WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Had Kaleb Wesson been eligible to play instead of serving a suspension, he wouldn’t have changed the outcome of Ohio State’s 35-point loss to Purdue. Even if Keita Bates-Diop suddenly received single-game eligibility to attempt another upset of the Boilermakers, the result would have remained the same.
But the loss of the 6-foot-9, 270-pound big man who leads the Buckeyes in points (14.6) and rebounds (6.7) was undeniably felt on both ends of the court Saturday afternoon.
In Wesson’s place, Jaedon LeDee earned the start. He had not played more than five minutes in over a month, not playing a single minute the prior two games. In a season-high 22 minutes, LeDee tied his career-best with 16 points, becoming the only Ohio State player to finish in double digits. He made 4-of-9 shots and hit 8-of-11 free throws while grabbing three rebounds.
“He's a good offensive player. He's got to figure out how to defend better,” Chris Holtmann said. “He was thrust into an environment that was pretty difficult. I thought he played hard at times. I really did think he played hard at times.”
Taking a look at the numbers of LeDee’s second start of the season doesn’t tell the full story of the change in personnel in the paint, and that’s not a knock on the freshman.
Before the season even began, Holtmann said he expected LeDee’s learning curve to be steeper than it might be for Luther Muhammad and Duane Washington Jr., largely because he plays forward instead of guard. He needs time to develop on defense, especially, where Holtmann predicted the loss of Wesson would hurt most.
“I think, obviously, Kaleb's a terrific player and we've built a lot of our offense around him,” Holtmann said. “I think the thing that I mentioned yesterday was when we're playing well, defensively, the gap between his defense and our other guys' defense at that position is seismic. And I think that's where I'm concerned.”
Wesson has improved as a defender throughout his two year at Ohio State and is both the tallest and biggest player on the team. LeDee has enough size to replace him on the interior, but he’s still learning the position. For much of his life, LeDee played guard and on the wing, so he’s still susceptible inside.
Post defense wasn’t the problem in the first half when Purdue hit shot after shot, with many coming from beyond the 3-point arc. But the Buckeyes couldn’t keep the Boilermakers off the boards, leading to a 12-rebound deficit, and allowed 34 points in the paint.
C.J. Jackson dismissed the idea of Wesson’s suspension much affecting the offense, instead noting Purdue’s offense that shot 55.9 percent and hit 11-of-21 3-pointers as the reason for the loss.
“I don't think too much offensively was our problem today,” Jackson said. “We didn't have too many turnovers. We didn't take too many bad shots. It was more so defensively that kind of took us out of it. And when they're scoring, then we're going against a Big Ten defense every possession. It gets tough.”
He’s not wrong. Ohio State’s defense didn’t play well enough to win. But neither did its offense.
The Buckeyes made just 33.3 percent of their field goals, went 2-for-19 from 3-point range and had quite a few possessions where it didn’t quite seem to know where to turn on offense without Wesson.
LeDee had 16 points, but he didn’t completely alter the defense, which Wesson does when he plays.
Just go back one game, to Ohio State’s 90-70 win against Iowa, to see the difference.
“When we run that four-out, one-in look with Kaleb inside – you know teams are always coming to double him – it really opens the floor up for open shots, open driving lanes and things like that, so it was good,” Justin Ahrens said after scoring 29 points in the victory over the Hawkeyes.
Ahrens didn’t score and attempted just one shot in 19 minutes against Purdue. He rarely had any space operating beyond the 3-point arc, trying to find areas to spot up. Neither did Duane Washington Jr. (nine points, 0-for-3 from 3-point range) or C.J. Jackson (two points, 0-for-4 from 3-point range).
Wesson can reshape the court, which leads to opportunities. As the season progressed and he proved to be a threat to score in the post, teams had to tilt defenses toward him when he had the ball, often double-teaming him in the post. That opens up shooters for clean looks, which simply didn’t happen on Saturday. Ohio State doesn’t have enough players who can drive to the lane and kick it out, either.
Wesson wouldn’t have changed the result of Saturday’s game, but he certainly could in a future matchup if his suspension lasts much longer.
