Last Monday, I stood outside the Archie M. Griffin Grand Ballroom on the second floor of the Ohio Union waiting for D’Angelo Russell.
The Buckeyes’ star freshman guard was scheduled to be at the Scholar-Athlete Dinner that night. It began at 6:30 p.m., but as I glanced down at my phone it read 6:28 and at this moment, I thought there was no way Russell was going to show up. Either that or he had already snuck in a side door to avoid the small media contingent that was awaiting him.
There were 538 Ohio State student-athletes who were set to be honored at this banquet. Russell and former walk-on Jake Lorbach were the only ones from the Buckeyes’ basketball team and all of the student-athletes in attendance would be available for comment prior to the banquet.
The timing was unique in a sense that the night prior, a report surfaced saying Russell was going to declare for the NBA Draft within the next two days. It was a report that was quickly denied by Russell on his Twitter account.
Russell, or any Ohio State basketball player, hadn’t been made available to the media since the Buckeyes bowed out of the NCAA tournament three weeks prior so I was pretty anxious to hear what he had to say about the situation. A lot of time had elapsed and Russell — who is widely projected as a top-five pick in the Draft — had been pretty mum on his future plans although most thought he would ultimately declare. I certainly wouldn’t have faulted Russell had he not wanted to talk to the media less than 24 hours after he had to take to Twitter to state he hadn’t made a decision regarding his future yet.
But as were were just two short minutes from the banquet starting, Russell made his way up the steps. Standing 6-foot-5, he’s pretty easy to spot, especially since the majority of the other athletes in attendance had already made their way into the banquet room.
We approached D’Angelo and an Ohio State spokesman and asked if he had a few minutes. I didn’t have very high hopes for the situation, but much to my surprise, D’Angelo graciously accepted and gave us a couple minutes of his time.
The interview was brief — it only lasted roughly four minutes, he had a banquet to get to, after all — but we hit a wide range of topics. Russell cracked jokes about how he wanted a rematch with Arizona and how he laughs about all the things wrote on social media about him.
He stated multiple times, at that time, he hadn’t made any decision regarding his future.
On Wednesday night, more than a week later, Russell declared for the NBA Draft. It wasn’t much of a surprise, but the fact the announcement didn’t come until five days before the deadline gave Ohio State fans a glimpse of hope he may return for his sophomore season. That wasn’t the case and Russell held a press conference Thursday to make it officially official.
D'Angelo Russell leaves behind a legacy as one of Ohio State's all-time great players
The one-and-done rule hardly allows fans to get to know their favorite players as they’re only around for one season. It’s also difficult for the media to get to know some of the players they’re covering, as well.
We don’t determine who comes out for press conferences on the day before a game to preview it and directly following a game to recap. That’s Ohio State’s decision. I covered the team all season and barely felt like I knew much about Russell leading up to the Big Ten tournament.
There are open locker rooms at the conference tournament and NCAA tournaments, though, and that allows you to have some one-on-one time with certain players. I spent the majority of my time in Chicago and Portland with Russell because not only is he a great player, I wanted to understand his story.
We talked about a lot of different things. He got asked a lot of questions about Ohio State's upcoming opponent. But we also spoke about shoes, what his pregame routine is, what music he listens to before games (In Portland, it was the new Kendrick Lamar and Drake albums).
He’s very confident in what he does. He says he wore the No. 0 because nobody can guard him. When asked who the best defender he went against all season was, Russell responds, “Nobody.” It’s not because he’s cocky or arrogant, it’s because he’s fully confident in his abilities on the basketball floor. He has the mentality of a professional.
And a pro is exactly what Russell will be come June’s NBA Draft. He’s slated to be a top-five pick and become an instant millionaire. He’s leaving Ohio State having scored more points than anyone ever has during a freshman season. Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta said Thursday he hopes to have Russell’s jersey hanging from the rafters inside the Schottenstein Center one day because that’s how good he was even though his time at Ohio State was brief.
Most of us will remember D’Angelo Russell for his incredible court vision, his highlight-reel bounce passes through traffic and his silky-smooth left-handed jump shot. But I’ll remember Russell most for that brief four-minute conversation we had weeks after the season had ended and everyone had been hounding him to make a decision.
He was gracious in that setting and all season, really. He was always open and honest and told things how they were. It’s not often you get to cover a superstar athlete who does that.
As Russell wrapped up his press conference Thursday bidding farewell to Ohio State, he stood up and made it a point to shake every hand of every media member in attendance. And there were a lot. He knew some better than others and cracked a few jokes. Most wished him well on his future journey in the NBA.
As I went up to Russell to thank him for everything this year, I asked him if he’d want to play for the Lakers, who should be picking somewhere in the top five and are one of the NBA’s most storied franchises.
His response? “Everybody wants to play for the Lakers, but they don’t have any shoes that match their jerseys, man.”
That’s D’Angelo Russell: Candid, funny and a hell of a basketball player. And he was a lot of fun to cover.
