This time a year ago, there was some concern as to whether or not Andre Wesson would be able to play basketball again.
One year later, Wesson is healthy and gearing up for his junior campaign.
Last summer, Wesson was sidelined for the majority of the offseason with an undisclosed health issue. The setback kept him from keeping up with his conditioning in addition to on-court activities, slowing his basketball development.
This year, there is no such concern, and Wesson is excited about being full-go this summer.
"Obviously I am feeling a lot better than I was this time last year with my health and my conditioning and everything," Wesson said Wednesday.
The Westerville South product said it wasn't until after Christmas last season that he felt he regained his conditioning and felt back to 100 percent on the floor. That statement proves true when you look at Wesson's minutes and production after the turn of the new year.
In Ohio State's games played before the calendar turned, Wesson averaged just 13.6 minutes per contest. In the Buckeyes' final 19 games of the season, Wesson averaged 22.3 minutes per game, playing a career-high 36 minutes in a 64-63 road win over No. 3 Purdue, his best game as a collegian.
In the win over the Boilermakers, Wesson scored a career-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, burying three triples, the last of which banked in off the glass to give Ohio State a 62-60 lead with just more than a minute to play.
That kind of shooting performance is what Wesson is working on bringing to the table every single game next season.
"I have been working on trying to get my shot a lot more consistent, and my ball-handling. Those are probably the two biggest things," Wesson said. "I think I can take a big step, still doing the little things I do. I am always going to do whatever it takes to help the team win. Just doing that, and then getting my shot more consistent, ball-handling and playmaking. I think I can make a big step."
Wesson shot just 28.6 percent from behind the arc last season, but his value, at least to this point in his career, has come on the defensive end. Wesson gave Ohio State big minutes not only offensively against Purdue, but defensively in his performance against Purdue big man Isaac Haas. Giving up about seven inches to Haas, Wesson filled in for his younger brother Kaleb against the Boilermaker big man, limiting his offensive production and bothering him just enough to help Ohio State pull the upset.
He had a similar stretch against Nebraska's Isaac Copeland late in a 64-59 win over the Cornhuskers, in which he shut off Copeland's drive to the hoop, forcing a shot-clock violation that ultimately sealed the victory for the Buckeyes.
Wesson said that defending his younger, bigger brother over the years has helped him when it comes to playing defense, especially against larger opponents.
"It comes from guarding Kaleb all the time in the backyard," Wesson said. "That definitely helps and has given me confidence."
With the likes of Jae'Sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop, Kam Williams and Andrew Dakich gone, Wesson said he and Micah Potter, who are now both upperclassmen, will need to help take on some of the leadership role alongside C.J. Jackson. In addition, he expects to play a bigger role on offense, which is what he is working on this summer as he looks to make up for lost time from last year.
"It's hard to remake what Keita, Kam and J.T. did, but I feel like if everybody pitches in and gets better and develops more, I think we can make it up," he said.
