New Buckeyes: Sensabaugh bounced back from injury to win Mr. Basketball award
Q&A WITH BRICE SENSABAUGH:
Below is our interview with Sensabaugh as he goes through his injury situation, choosing Ohio State, his family’s Ohio ties and much more.
Q: What are you thinking about in this last week before enrolling at Ohio State?
Sensabaugh: “I’ve been waiting for this. As soon as our last game of the season ended, I made sure I finished off school strong. But I’ve been slowly preparing and getting myself ready physically, mentally and emotionally for what’s next, which is Ohio State.
“It’s been fast and slow at the same time. I don’t know if I’m 100 percent ready to leave my family. One thing I have been focusing on and wondering a lot for a while is how I match up at the next level. That’s one of the things I’ve been waiting to see for a while.”
Q: You finished up at Lake Highland. Were you there for all four years?
Sensabaugh: “I moved to Lake Highland as a sophomore. I was at Hagerty High School (in Oviedo, Fla.) my freshman year. The knee injury took me out of the playoffs in my sophomore year.
“I had surgery and that rehab was only like six weeks. I came back and played that summer (in 2020) and got hurt again. That was the longer rehab process like seven or eight months.”
Q: How difficult was that with all of the doubt and uncertainty about what you might be able to do?
Sensabaugh: “Doubt comes with it and a lack of confidence. I definitely stayed patient with it. As far as what happened during that time, eight or nine months is a long time. There was a lot of stuff that went on. It was a really hard time for me and my family.
“I had a few low-major offers, which I was extremely grateful for at the time. I knew I was going to be able to bounce back. Basically, it was a really tough time. Anyone who deals with an injury knows about the mental health that goes with it.
“The important thing for me in that process was finding what makes me happy since I couldn’t play basketball. I had to roll with that as long as I could until I could get back on the court. I was able to bounce back 100 percent from that. I came out better than I was going into it.
“I was able to pick up an offer from my dream school and now I’m going there.”
Q: You were with Each 1 Teach 1 last year and picked it up at the Peach Jam. That’s when people knew you were back and you were legit. Coming out of Covid, you were playing in the bubble in Georgia. What was that time like as you were starting to show everybody on a daily basis you were back and you were one of the best players in the tournament?
Sensabaugh: “That tournament was actually a lot of fun. A lot of credit goes to Nike and what they did with that. I played my 16-U season (in 2020), but we did not have EYBL because of Covid. Them being able to operate that last year, it was a great time.
“For me and my team to play against some of the best players in the country day in and day out … the whole month of July it seemed like we were in Georgia. We stayed level headed and never got too high or too low based on our performance. We knew it would be a long month and a lot of basketball we were playing.
“For me personally, I was handling every game the best I could. We had a stacked team and a bunch of talent. I had to just recognize my role and put the ball in the basket and defend at the same time. I focused on simplifying what I was doing. I was just doing what I knew I could do and did it the best I could. That was what was best for me in that time and that situation. I kept on focusing on that and it led us to the elite eight there.”
Rest of Q&As:
https://247sports.com/college/ohio-...ibute-at-forward-spots-188167867/#188167867_2
