Connor Lemons
Guest
Taison Chatman injury will test Ohio State’s youth, backcourt depth
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
The sophomore guard will miss the entire 2024-2025 season after suffering a torn ACL.
The highest-rated member of Ohio State’s highly-lauded 2023 recruiting class will have to wait yet another year to have a full, “normal” season.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Ohio State men’s basketball program released a statement saying that Chatman, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound guard from Minneapolis, underwent a successful knee surgery Tuesday afternoon after sustaining an injury during practice recently.
The Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy reported on Wednesday afternoon that Chatman suffered a torn left ACL in a recent practice, resulting from an awkward landing. It is the same knee that Chatman hurt last fall — a meniscus injury that cost the sophomore all of his pre-season last year as well as the first three weeks of the regular season. The team has not confirmed the specific type of knee injury Chatman sustained.
“I’m incredibly sad for Taison that he’s going to miss the entire year,” head coach Jake Diebler said. “After a tough start to his collegiate career, he worked his way back and played a role for us at the end of last season. He continued that development this spring and was working out really well. I was looking forward to watching him take the next step this year. But I know he’ll work hard and get back to form as soon as he can.”
In the statement, Ohio State made it clear that Chatman’s meniscus injury was fully healed and was not a factor in this injury. Once he returned last season, Chatman appeared in 16 games last year, scoring a total of 15 points. He knocked down a three-pointer in four of his final five games last season.
Chatman was rumored to be a potential transfer candidate once the season ended, after he averaged just over four minutes per game as a freshman. However, he announced on April 11 that he would be running it back with the Buckeyes as a sophomore. Chatman was expected to see an increase in playing time this season as one of the main backup options to Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson, who are both expected to start.
In his absence, Ohio State’s backcourt depth — and youth — will be tested. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. was considered one of the best shooters in all of high school basketball the last two seasons, and we will see early on if Mobley’s scoring ability translates to the college level. With Chatman out, Mobley will potentially be the first guard to back up the starting duo of Thornton and Johnson.
The loss of Chatman could also lead to an increase in minutes for Evan Mahaffey, who played 22 minutes per game last season. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward was third on Ohio State with 1.7 assists per game last season, and handled the basketball more than even he probably anticipated. He dished out three or more assists on five different occasions last season, including a career-high six assists during a loss to Penn State on December 9, 2023. Mahaffey’s minutes dwindled a bit when Chris Holtmann was fired and Jake Diebler took over, but even under Diebler, Mahaffey still played 15-20 minutes per game for the final 11 games of the year.
Incoming transfer Micah Parrish may also see more duties at point guard and shooting guard. The fifth-year guard/forward played two seasons at Oakland and two more at San Diego State before transferring to Ohio State in late April. Parrish averaged 1.9 assists per game last season at SDSU, which was the third-highest on the team.
While relying on players like Mobley and Mahaffey in such a heavy fashion isn’t ideal for a team looking to punch its first NCAA Tournament ticket since 2022 and make its first Sweet Sixteen since 2013, the Buckeyes do have one scholarship remaining. It’s been reported that the Buckeyes plan to use that scholarship on a post player, potentially of the overseas variety.
However, with this news, it’s possible that Diebler and his staff pivot from that, and instead pursue a backcourt player to complement Thornton, Johnson, and Mobley. If they go that route, it is unlikely that they would pursue a guard who is in search of a starting role or that would compete for Johnson or Thornton’s minutes. As of now there is no information suggesting Diebler and staff plan to add a guard in response to the Chatman injury.
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
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
The sophomore guard will miss the entire 2024-2025 season after suffering a torn ACL.
The highest-rated member of Ohio State’s highly-lauded 2023 recruiting class will have to wait yet another year to have a full, “normal” season.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Ohio State men’s basketball program released a statement saying that Chatman, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound guard from Minneapolis, underwent a successful knee surgery Tuesday afternoon after sustaining an injury during practice recently.
The Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy reported on Wednesday afternoon that Chatman suffered a torn left ACL in a recent practice, resulting from an awkward landing. It is the same knee that Chatman hurt last fall — a meniscus injury that cost the sophomore all of his pre-season last year as well as the first three weeks of the regular season. The team has not confirmed the specific type of knee injury Chatman sustained.
“I’m incredibly sad for Taison that he’s going to miss the entire year,” head coach Jake Diebler said. “After a tough start to his collegiate career, he worked his way back and played a role for us at the end of last season. He continued that development this spring and was working out really well. I was looking forward to watching him take the next step this year. But I know he’ll work hard and get back to form as soon as he can.”
In the statement, Ohio State made it clear that Chatman’s meniscus injury was fully healed and was not a factor in this injury. Once he returned last season, Chatman appeared in 16 games last year, scoring a total of 15 points. He knocked down a three-pointer in four of his final five games last season.
Chatman was rumored to be a potential transfer candidate once the season ended, after he averaged just over four minutes per game as a freshman. However, he announced on April 11 that he would be running it back with the Buckeyes as a sophomore. Chatman was expected to see an increase in playing time this season as one of the main backup options to Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson, who are both expected to start.
In his absence, Ohio State’s backcourt depth — and youth — will be tested. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. was considered one of the best shooters in all of high school basketball the last two seasons, and we will see early on if Mobley’s scoring ability translates to the college level. With Chatman out, Mobley will potentially be the first guard to back up the starting duo of Thornton and Johnson.
The loss of Chatman could also lead to an increase in minutes for Evan Mahaffey, who played 22 minutes per game last season. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward was third on Ohio State with 1.7 assists per game last season, and handled the basketball more than even he probably anticipated. He dished out three or more assists on five different occasions last season, including a career-high six assists during a loss to Penn State on December 9, 2023. Mahaffey’s minutes dwindled a bit when Chris Holtmann was fired and Jake Diebler took over, but even under Diebler, Mahaffey still played 15-20 minutes per game for the final 11 games of the year.
Incoming transfer Micah Parrish may also see more duties at point guard and shooting guard. The fifth-year guard/forward played two seasons at Oakland and two more at San Diego State before transferring to Ohio State in late April. Parrish averaged 1.9 assists per game last season at SDSU, which was the third-highest on the team.
While relying on players like Mobley and Mahaffey in such a heavy fashion isn’t ideal for a team looking to punch its first NCAA Tournament ticket since 2022 and make its first Sweet Sixteen since 2013, the Buckeyes do have one scholarship remaining. It’s been reported that the Buckeyes plan to use that scholarship on a post player, potentially of the overseas variety.
However, with this news, it’s possible that Diebler and his staff pivot from that, and instead pursue a backcourt player to complement Thornton, Johnson, and Mobley. If they go that route, it is unlikely that they would pursue a guard who is in search of a starting role or that would compete for Johnson or Thornton’s minutes. As of now there is no information suggesting Diebler and staff plan to add a guard in response to the Chatman injury.
Continue reading...