• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

PF EJ Liddell (All B1G, All-American, Chicago Bulls)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
oFw1sa.gif
 
Upvote 0
QualityLoss said:
What people miss about EJ is his versatility particularly on the defensive end. He mobile enough to defend perimeter while having the length and athleticism to protect the basket. I think he is a perfect fit to finish off this fantastic class. Only disappointment is we do not have much to talk about on here for awhile now.
Click to expand...


His versatility doesn't end there, I actually feel like he is talented to ventually transition to a 3 down the road in a Grant Hill type of fashion... the kid is that talented, but he'll come in and play the 4 immediately though
 
Upvote 0
What's the impact of E.J. Liddell's Ohio State pick?
WHAT LIDDELL MEANS FOR OHIO STATE

Chris Holtmann and Ohio State have officially arrived as a force on the recruiting trail. It's pretty hard to argue otherwise.

Liddell is a player that few gave the Buckeyes much of a chance at landing this time a year ago or even six months ago. But here we are and Liddell is headed to Columbus as part of a stout three man class. It didn't raise eyebrows when they got top 50 forward Alonzo Gaffney because he was an Ohio kid. However, for five-star point guard D.J. Carton and now Liddell, Holtmann and his staff had to beat off stiff competition and conference foes for kids that they weren't really expected to land.

As a player Liddell should be able to find immediate playing time as a freshman. He's tough, he's physically strong and he's quick off the floor. If he was a little bigger, we would be talking about a five-star prospect but rankings aside his ability to score in the post, shoot jumpers, rebound and defend as a straight up shot blocker should make him quite useful. As a whole, the class of Liddell, Carton and Gaffney now ranks No. 4 overall in 2019.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Outstanding job by Holtmann and his staff. With limited spots to work with, the staff did not have a lot of room to operate but at the same time they really needed to bring in a talent boost at the PG and forward spots. Boy, they did that. (And the PG need was incredibly daunting in the 2019 class being that it is an extremely weak class for PGs. So Holtmann goes out and gets the #2 PG, ha).

They recruited a variety of guys but really, their top 3 priorities in this class were Carton, Gaffney, and Liddell. That couldn't have been more evident in how they spent their time and resources. They put these 3 guys at the top of their board and they focused on them. Holtmann even left during Carton's visit in order to see EJ in AAU play and then flew back the same day to help wrap up the Carton visit. And they got their top 3 guys. Something of a risk, but this staff believed it could happen and they made it happen.

I'm really pretty overjoyed with this class in terms of its quality and how it addresses needs. It's likely a T15 class in the final rankings and probably a Top 3 B1G class--not something you can say too often about a 3-man class. Carton is gonna be a dream to have at PG. Gaffney is raw and will need some time but the sky's the limit for his potential. And EJ will be an instant fan favorite in terms of how he plays on both ends of the court, and the kid is going to PRODUCE.

Incredible. The future is bright.
 
Upvote 0
Why EJ Liddell picked Ohio State basketball, what his commitment means for the Buckeyes
EJ Liddell has always wanted to be a Buckeye.

Perhaps that will sound less cliche when you hear that Liddell grew up dreaming of playing football for Ohio State. A self-described "young fat kid," Liddell was an offensive linemen who grew into a receiver before giving up football completely as a high school freshman.

He switched sports and ended up at Ohio State anyway.

...

"I chose Ohio State because those guys are winners, and I thought I was gonna come in and win," Liddell, a four-star forward, told cleveland.com on Monday night.

"I believe playing with those guys, we can come in and win, and have a big season."

...

The second potential hurdle was showing how Liddell can play with Gaffney, himself a forward who could potentially play in the post or on the wing.

To get over that, Holtmann and his staff showed Liddell a video cut up of him and Gaffney, of Keita Bates-Diop and Jae'Sean Tate, and of how the staff used forwards Andrew Chrabascz and Kelan Martin playing together at Butler. The positions Bates-Diop was put in last season, which led to him winning Big Ten Player of the Year, stuck out in particular.

"I feel like I'm more of a three guy, but I post up because I have mismatches a lot," Liddell said. "So I can shoot, dribble, I feel like my passing is underrated. I think I'm a good passer. I really get on the rebounds, and I can guard anybody on the court."

...

"He's a matchup nightmare," Joe Muniz, Liddell's coach at Belleville West High School told cleveland.com. "Teams that switch on him put a bigger guy on him, he can take them outside, they put a smaller guy on him and he takes them inside. He's got a toughness about him that is second to none. I've always said this about him, the bigger the stage the better he plays. And there's no stage too big for him."

...

"He tells me how honest of a guy (Holtmann) is, and how he's been in his life after basketball," Liddell said. "I've been getting to know them since January, and I feel like they're truly honest guys ... (Holtmann) came in, changed it, took them to the tournament and got Big Ten Coach of the Year. He just changed the culture."

Liddell has now completed a class that could change the future.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top