Jae’Sean Tate wanted to make something very clear Wednesday afternoon when he addressed the media for the first time since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery: He did not injure himself on that now infamous floor slap in the Buckeyes’ win over Nebraska way back on Feb. 20.
It actually happened quite a bit before that.
“Actually I did it a couple practices before Northwestern at home," he said.
That game against the Wildcats came back on Feb. 9, which means Tate played through Ohio State’s next four games knowing full well his shoulder could pop out at any given moment. In that four-game stretch, playing through a serious shoulder injury, Tate averaged 15 points and nine rebounds.
He would have kept going, too, had he not re-aggravated it in the first half of the win over the Huskers. Tate said "the wear and tear of how physical the Big Ten is" was ultimately too much to overcome and that's what forced him to shut things down and have surgery to repair a torn labrum.
“If you watched the game from the beginning, you could see that I hurt it in the first half [against Nebraska]," Tate said. "When the second half came into play the guy went to shoot a 3, and when I contested it, [the shoulder] actually came out and I was crouching on the ground."
Tate was in good spirits Wednesday, his left arm in a sling. He has come to grips with the fact his sophomore season prematurely came to an end after tearing his labrum for the second time in three years, as difficult as that might be. Tate went through the exact same injury his senior year of high school but to the other shoulder.
The Buckeyes are just 1-2 in his absence, with both losses coming at the hands of Michigan State. Ohio State will see the Spartans for a third time, too, should it knock off Penn State in its opening game of the Big Ten tournament Thursday.
Tate is a guy coach Thad Matta referred to as “the heart and soul” of Ohio State’s team, so it is hardly surprising when he admitted how difficult it was to watch from the bench or on television as opposed to being out on the floor.
“It's killing me," Tate said. "Especially just being at home watching on TV. It's totally different than even being on the bench or playing when you watch at home. Of course I want to be out there with my team."
He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready in time for when the Buckeyes open up practice next fall; Tate said he recently began rehab and will start running in a month or so. But that means he'll be quite limited in the summer, which is a key part of a player's development. This injury is to Tate's dominant arm, too, which means there's a little bit more concern.
But Matta says he's going to have Tate do a bunch of mental exercises during the time he can't do a ton physically.
“I told him the story I once read about a prisoner of war. He was locked up for years and every day he played golf in his mind," Matta said. "And when he finally got released, he got back and went out and shot par and hadn’t touched a golf club.
"So I’m thinking he’s going to be over a 50 percent 3-point shooter when he comes out of it.”
Tate smiled when he was asked about Matta's tactics. "I just think it's a little weird," he said, laughing, "but I promised I'd work on it."
Tate will be traveling with the team to Indianapolis as Ohio State attempts to play itself into the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes' leader and de-facto captain won't be on the court, but Matta said just having him around, having him in the locker room is a big deal.
"JT is one of those guys where you enjoy being around him, our guys enjoy being around him, I enjoy being around him," he said. "Seeing his arm in a sling, knowing what he gave us when he was injured, I hope is motivational for our guys.”
