Skull Session: D'Angelo Russell and Mike Conley Jr. Were Part of a Blockbuster Trade, J.T. Barrett Gets a Promotion and There's Something About Jerry's World and Ohio State

By Chase Brown on February 9, 2023 at 5:00 am
D’Angelo Russell
Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports
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Ohio weather has been fantastic recently.

I've seen the sun more in the last three to five days than I saw it all of January. More of that from Mother Nature, please.

Let's have a good Thursday, shall we?

 #LOADING... The NBA trade deadline is today at 3 p.m. Less than 24 hours before the deadline, a blockbuster deal was completed that sent Russell Westbrook to the Jazz and former Buckeyes D'Angelo Russell to the Lakers and Mike Conley Jr. to the Timberwolves.

The section would have continued with me discussing how incredibly cool Russell was during his lone season with the Buckeyes.

I would have talked about the fact that he was a five-star who chose to play at Ohio State. Or that he averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals with career-high totals of 33 points (vs. Northwestern), 14 rebounds (vs. Maryland) and 11 assists (vs. Rutgers) in 35 games as a Buckeye.

I also would have mentioned that those statistics made him a consensus first-team All-American, a Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a recipient of the Oscar Robertson Trophy, the Wayman Tisdale Award—

Wait... I'm sorry. I may have gotten a little bit off track. Orrrrrrr did I?

Russell's accomplishments at Ohio State made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. His destination? To play for the Los Angeles Lakers, the very team he returns to in this deal. Except now, he's an All-Star who has averaged 17.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists for the Timberwolves, and the Lakers will now be putting him next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

As for Conley, a star contributor of the 2007 Ohio State team that finished runner-up to one of the most stacked college basketball teams ever in Florida, the veteran guard has been a model of consistency over his 16 seasons in the NBA, averaging 14.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists across his 1,001 career games.

At 35 years old with another year left on his $23.4 million per year deal, it made sense for the rebuilding Jazz to take that money off their books. However, that's not to say Conley is washed up. He's averaged 10.7 points and 7.7 assists in 43 appearances for the Jazz this season, indicating that he will help the Timberwolves push for a playoff spot.

It remains to be seen what deals are left for NBA franchises to make before the deadline hits this afternoon, but I think it's safe to say the three-team trade involving Westbrook, Russell and Conley will be the best #WojBomb until that point. #Loading...

The narrator: It was not, in fact, the best #WojBomb of the trade deadline (but still a close second!).

After 1 a.m. on Thursday, 13-time All-Star and two-time NBA champ Kevin Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns.

 JOE. THOMAS. BARRETT. Ohio State football has six former players on its staff: Brian Hartline, Tim Walton, Devin Jordan, Owen Fankhauser, C.J. Barnett and now James Laurinaitis. That’s led many Ohio State fans to wonder if and when will J.T. Barrett return to Columbus.

That won’t be happening this year, as he has instead accepted a promotion from the Detroit Lions to be their assistant quarterbacks coach in 2023.

I don't know if Barrett even wants to come back to Columbus. After all, he's doing well for himself in the NFL. But Barrett was a fan-favorite, record-breaking quarterback at Ohio State and has kept that same charm to this day. Don't you think he would rock as an offensive analyst with a potential future as a quarterbacks coach for the Buckeyes?

For me, that answer is an obvious yes, so if Day goes back to the well and attempts to add another former player to his staff, I think Joe. Thomas. Barrett. should be one of the first players Day contacts. What's the worst that could happen?

One more point before I transition to the next section: The spot was good.

 JSN IN JERRY'S WORLD. Before breaking records at Ohio State, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was one of the top recruits in the nation for the class of 2020, ending the cycle as the No. 5 wide receiver and No. 29 overall prospect for his graduating year.

After watching Smith-Njigba's performance for Rockwall High School during a 2019 Texas State Playoff game, it's pretty easy to see why that was the case.

In front of a packed AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Smith-Njigba helped his team claim a narrow one-point win, 60-59, by collecting an absurd 15 receptions for 258 yards and six touchdowns. It was a performance he still remembers fondly to this day.

JSN's statistical effort in the game still stands as one of the most impressive achievements in Texas high school football's decorated history. That effort – along with his outstanding performances as a Buckeye – helped cement JSN as a legend in the Rockwall community, and the star receiver now has an annual award named after him in the school’s county.

 FACE OFF ON THE ICE. Ohio State men’s hockey will face Michigan outdoors on Feb. 18 at FirstEnergy Stadium, home of my beloved Cleveland Browns. On Wednesday, ten days prior to the event, the stadium's grounds crew finished painting the end zones to match the designs at the school's respective football venues.

The “Faceoff on the Lake” will be the first-ever hockey game at FirstEnergy Stadium. The rink will stretch from one 18-yard line to the other on the football field, creating a great view for all who will attend the contest. As it stands, a crowd of more than 50,000 is expected to attend.

The upcoming matchup will be the second outdoor meeting between the two programs. The Wolverines previously knocked off the Buckeyes, 4-1, at the Cleveland Guardians' Progressive Field on Jan. 15, 2012. Michigan is 4-2-1-1 all-time in outdoor games, while Ohio State has a record of 0-3.

The Buckeyes and Wolverines split their two-game series in Ann Arbor in January and will play Ohio State's Senior Night in Columbus on Feb. 16 before heading to the 216 for the rivals’ final meeting of the regular season. The Faceoff on the Lake will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network at 4 p.m. on Feb. 18.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Everybody Talks" by Neon Trees.

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