Connor Lemons
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Health of newest Buckeye Josh Ojianwuna a big asterisk heading into 2025-2026 season
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The former Baylor center may or may not play this season for Ohio State.
Ohio State made a big splash on Wednesday afternoon, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. In picking up 6-foot-10, 230-pound Josh Ojianwuna, Jake Diebler and his staff added an intense, physical big man to the team that raises the floor of the team. Pound-for-pound, there aren’t many tougher players in the nation.
A starter at Baylor last season, Ojianwuna (pronounced oh-john-woo-nuh) is not expected to start for the Buckeyes, but could if needed. He averaged 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game a season ago while playing 24.6 minutes per game for the Bears. He also shot 77.4% from the floor on just under four shot attempts per game.
Translation: he does not take a ton of shots, but when Baylor got him the ball close to the basket, he did not miss.
The only concern with Ojianwuna is his health. He tore his ACL against UCF in February, and had surgery to repair it weeks later. Now off of crutches, Ojianwuna is doing well in his recovery, but rehabbing a serious knee injury takes time. Because of how late in the season the injury occured, his status for the beginning of next season is foggy.
“When I had my surgery, the doctor told me it’s going to probably take nine months,” Ojianwuna told the Columbus Dispatch this week. “They said 9-12 months, but most of the time ACL injuries take nine months is what he told me.”
Nine months would bring him back sometime in November — a very minimal absence in terms of games played, but his pre-season practices would probably look different from that of his teammates.
A full 12-month recovery would mean mid-to-late February, or the majority of this upcoming season. If that were the case, Ohio State would be open to redshirting Ojianwuna to preserve his eligibility for the 2026-2027 season.
Neither Diebler nor the Ohio State medical staff are going to put out any kind of goal or targeted date for their newest player’s return. The season is still six months away, and every person recovers differently from ACL injuries. If Ojianwuna recovers quickly and is ready to play by November, he will play. If it takes closer to the full 12 months, the team will not rush him back.
A source close to the Ohio State men’s basketball program did indicate earlier this week that the team is not overly confident that Ojianwuna will be ready to play in the first game of the season, which will likely take place the first week of November. If that’s the case, Ivan Njegovan will be the main backup center to Christoph Tilly, with Brandon Noel or even Amare Bynum sliding over to play a “small ball” center at times.
The outlook of Ohio State’s roster — and season — will look different based on how much of the season Ojianwuna is available.
If the best case scenario plays out, Ohio State will have one of the best backup centers in the Big Ten on their team — a guy who grabbed 17 rebounds in one game last season and is more than capable of starting if needed.
If the worst case scenario plays out, Ohio State may have just used an available roster spot on a player who won’t even contribute this upcoming season. In what could very well be a make-or-break year for Diebler at Ohio State, can the program really afford to invest in players who won’t see the floor? Will redshirting the talented big man pay dividends for the following season if this year does not go well?
For now, the focus is on rehabbing the knee and being healthy enough to raise Ohio State’s level this upcoming season. If the Buckeyes don’t make a serious jump this season, it will be fair to look back and question if this move was worth the risk.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The former Baylor center may or may not play this season for Ohio State.
Ohio State made a big splash on Wednesday afternoon, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. In picking up 6-foot-10, 230-pound Josh Ojianwuna, Jake Diebler and his staff added an intense, physical big man to the team that raises the floor of the team. Pound-for-pound, there aren’t many tougher players in the nation.
A starter at Baylor last season, Ojianwuna (pronounced oh-john-woo-nuh) is not expected to start for the Buckeyes, but could if needed. He averaged 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game a season ago while playing 24.6 minutes per game for the Bears. He also shot 77.4% from the floor on just under four shot attempts per game.
Translation: he does not take a ton of shots, but when Baylor got him the ball close to the basket, he did not miss.
The only concern with Ojianwuna is his health. He tore his ACL against UCF in February, and had surgery to repair it weeks later. Now off of crutches, Ojianwuna is doing well in his recovery, but rehabbing a serious knee injury takes time. Because of how late in the season the injury occured, his status for the beginning of next season is foggy.
“When I had my surgery, the doctor told me it’s going to probably take nine months,” Ojianwuna told the Columbus Dispatch this week. “They said 9-12 months, but most of the time ACL injuries take nine months is what he told me.”
Nine months would bring him back sometime in November — a very minimal absence in terms of games played, but his pre-season practices would probably look different from that of his teammates.
A full 12-month recovery would mean mid-to-late February, or the majority of this upcoming season. If that were the case, Ohio State would be open to redshirting Ojianwuna to preserve his eligibility for the 2026-2027 season.
Neither Diebler nor the Ohio State medical staff are going to put out any kind of goal or targeted date for their newest player’s return. The season is still six months away, and every person recovers differently from ACL injuries. If Ojianwuna recovers quickly and is ready to play by November, he will play. If it takes closer to the full 12 months, the team will not rush him back.
Josh Ojianwuna threw it DOWN@BaylorMBB pic.twitter.com/54EBwM44Uy
— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) November 7, 2022
A source close to the Ohio State men’s basketball program did indicate earlier this week that the team is not overly confident that Ojianwuna will be ready to play in the first game of the season, which will likely take place the first week of November. If that’s the case, Ivan Njegovan will be the main backup center to Christoph Tilly, with Brandon Noel or even Amare Bynum sliding over to play a “small ball” center at times.
The outlook of Ohio State’s roster — and season — will look different based on how much of the season Ojianwuna is available.
If the best case scenario plays out, Ohio State will have one of the best backup centers in the Big Ten on their team — a guy who grabbed 17 rebounds in one game last season and is more than capable of starting if needed.
If the worst case scenario plays out, Ohio State may have just used an available roster spot on a player who won’t even contribute this upcoming season. In what could very well be a make-or-break year for Diebler at Ohio State, can the program really afford to invest in players who won’t see the floor? Will redshirting the talented big man pay dividends for the following season if this year does not go well?
For now, the focus is on rehabbing the knee and being healthy enough to raise Ohio State’s level this upcoming season. If the Buckeyes don’t make a serious jump this season, it will be fair to look back and question if this move was worth the risk.
Continue reading...