Chris Holtmann opened up practice to the public at the Schottenstein Center on Tuesday night, as around 300 fans took in Ohio State's one-hour practice.
Many fans stuck around for autographs and photos with the head coach and a handful of players after Holtmann, C.J. Jackson and Joey Lane answered some questions in front of the crowd with Ohio State's play-by-play voice, Paul Keels.
Chris Holtmann addresses the fans here at the Schott with Paul Keels. pic.twitter.com/22yMB1IeB5
— James Grega Jr. (@JGrega11) July 31, 2018
C.J. Jackson and Joey Lane answer questions from Paul Keels. pic.twitter.com/tL6iRozYny
— James Grega Jr. (@JGrega11) July 31, 2018
The practice offered fans and media the opportunity to draw many observations in the one-hour window. The team spent the majority of the practice scrimmaging one another, with the teams divided up as follows:
Gray: CJ Walker, Musa Jallow, Justin Ahrens, Luther Muhammad, Danny Hummer, Keyshawn Woods, Kaleb Wesson, Jaedon LeDee
Scarlet: Micah Potter, Andre Wesson, C.J. Jackson, Duane Washington, Kyle Young, Joey Lane
Scarlet won the scrimmage by a score of 8-7, with each made basket being counted as just one-point. Our observations from the scrimmage can be found below.
- Both Ohio State squads worked on their zone defense early on in the scrimmage, to varying results.
- As expected, the defense was well ahead of the offense on both sides throughout the scrimmage, with Kaleb Wesson being the most consistent scorer.
- The younger Wesson converted on a three-point shot in the scrimmage, something he has been working on all offseason, and something Holtmann said he is encouraging Wesson to do more this upcoming season.
- Duane Washington and C.J. Jackson played on the same team in the scrimmage and while both ran the point throughout the scrimmage, Washington got more time running the offense while Jackson played off the ball more.
- CJ Walker will not be making the trip to Spain with the team, but seems to be fitting in well with the team. He was engaged throughout practice and at one point stripped Jackson of the ball on defense then finished the fast break with a contested reverse layup, which was one of the highlights of the day.
- Jaedon LeDee threw down a breakaway dunk that excited the fans in attendance. LeDee is arguably already the most athletic player on the team as a freshman.
You can see additional video from the practice below, while taking in a photo gallery at the top of this story.
Andre Wesson with a hard take to the hoop here at OSU practice. pic.twitter.com/XkPKc7cVdN
— James Grega Jr. (@JGrega11) July 31, 2018
Gray team forces a shot clock violation. pic.twitter.com/JENpl7rjCZ
— James Grega Jr. (@JGrega11) July 31, 2018
The team is set to depart Wednesday morning for Spain and return Aug. 11. The Buckeyes will visit Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia and play one game in each city. Ohio State will take on the Madrid Generals on Aug. 4, the Valencia All-Stars on Aug. 7 and the Catalan All-Stars on Aug. 9.
