A second shot at revenge for Evan Mahaffey against his former team yielded the best performance to date of his college basketball career.
The sophomore transfer from Penn State collected a career-high 16 points with five rebounds, two blocks and two steals on Saturday. He did so on an efficient 6-of-9 day from the field with a 4-for-4 outing at the free-throw line, helping Ohio State to a 79-67 win over Penn State.
“He’s very talented,” Ohio State center Zed Key said. “People were saying stuff about him because he wasn’t really scoring and stuff, but he’s been improving. He’s been showing us that he can defend, he can score around the rim. He’s a great player, he comes to work every day in practice and he’s earning what he gets.”
Following the contest, Mahaffey spoke publicly for the first time about his father's ongoing battle with life-threatening heart issues.
Still, while carrying that added weight on his shoulders, Mahaffey is rounding into form as a versatile piece within Ohio State’s starting lineup as tougher road matchups lie ahead.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence offensively now,” Chris Holtmann said. “He had that stretch in the first half (of the season) where I just think he was struggling with his confidence. But he’s playing with great confidence right now. Great confidence. And I love that because we really need him.”
Recently, a GoFundMe page went public for Jamie Mahaffey, Evan's father. He is currently in what the GoFundMe describes as a “crucial fight against advanced heart failure.”
The GoFundMe has raised $47,164 of its $150,000 goal to help assist with Jamie Mahaffey’s medical expenses.
“He’s doing good, but any day (the transplant) could happen,” Evan Mahaffey told the Columbus Dispatch before Ohio State’s practice on Friday. “Thank you to everybody that’s supporting or sending money or just praying. That means more to me and my family than you know.”
While Mahaffey said that his father’s heart-related issues have been going on for months and it’s become easier to play through the emotional burden in that time, it’s still a weight that he carries with him on the court.
“It’s definitely been tougher in some moments. The whole thing with his heart has been going on for a while now,” Mahaffey said after the Penn State game. “I’ve been playing with this since the season started, so – I’m not used to it, but it’s a little bit easier because I’ve known it for a while. So now that everyone knows it’s not as different. But it still is hard because, in the back of your mind, you’re like, ‘Any second.’”
Indeed, at any second, Mahaffey may have to board a plane to Nashville, where his father is waiting for a heart transplant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Mahaffey said that his dad has been instrumental in getting him to the level he is as a basketball player. In his youth, he was right alongside his father as Jamie coached North College Hill High School, where he led the Trojans to three consecutive Ohio High School State Champions from 2005 through 2007.
“Since I was a kid, I was at his hip when he was coaching North College,” Mahaffey said. “I was constantly with him. So for him not to be here as much, it definitely hurts, but I know he’s watching from where he is. But it gives me extra motivation for sure, just to play a little bit harder because God can take any of us off this earth at any given time and I think these types of situations show you like, ‘Hey, it’s true.’”
Mahaffey came out with an added bit of self-assurance against Penn State on Saturday.
He scored six points in a row to grow an early Ohio State lead from 8-0 to 14-0, part of a 16-0 run to start the game for the Buckeyes. Those points came with a 3-for-3 shooting start.
“It feels great just being confident out there,” Mahaffey said. “I know I talked to Coach Holtmann a little bit, he just told me, ‘Keep playing with that confidence.’ When I get into the paint, just being able to take my time in there. But it’s awesome. It’s definitely a confidence boost.”
For Mahaffey, that confidence comes from the chemistry he feels he’s built with teammates over the first few months of the season.
“Just through playing as many games as we’ve played so far,” Mahaffey said. “Every game, getting more comfortable. Being able to read my teammates as well, knowing what their tendencies are, being able to get to open spots for them, too.”
Mahaffey started the second half strong as well, flushing down an alley-oop off a beautiful lob from Roddy Gayle Jr. and cashing in a layup shortly thereafter.
Starting the second half out strong. @EvanMahaffey5 x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/ravPoGQExU
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 20, 2024
Scoring an even eight points in the first half and eight points in the second, Mahaffey was part of a larger overall focus on interior offense for Ohio State. The Buckeyes outscored the Nittany Lions 40-24 in points in the paint on Saturday.
“It was a big emphasis (for us),” Mahaffey said. “We have so many great shooters on this team, so to get them easier shots, we want to get into the paint and then look out to get it to them. But that just makes it easier for them to tee up threes, so that was a big emphasis for us.”
Mahaffey's offensive impact came in addition to his usual versatility on the defensive end. He picked up two blocks and two steals, tying with center Felix Okpara for the team-high in swats and pacing the Buckeyes in swipes outright.
“He’s a basketball player,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “He’s not a great shooter but he can dribble and pass and he has a great feel. And he has a nose for the ball. He does so much for them and you saw that today.”
Mahaffey feels that the way Ohio State plays defense is conducive to his play style, and he’s made more of an impact as his understanding of the system has grown.
“It just comes from trying to be in the right spots in our defense,” Mahaffey said. “I love our defense. I love the way we play defense. It allows us to move, it allows us to just be aggressive on the ball, be physical. So just working with Coach (Brandon) Bailey, constantly talking to him like, ‘Hey, if this ball screen comes off this way, can I stay here a little bit longer so I can bait that?’ So just different things like that.”
“I talked to Coach Holtmann a little bit, he just told me, ‘Keep playing with that confidence.’”– Evan Mahaffey on his Career Performance against Penn State
For the year, Mahaffey is second on the Buckeyes in both blocks and steals, third in assists and fifth in rebounding. And his offense has come a long way since a 3-of-23 stretch from games four through eight for Ohio State.
Holtmann and Mahaffey embraced following the Scarlet and Gray’s victory over Penn State.
“I just was really proud of him, working through some of those struggles early (in the season) where kids question themselves a little bit confidence-wise,” Holtmann said. “I just was really proud of the fact that he fought through that, he’s starting to see how he can impact things a little bit and I just think he’s growing into a young man who can really help us on both ends. ... I told you guys I’m really bullish on our sophomore class and he’s a part of that group.”
If Mahaffey can keep his confidence up on offense and continue contributing in myriad ways, it will be a big lift for the Buckeyes as they hit the road for two games.
Jamie Mahaffey will be watching with pride from Nashville. The GoFundMe page to support his medical expenses can be found here.
