Ohio State men's basketball power rankings: No. 3 Isaac 'Ice' Likekele
A year unlike any other is about to get underway at Ohio State.
One year after a roster bolstered by players enjoying the extra year of eligibility afforded to all who played though the COVID-19 pandemic topped out at 15 members, the 2022-23 Buckeyes will be a team facing unprecedented turnover. With coach Chris Holtmann entering his sixth season, a combination of early departures for the NBA, the exhaustion of collegiate eligibility and the allure of the transfer portal have all combined to create a roster featuring only two players who played in at least three games for Ohio State last season.
That’s not to say there aren’t familiar faces in Columbus. They are simply outnumbered by a five-man freshman class, ranked tops in the Big Ten, and a three-man transfer class that combines to comprise more than half the roster. Those new faces, combined with a few veterans, will attempt to outshoot their projected sixth-place finish in the preseason media poll and find a way to Ohio State’s first Sweet 16 since the 2012-13 season.
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Before the Buckeyes get the year underway with an exhibition against Chaminade on Nov. 1 and the season opener against Robert Morris on Nov. 7, The Dispatch will be producing its annual preseason individual power rankings list. These rankings are an educated guess at which players will have the most significant on-court impact during the course of the entire season and will feature each player on the roster.
We've reached the top three with fifth-year Oklahoma State transfer guard Isaac Likekele.
No. 3 – Isaac “Ice” Likekele
Position: Guard/forward
Eligibility: Fifth year graduate (zero remaining)
Height/weight: 6 feet 5 / 215 pounds
Jersey number: 13
Major: Early childhood education
Background
After accomplishing a little bit of everything in four years at Oklahoma State, Isaac Likekele will cap his career with a season at Ohio State. Born in Charlotte, Likekele moved with his family to Arlington, Texas, where he was a three-star point guard in the class of 2018 who initially committed to Fresno State to play for coach Rodney Terry until he left to take the same job at UTEP. With his recruitment reopened, he opted to sign with the last program to offer him a scholarship: Oklahoma State.
Meanwhile, Likekele led Mansfield Timberview to the 2017 5A Texas state championship. The following year, he was named first-team all-state and district MVP after averaging 18.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, foreshadowing the versatile game that would make him one of the most accomplished individual players in Cowboys history. He was a three-star prospect in the 2018 class according to the 247Sports.com composite database, which listed him as the No. 156 national recruit, the No. 26 point guard in the nation and No. 10 overall player from Texas.
When he graduated in 2022, Likekele left campus as the first player to top 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 400 assists. In between, Likekele was named honorable mention all-Big 12 in his sophomore and junior seasons and was an academic all-conference selection as a junior.
In four years with the Cowboys, Likekele averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals in 31.3 minutes per game. He shot 47.6% from the floor (364 for 764) but was only 27.9% (19 for 68) from 3-point range and 62.0% (230 for 371) from the line.
2021-22 recap
Oklahoma State collectively took a step back during Likekele’s senior season, going from a 21-9 record and a second-round NCAA Tournament exit to a 15-15 season played under the specter of a postseason ban that stemmed from the 2017 FBI investigation into college basketball. The NCAA had initially banned the Cowboys from the 2020 postseason, but the university appealed and was allowed to participate until the final ruling was delivered Nov. 3, 2021 – six days before the season opener against UT-Arlington.
The Cowboys got off to a 6-1 start but lost six of their next nine games and needed a pair of wins in their final two games to reach .500 for the season. In his final game with the program, Likekele started, played 19 minutes and had 5 points, four rebounds and an assist as Oklahoma State upset Texas Tech 52-51 on March 5.
Likekele finished the season averaging a career-low 7.1 points while also shooting a career-low 43.7% from the floor. He averaged 5.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 30.9 minutes per game. Statistically, KenPom.com compared his production to former Purdue guard Rapheal Davis’ 2014-15 season, a year in which he was named honorable mention all-Big Ten and was voted defensive player of the year by the coaches.
In the process, he became the 44th player in Oklahoma State history to top the 1,000-point career scoring mark. He had multiple steals in 14 of his team’s 30 games and flirted with a triple-double against Iowa State on Jan. 26, finishing with 13 points, a season-high eight assists and six rebounds in an overtime loss.
When he entered the portal, Likekele was rated a five-star transfer and the No. 19 overall player according to EvanMiya.com as well as a player with more defensive upside than offensive.
Need to know
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla dubbed Likekele the “linebacker at point guard” for his physical style of play. He goes by “Ice” and not his given first name. The nickname was given to him as a freshman in high school and just stuck with him. Likekele lists Isaiah 41:10 among his favorite Bible verses.
While at Oklahoma State, Likekele was selected to participate with USA Basketball at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece, where he averaged 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals to help the Americans win the gold. Likekele was teammates there with Cade Cunningham, his eventual Oklahoma State teammate for the 2020-21 season before he was taken No. 1 overall in the NBA draft.
“Honestly, I don’t really think about it too much,” Likekele said of his time with Team USA. “Me, I’m always thinking in the future and the present, where I am right now. I still talk to Cade all the time. That’s my guy. Obviously we went to school together and that’s been my guy forever. It’s been good to see all them young boys doing they thing and growing. I talk to some of them still, but it’s nothing but love. Always rooting for them.”
During the summer, Likekele used his social media presence to shine a spotlight on graduates. He sent autographed jerseys and shoes to two winners from a list of roughly 2,000 entrants who had to show proof that they had graduated from any level of schooling. He has signed a NIL deal with The O Foundation, a collective founded by alumnus Ron Stokes to specifically assist the men’s basketball program.
Likekele was recruited in high school by current Ohio State assistant coach Mike Netti, who at the time was recruiting him as an assistant at East Carolina. His teammates voted him one of the two best passers on this year's roster.
2022-23 season outlook
It’s telling that Likekele was voted a team captain despite having first arrived on campus during the summer and never having played a game in an Ohio State uniform. The Buckeyes will count on the veteran presence to provide leadership, anchor their defensive abilities and play multiple positions on a rebuilt roster.
Part of what made Likekele such an attractive player in the portal was his ability to play multiple positions. Yes, he will share time at the point as freshman Bruce Thornton gets acclimated to Division I basketball, but he is also physical and big enough to log minutes in the paint as an undersized big as well.
What will that breakdown look like? Right now, that seems up for debate.
“When we recruited him at Oklahoma State his coaches said, ‘Coach, he’s gonna be able to guard 1-5 unless you have a towering center in your league,’ which obviously we have a couple,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “Outside of those towering presences, he’s going to be able to guard 1 through 5 so we’ve tried to evaluate that and we’ve put him in positions.”
Likekele scored 8 points and grabbed five rebounds in both of Ohio State’s exhibition games in the Bahamas and added four assists while shooting 50.0% (6 for 12) from the floor.
Holtmann has said this preseason that Likekele needs to remain committed to consistently getting better every single day as he enters his final season, and for four years he’s not shown much of an ability to knock down jumpers. That aside, his skill set and physical attributes make him a unique player on this roster and one who should factor heavily into whatever success the Buckeyes enjoy in 2022-23.
“Honestly, we’ll see as time tells,” Likekele said at Big Ten media day. “I just go out there and do what’s asked of me, and that’s attack from multiple angles, from the perimeter, from the post. They just ask me to be aggressive and be who I am, which is do everything, all-around game.”
Additional reading
Isaac Likekele: Charisma, Bible verses and jersey giveaways: Meet Ohio State's Isaac 'Ice' Likekele
Isaac LikekeleOn Bahamas trip, Ohio State's Isaac Likekele, Sean McNeil taking leadership steps
Isaac Likekele: Five key plays: Bruce Thornton's two-way game shines in Ohio State win against Puerto Rico
Isaac Likekele: At NIL event at Lifetown, Ohio State players bond with kids learning real-world skills
Ohio State Buckeyes: As practice begins, one looming question for each Ohio State player
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What makes Isaac Likekele one of Ohio State's top basketball players
