Ohio State is inching closer to having a full-strength roster for the first time all season.
Eugene Brown’s absence through the first 10 games hasn’t exactly been glaring, given the Buckeyes’ solid 7-3 record and the fact that the junior has never averaged more than 3.5 points per game in a season with the Buckeyes. But Brown started 10 of Ohio State’s final 12 games a year ago, and throughout the 2021-22 season, Chris Holtmann was confident in his assertion that Brown would play an even bigger role in year three.
He hasn’t gotten the chance thus far as the impact of a preseason concussion has kept Brown off the floor for nearly the first third of the year. But his return to action appears to be imminent as Holtmann issued a positive health update about the upperclassman in Monday’s press conference.
“Gene's making progress,” Holtmann said. “Expect his return shortly, not exactly sure yet, it's going to depend on how practice goes.”
On his radio show on 97.1 The Fan Monday, Holtmann said Brown has been doing full-contact work in practice. However, Holtmann has previously said Brown may need an extended period of time to get back up to full speed even after he’s healthy enough to begin playing games. That means he isn’t likely to step into a major role for the Buckeyes right away.
Even before Brown’s injury, the influx of new talent that entered the program over the offseason called into question just how many minutes he would receive in 2022-23. Four-star freshmen Brice Sensabaugh and Roddy Gayle Jr. are both wings, and all three of Ohio State’s scholarship transfer additions – Isaac Likekele, Sean McNeil and Tanner Holden – play similar positions to Brown.
Likekele and McNeil have both started every game they’ve appeared in for Ohio State, and with Likekele unavailable the past two games, Sensabaugh has filled in as a first-teamer – and he’s the team’s leading scorer.
“I think our team needs him. I don't think, I know our team needs him, and we’re excited to get him back when we can."– Chris Holtmann on Eugene Brown
Holtmann held firm that there’ll be opportunities for Brown once he returns, but admitted it’s too early to define them specifically.
“At this point it'd be just kind of speculation. I mean he plays either wing spot, kind of the three or four, which are pretty similar in our system,” Holtmann said. “He also gives us the ability if we want to play smaller, maybe a little bit faster on occasion, to just play three of those guys together. So his versatility and length – he can guard bigger guys, he can guard smaller guys – I think will really help this team. So there's certainly a place for him. But it's too early to tell.”
The Ohio State head coach was clear about one thing: The addition of the 6-foot-7, 195-pound guard will only benefit a Buckeye team that could use a boost in both size and on defense.
“I think our team needs him. I don't think, I know our team needs him, and we’re excited to get him back when we can,” Holtmann said.
Barring any regression due to his stationary start to the season, one would think Brown’s ceiling this season would reflect the growth he made over the offseason. But Holtmann said even that period was cut short for Brown, who dealt with nagging injuries that sidelined him for stretches over the summer.
When Brown was able to play, the Buckeye coaching staff liked what it saw.
“His offseason was taken away because of some other minor injuries. So I think when we saw him, it was exciting,” Holtmann said. “Because we were able to see some things that we felt like could help our group, and just some of the versatility that he provides. We were able to switch, in some cases, three through five. We did that at Michigan last year. To be able to have a guy where you can switch, has that switchability, is a good thing for you. So I think it was exciting, but to be honest with you, he had a really kind of truncated offseason. So hopefully we can get him back.”
Missing 10-plus games for a concussion may seem like an unusually long time, but Brown also suffered a concussion that held him out of multiple games a year ago. Perhaps the program’s medical staff wanted to be extra cautious given the repeated concussions suffered by Kyle Young over the past two years, but Holtmann said he doesn’t believe that to be the case.
“You'd have to ask him, but I don't think so. I don't think at all,” Holtmann said. “I think this is, I don't want to say 'only,' but this was his second one. I don't think he's had a history of them. Kyle kind of had a number of them. So I don't think that played into it at all. But you'd have to ask him.”
Beyond Brown, Likekele is the only other scholarship player who has been listed as unavailable for any contests this season. Likekele missed Ohio State’s Big Ten opener on Dec. 8 to tend to a family matter in Texas, and while he traveled with the team to New York City this past weekend, he sat out of that game, too.
While Likekele continues to deal with the emotional distress of the situation, which Holtmann has not gone into detail about, he could miss a bit more time moving forward. In fact, Holtmann said Brown is “more ready” to return than Likekele at the moment. But Holtmann isn’t placing any pressure on the Oklahoma State transfer to come back before he’s ready to.
“I think today's athlete, there's certainly more awareness. I think there's more honesty with athletes. There's more openness with athletes and coaches than there's ever been,” Holtmann said. “And that's, I think, a good thing. That's a really good thing. It's a healthy thing. And I think when you go through some of the traumatic things that have happened with people he cares about, that can bring to the surface some things that maybe he's struggled with. So I really want it to be his story. So I want to be careful what I say and how much I say, because it's really his story. But just generally, I think you guys know how I feel, how I think pretty much every coach at this school feels about just encouraging a level of honesty when it comes to all that stuff.”
While Brown may be the first of the two to return to action, neither sounds all that far off. But with Maine and Alabama A&M being Ohio State’s last two games of 2022, the Buckeyes hardly need to rush either player back into the fold immediately.
If both are back by the time Big Ten plays resumes on Jan. 1, Ohio State will have its deepest lineup of the year at the perfect time.
