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

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Is E.J. Liddell the next star forward for Ohio State?

The Buckeyes’ big man is entering his second season after finishing the year strong

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“The 6-foot-6 Liddell made the most of his opportunities with the Buckeyes during his freshman year and his future with the program seems bright. As a freshman, Liddell played in all 31 games. He averaged 16.6 minutes, 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.”
- Steve Helwagen, 247Sports

Some of the most productive Ohio State basketball players in recent times have been forwards. The program has seen an influx of talent at the forward spot in the past few seasons — including guys like Keita Bates-Diop, Andre Wesson, Kaleb Wesson and Kyle Young. With Bates-Diop now two seasons deep into his NBA career, the elder Wesson having just exhausted his eligibility and the younger Wesson potentially entering the NBA Draft, the Buckeyes need to find the next man up.

As a result, Liddell spent the majority of the first half of his freshman season in a reserve role, playing less than 20 minutes per game with some small contributions off the bench here and there. It also didn’t help that in front of him were two of Ohio State’s most important players in Kaleb Wesson and Kyle Young. However, as the year got later and later, things began to change.

With the calendar nearing the middle of February, Chris Holtmann began calling his freshman’s name more and more. After an injury to Young in the Maryland game that would sideline him for the rest of the season, Liddell really began to step up. Over the Buckeyes’ last six regular season matchups, the first-year forward averaged 10 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest, putting up a career-high 17 points against both Iowa and Illinois with another 12-point outing in the season finale against Michigan State.

You could see Liddell’s confidence growing with each passing game. A bit hesitant to shoot at first, he began to body people underneath with his immense physical strength despite being a bit undersized at his position. He was looking to create his own shots at the offensive end, and was locking down the paint at the other — even recording a five-block game against Nebraska. With Young sidelined, it became Liddell that provided the spark of energy the team needed when times got tough.

Entire article: https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2...ckeyes-basketball-ej-liddell-why-is-this-news
 
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E.J. LIDDELL (SOPHOMORE)
What he’s done: Recruited as a top-50 overall prospect out of Illinois, Liddell flashed incrementally throughout his freshman season, usually getting between 10 and 20 minutes off the bench behind Young. Down the stretch, the 6-foot-6, 236-pound power forward turned a corner. He dropped 17 points against Iowa, blocked five shots versus Nebraska and tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Buckeyes to a win over Illinois, his home state team. He averaged 6.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 16.6 minutes per game.

Next season’s outlook: For Ohio State to reach its potential in 2020-21, Liddell needs to go from being a solid role player to one of the team’s best players. Likely shifting into a starting role, there’s a decent chance he’ll lead the Buckeyes in scoring next season. Whether he can do so will largely be reliant on him taking strides to expand his offensive game in the offseason. He shot 46.4 percent from the field and 19.2 percent from 3-point range as a freshman. Defensively, he’s a punishing shot-blocker. But likely without Kaleb Wesson inside anymore, he’ll be more relied upon as an interior defender despite being relatively undersized.

 
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The 2018 and 2019 All-Metro player of the year, Liddell averaged 20.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.9 blocks per game as a senior to lead Belleville West to back-to-back Class 4A championships. First player from the Metro East to lead his team to consecutive state championships since LaPhonso Ellis at East St. Louis Lincoln. Named Illinois Mr. Basketball as a junior and senior to become the second player to win it in back-to-back seasons since award began in 1981. Averaged 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 5.9 blocks per game. In his four years on varsity, he averaged 19.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.9 blocks per game. Signed with Ohio State. Played in all 31 games for the Buckeyes. Averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds. Blocked 29 shots, second most on the team.
Click to expand...
 
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E.J. LIDDELL (6.7 POINTS, 46.4/19.2/71.8 SHOOTING SPLITS LAST YEAR)

WHY HE WILL
Perhaps nobody on this team has to take a bigger leap in order for Ohio State to achieve what it’s after more than Liddell, a backup in 2019-20 who’ll likely join Young and Sueing as a starting forward as a sophomore. But anybody who tuned in for the home stretch of his freshman season knows he just barely tapped into his potential in his first year as a Buckeye. The 6-foot-7, 240-pound power forward combines physicality down low with an efficient mid-range game and adept offensive rebounding numbers. Now that Wesson’s gone, he’ll see an uptick in scoring chances.

WHY HE WON'T
As often as we saw the flashes of something potentially special late last season, Liddell remains far from a finished product.

“I think to expect a sophomore to be someone you're going to run 100 percent of the offense through in the best league in the country is probably too much to put on him right now,” Holtmann said. “I think (E.J. is) going to have some guys in Justice and Duane and CJ that can do some of those things in terms of playmaking and creating offense, and then Kyle can also play off those guys a little bit.”

He didn’t shoot it well from the outside as a freshman, and Holtmann harped on his need to play harder more often and improve his conditioning. It’s not difficult to find those both within and outside of the program who are optimistic about Liddell’s long-term potential. But anybody forecasting him as the leading scorer on the Buckeyes this year is doing a lot of projection based on a small end-of-year sample size. Until we see him on the court in a few weeks, it’s tough to know exactly how much he developed offensively.
 
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2) What kind of player is E.J. Liddell going to be?
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Here are the stat lines for Liddell’s final two games of last season against Illinois and Michigan State, respectively:
  • 27 MIN, 17 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK, 1 STL, 7-9 FG
  • 29 MIN, 12 PTS, 4 REB, 2 STL, 4-9 FG
And here are the stat lines for Liddell’s two games immediately before that, against Nebraska and Michigan:
  • 20 MIN, 8 PTS, 5 REB, 5 BLK, 3-10 FG
  • 17 MIN, 4 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 2-4 FG
So, the question really is, which E.J. Liddell is his “final form?” Do we have a Jared Sullinger-type on our hands, who can give you 10 points, 10 rebounds, and a few blocks every single game? Because in those final two games of last season, that is exactly what it looked like.

Or will Liddell revert back to how he played throughout most of the season — providing the Buckeyes with solid defense and rim protection, but often deferring shots to everyone else? Obviously, Liddell can take over a game all on his own, as he showed against Illinois on senior day. The energy he brings to both ends of the floor can’t be understated either.

In a game that is ultimate decided by which team goes on more “runs”, stemming the tide and snatching the momentum back can be the difference between winning by two or losing by two. And boy, can E.J. Liddell bring the energy.

Some media outlets expect Liddell to really break out this year, and I’m inclined to agree with them. Lindy’s Sports included him in their preseason All-Big Ten team, placing him next to his new teammate Seth Towns on the All-B1G Third Team. If Liddell breaks out this season and you add him to the arensal of weapons this team already has (if healthy), Ohio State will be able to compete with any team in the Big Ten.
 
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Through the first 29 games of his career, E.J. Liddell had eclipsed 10 points on four occasions. In his last five games stretching from March to December, Liddell has accomplished the feat in each showing.

Scoring 43 points across three games in the 2020-21 season, the sophomore forward has been a consistent producer on the offensive end for an Ohio State team that head coach Chris Holtmann said is looking to grow. As Liddell shows signs of improvement, Holtmann said the key will be his ability to stay consistent.

“I’ve been really proud of the steps he’s taken in that area, playing with force,” Holtmann said Wednesday. “I think he’s doing a lot of good things, a lot of growth and improvement, but again, the challenge will be as we move forward with competition increasing, can he continue to do that on both ends?”
 
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