and two steals on 6-of-7 shooting.
Freshman guard Bruce Thornton flatly said he didn’t know the lyrics at the start but, like Holden, caught on by the end. It mirrored his performance: Thornton assisted on Ohio State’s first field goal of the game, didn’t post his second assist until seven minutes remained in the first half and finished with 11 against only two turnovers in a team-high 26:17.
The lyrics will come. The hope is that, along the way, so will the potential that has coach Chris Holtmann preaching the long view of what this season might become. Phrases like “normalizing struggle” have become commonplace since the preseason got underway, and the reasons why were on display against the Silverswords.
Urging from drawing decisive conclusions from what was a 40-minute exhibition against an overmatched opponent that wasn’t competitive for the final 28 minutes, Holtmann said he is prioritizing the game film from a late October “secret” scrimmage against Wake Forest over what the announced crowd of 7,884 witnessed Tuesday night.
“Obviously good opportunity to get in front of our fans here, getting to play in this building here was important for us and obviously a chance to get some game conditioning that we desperately need,” he said.
But as coaches do, he quickly turned to the list of areas where his team needs to improve before the games start to count. Rebounding is atop the list, and it goes hand-in-hand with the need for this to be a better defensive team than it was a season ago, when it finished 111th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com.
Those two areas alone encompass a lot of ground. Holden equated the team’s practice focus to “putting a good brick in every day” even as players take missteps.
“You’re building habits to how you respond to moments where you struggle in the game,” Holtmann said. “I think our habits have gotten a little better, and it’s not just our freshmen. I’ve been on Zed (Key) and a couple other guys for that. For them, they are building habits of resiliency and that’s good to see, but that’s going to be a season-long thing.”
For the first half, Holtmann utilized an eight-man rotation. Two of this year’s expected contributors, third-year wing Gene Brown III and Sueing, were unavailable due to injury, making Key the only returner in the lineup.
By the end, 11 of the 12 players to see game action were either not with the program last season or were redshirting (Kalen Etzler).
“There’s a lot of new people, a lot of new faces, a lot of questions so we’re putting those on the back end, sticking to our guns, playing our game,” Holden said. “We’ve got a lot of new faces but overall I think everyone’s adjusting really well. We’ve got great chemistry in the locker room. That’ll help us a lot.”
The 44-point win was Ohio State’s most lopsided exhibition victory since a 95-49 win against Walsh University on Nov. 6, 2011. The Buckeyes have now won 14 straight exhibition games dating back to a 70-68 loss to Findlay on Nov. 6, 2007.
Justice Sueing, Gene Brown statuses uncertain for Robert Morris game
Although Holtmann expressed more optimism that Sueing will return sooner than Brown, the coach did not commit to having either player available for Monday’s season opener against Robert Morris.
After missing all but two games last season with a groin injury that lingered from the year before, Sueing has been given a clean bill of health but has been held back by an ankle injury this preseason.
“I would expect Justice to get closer to that point,” Holtmann said. “Justice, I feel bad for the kid. He’s been a part of pretty much everything that we’ve done once he got healthy towards the end of the summer. He probably could’ve played in the Bahamas, but that was more of a precaution. This, he had an ankle sprain, came back, played in the scrimmage (against Wake Forest), then had an ankle tweak again, same ankle. That’s why he was out.”
Brown, though, is in concussion protocol. It’s his second known concussion during his three years at Ohio State. Last season, he missed four games after suffering one in a loss at Xavier in the fourth game of the season. It’s also not the only injury he’s dealt with since the 2021-22 season came to a close.
“Gene, God bless him, he’s been out a lot of the summer and now with this concussion for a little bit,” Holtmann said. “He’s been out a lot. I feel bad for him. I’m not sure on what his timeframe is going to be.”
Without either, Holtmann went with a starting lineup of Thornton, West Virginia transfer guard Sean McNeil, Oklahoma State transfer Isaac “Ice” Likekele, freshman Brice Sensabaugh and Key. Sueing is projected as the team’s most likely leading scorer, while Brown’s defensive versatility and experience have him in line for a role in the rotation as well.
Holden scored his 25 points in 24:43 off the bench and said he’s fine starting or playing as a reserve. Holtmann said the lineup figures to change throughout the season but that players will have more opportunities to play through mistakes provided they keep one thing at the forefront.
“I think there will be some challenges to figuring out the rotation once we get fully healthy,” Holtmann said. “We’ve got another good player or two if both are healthy that are back in the mix. I’m going to have to give some liberties here to our rotation, to these young guys. We won’t compromise on effort, but we will allow them to play through mistakes. You saw some tonight. That’s going to be necessary for us to grow.”
Bowen Hardman ‘not physically ready’ for significant role
Although the Buckeyes finished 12 for 23 (52.2%) from 3-point range, they opened the game by missing their first four attempts and didn’t hit one until Holden connected with 10:12 remaining in the first half.
Ohio State went 9 for 16 (56.3%) during the second half, and while McNeil had a hand in that by going 3 for 4 from deep, freshman Bowen Hardman helped as well. The final scholarship player to see action, Hardman did not see action until 9:37 remained and stayed in for the remainder. He hit his first three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep.
Holtmann has consistently said that four of the team’s freshmen will be expected to see significant playing time this year. The 6-3, 175-pound Hardman, who missed much of his senior season with a leg injury, can shoot at a high clip but is the odd man out.
“It was a byproduct of the game,” Holtmann said of his minutes and production. “He’s just not physically ready to play at both ends. He is a terrific shooter, but he’s not physically ready to be able to compete at both ends.”
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Bruce Thornton dishes out 11 assists
It merits consistent repeating that one exhibition game against an overmatched opponent is not the most accurate read on how this team will look or which players will do what this season.
Still, Thornton’s 11-assist effort seemed particularly newsworthy.
“I always feel like if you’re open, we practice these shots every day,” he said. “The amount of trust I have in my teammates is crazy because I see them shoot every time in practice. When I pass it to them, I feel like they’re going to make the shot every time. That’s the confidence I have in my teammates and shows the amount of work they’ve put in.”
His 2 points were the least among Ohio State’s five freshmen. Thornton was 1 for 7 from the floor and missed a pair of 3-pointers but also had four rebounds, a steal and two turnovers.
“He’s a good shooter, and he’s a capable offensive player, but that’s a part of his game that is going to have some rough patches,” Holtmann said. “He’s capable of making three or four 3s in a game. It was good to see him take a couple. He missed a couple at the basket that he’ll make. I thought you saw some struggles from some of our young guys, both offensively and defensively. To be honest with you, it’s great, because it’s great stuff to see on film and show to them and learn from.”
Quotable
“I think we need to play faster and I’ve said that. I think it’s hard to make too many judgements from an exhibition game versus a Division II team, but I do think our pace overall needs to get better. I still think at times we didn’t play with quite the pace we need to, but hard to make that judgement after this one.” – Holtmann
“I’ll play wherever. Coach Holtmann is a great coach. He knows where to put people, what to do. Overall, just play my role. We got off to a great start. We’ve got a lot of versatile players who can make plays. My teammates really set me up very well. We’ve got a lot of guys who can score like that. It’ll be a good season for us.” – Holden, on coming off the bench
“We have great leaders. Whenever I felt nervous or unsure about something, the upperclassmen helped me out and got me through it. After the first few minutes of the game, everything felt like second nature. It felt like another practice. I felt comfortable doing what I was supposed to do.” – Gayle
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball still learning, even after Chaminade blowout
