It’s no secret what Justin Ahrens normally brings to the table.
The Ohio State junior wing has taken 19 shots from 2-point range in three collegiate seasons. He has 179 attempts from beyond the arc in that same span.
Ahrens spreads the floor, shoots 3-pointers almost exclusively, and generally avoids doing anything outside of his comfort zone.
For over two seasons, the 6-foot-6 marksman filled his given role to a tee in limited minutes, coming off the bench to provide the occasional burst of scoring from beyond the arc.
As a result, he was confined to a fairly limited space-- his playing time depended solely on his effectiveness from deep, and he was an obvious negative on defense. It wasn’t clear if the Ohio native’s ceiling was any higher than a one-dimensional specialist.
Then, Jimmy Sotos and C.J. Walker went down with injuries and Ahrens was pushed into extended minutes and a starting position.
We’ve seen his full potential ever since.
Sunday afternoon against Michigan State was a prime example of everything Ahrens provides to this Ohio State team beyond his 3-point shooting.
He only scored seven points on 2-for-5 shooting (every attempt was a 3-pointer), but his impact in 23 minutes on the court was much greater than the final box score says.
His mere presence on offense forced Michigan State defenders to glue themselves to his hip, opening up the post for Ohio State and putting Michigan State in early foul trouble.
“There are times where we can put teams out there that have a lot of shooting, and then have versatility in how we play, offensively and defensively,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said. “Obviously, Justin has proven that over time here. So it creates some opportunity on the floor for space.
"In this league, when everybody defends with great purpose, in terms of their scouting, having space out on the floor is really important.”
E.J. Liddell, Justice Sueing, and Zed Key flourished with more room to work, finding easy looks near the rim against nearly zero help.
Even with the attention he saw from the Spartan defense all day long, Ahrens still found looks from deep early, knocking down a pair of triples in the first half and drawing three free throws after being hit on an attempt from downtown.
The junior’s most important contributions didn’t come from the gravity he consistently created on offense, however. His greatest improvements have come on the other side of the ball.
Since entering the starting lineup, Ahrens has become a passable defender, even with opposing offenses attempting to wear him down on every possession.
He’s noticeably more physical on the perimeter (even fouling out against Illinois!) and has a new level of awareness in the half court in Big Ten play.
On Sunday, he was all over the place, crashing the boards on numerous occasions and hitting the deck first on multiple loose balls.
Statistically the best shooter in the conference (and one of the best in the country) this season, every triple Ahrens attempts puts pressure on the defense and removes pressure from the Buckeyes’ host of interior scorers.
“When guys play to their strengths, there’s a freedom there, and they look like the good players they are,” Holtmann said. “Guys have really embraced that.”
Multiple makes from 3-point range have almost become a given for Ahrens as a starter, but when the Versailles graduate can keep himself competitive on defense, Ohio State’s ceiling climbs even higher.
Justin Ahrens has become an integral part of one of the most efficient offenses in the country.
“We’re all connected. We all understand what we need to do,” Walker said. “We all know what our roles are on this team, and we do it to the highest level, whether it’s making threes, or playing defense, or just being out there and getting an offensive rebound.
"Whatever you need to do in the minutes that you play, just do it at a high level."
