Skull Session: Ohio State’s Sports Honor and Thank Gene Smith, Aaron Bradshaw is a Potential First-Round Pick in 2025 and Jamari Wheeler Wins a Title in Mexico

By Chase Brown on July 1, 2024 at 5:00 am
Gene Smith
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Nine more Saturdays...

Have a good Monday.

 SO LONG, FAREWELL. Goodbye, Gene Smith. Hello, Ross Bjork.

On Monday, Bjork starts as Ohio State's athletic director.

Before Ohio State transitioned from Smith to Bjork as its athletic department leader, the Buckeyes' sports programs honored and thanked Smith for his 19 years of service to the school.

Ohio State Athletics

Ohio State Football

Ohio State Men's Basketball

Ohio State Women's Basketball

Ohio State Women's Hockey

Other teams include men's lacrosse, women's volleyball, field hockey, women's tennis, fencing, softball, women's lacrosse and more.

Cheers to Gene for a legendary career.

He is the GOAT.

 FIRST-ROUND POTENTIAL. Next June, Ohio State men's basketball could have its first NBA lottery pick since D’Angelo Russell went second overall to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2015. Over the weekend, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports revealed his initial mock draft for 2025. He predicted Aaron Bradshaw would land with the New Orleans Pelicans at No. 14 overall:

Bradshaw was a top-five prospect in the Class of 2023 whose freshman year at Kentucky didn’t go so well. He only averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game after missing much of the preseason and first month of the season with an injury. That was disappointing. But the former McDonald’s All-American is still a 7-foot athlete with real stretch-big potential — and now that he’s transferred to Ohio State, I won’t be surprised if he does enough next season to again make himself a part of the lottery conversation that he was definitely a part of a year ago. Think Kel’el Ware, who was also a heralded high school prospect who struggled in his first year of college but then transferred and became a top-15 pick.

Ware is an excellent comparison for Bradshaw. Given that he transferred to Ohio State in April, I'm surprised that — almost three months later — this article was the first time I had heard or seen it.

A 7-foot, 210-pound center from Arkansas, Ware was the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2022 class and signed with Oregon. As a freshman for the Ducks, Ware averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 15.8 minutes per game. The following offseason, he transferred to Indiana and boosted his numbers to 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 32.1 minutes per game.

If Bradshaw, a 7-foot, 210-pound center from New Jersey and the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2023 class, can follow a similar arc to Ware, that would be an incredible development for the Buckeyes — one I would like to see very, very much.

 TITLE TIME. Jamari Wheeler is a champion — or, to be more accurate, a campeon. Last week, the former Ohio State point guard helped Rayos de Hermosillo secure a Mexico CIBACOPA title over the Astros de Jalisco.

Wheeler, who played three years at Penn State and one year at Ohio State before becoming a professional, spent last season with BC Prievidza in Slovakia. Following a couple of workouts for NBA G-League teams, Wheeler ended up in Hermosillo, where he appeared in 47 games and averaged 8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for Rayos.

In his team's four-game sweep of Jalisco, Wheeler averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per contest. His best performance came in Hermosillo's Game 3 win as the 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard scored 17 points and added six boards, seven helpers and three forced turnovers.

In his lone season at Ohio State, Wheeler was the floor general of the program's last NCAA Tournament team in 2022. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per contest as the Buckeyes won 20 games and reached the second round of the Big Dance.

 WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUES. Jacob Bosiokovic's road to the show is complete. Over the weekend, the St. Louis Cardinals promoted the former Ohio State standout from Triple AAA Memphis before the team's series finale with the Cincinnati Reds.

A college infielder turned professional pitcher, Bosiokovic did not appear in the Cardinals' Sunday contest. Still, the Delaware, Ohio, native told reporters after the game he feels excited about future chances to perform for the franchise.

In 164 games across four seasons at Ohio State, Bosiokovic averaged .268/.317/.406 in 673 plate appearances. He also collected 23 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs and 94 RBIs.

Following his college career, the Colorado Rockies selected Bosiokovic with the No. 560 overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft. The Cardinals acquired Bosiokovic in the 2019 Rule 5 draft, and he played the next three years in the organization from 2019-22. He spent one year with the Atlantic League's Charleston Dirty Birds before the Cardinals signed him to another contract this past offseason.

This year, Bosiokovic has appeared in 25 games for the Memphis Redbirds and collected a 3-0 record and 3.00 ERA. He has also struck out 38 batters in 30 innings as a relief pitcher. In four seasons affiliated with the Cardinals, Bosiokovic has a 13-5 record, 11 saves and a 4.06 ERA.

Bosiokovic is now one of three Buckeyes active in the MLB, along with outfielder Dominic Canzone (Seattle Mariners) and pitcher Ryan Feltner (Colorado Rockies).

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Hallelujah" - HAIM.

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