Holtmann praises Liddell, excited for 'his next step'

This year’s version of the Ohio State men’s basketball team will have a very different look than its previous three years.

The loss of the Buckeyes' leading scorer, junior big man Kaleb Wesson, to the NBA Draft will provide a notable change in size (Wesson ran 6-foot-9, 270 lbs.) and strategy for Ohio State.

Head coach Chris Holtmann was quick to admit that when he appeared on 97.1 The Fan’s Morning Juice on Friday morning.

“We knew Kaleb was kind of- he dipped his toes in the water of the draft last year- so we knew that was a potential,” Holtmann said of his former big man. “Certainly, we’d love to have him, but we also knew that when he transitioned out of the program, that we were gonna look a lot differently because so much of what we did was centered around our big kid, Kaleb.”

Enter sophomore E.J. Liddell.

Liddell, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Belleville West High School, came into his freshman season as Holtmann’s second-highest incoming recruit as a head coach, ranked No. 41 nationally by Rivals in the class of 2019.

Like most freshmen, he worked out his kinks through the year and saw inconsistent minutes, playing 20 minutes or more in just four of his first 25 games as a Buckeye.

“He went through normal ups and downs that freshman go through. I’d bring him up to my office and he’d wonder why he only played 14 minutes in a league game,” Holtmann said. “You know, that’s those really seminal moments for coach-player relationships.”

The lack of consistent minutes was tough on Liddell in his first year. An Illinois basketball state champion in both his junior and senior years of high school, the young forward was used to being on the court in the biggest moments of every game.

Holtmann said Liddell’s frustration was capped by a film session in which he told the first-year his playing time was coming down to one aspect: effort.

“He just had to learn how to play harder his freshman year,” Holtmann said. “You gotta show him on film, ‘Listen, you’re not playing hard enough, that’s the bottom line. So I’m not going to play you if you can’t play harder.’”

After a season-low, one-point performance against Purdue on Feb. 2, Liddell broke onto the conference stage in the remaining six games of Ohio State’s regular season. He scored eight points or more in four of those games and played at least 17 minutes in all but one.

After averaging just 5.9 points per game over the first 25 games of the season, Liddell exploded, averaging 21.8 minutes, 10.0 points, and 6.2 rebounds in those final six to close out the year.

His five blocks against Nebraska are the most by an Ohio State player since Andre Wesson spiked five shots against UCLA in December 2018.

Liddell's head coach was quick to compliment the Illinois native’s growth in Big Ten play, saying it came with a change in mindset and practice habits.

“Because he’s a great kid he took it upon himself, he started working harder- and he had a great start to the year- but he started consistently being an everyday guy in practice,” Holtmann said. “That transitioned- he was one of our best players late in the year. It’s a credit to the kind of kid he is.”

That was not the only time Holtmann sang praise on Liddell's qualities as a person.

“You love being around E.J.,” Holtmann said. “I mean, he’s got a million-dollar smile, he’s a great kid, he’s a two-time Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois, which is really impressive.”

The best part?

Liddell has only played one season of college basketball.

“I’m really excited for his next step, whatever that looks like as a sophomore,” Holtmann said.