Bazley makes his season debut

After sitting out the first 11 games of the season due to OHSAA transfer rules, class of 2018 Ohio State forward commit Darius Bazley made his season debut for Princeton on Monday at the Flyin' to the Hoop Invitational. Bazley and his Princeton team fell to powerhouse Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler 77-48 with the junior forward chipping in 11 points.

"It was good (to be back), especially coming out against a team like this," said Bazley. "It wasn't the outcome that I wanted, so I'm not too happy right now but we have another game tomorrow and we're going to bounce back."

Wheeler jumped all over Princeton early and took a 38-18 lead into halftime. Bazley was able to gather himself during the break, however and came out firing in the third quarter with nine points.

"When the game first started, it was the first time that my team was playing with me so I wanted everybody to get a feel for how I play," he explained. "I tried to get everyone involved. I was a little nervous, playing with this crowd and against that team, but as the game went on I just relaxed and started letting the game come to me and started scoring."

The Ohio State pledge was playing in front of Buckeyes' head coach Thad Matta and assistant Dave Dickerson. He appreciated the support from his future coaches.

"It meant a lot," he said. "Just to know that they are there and still showing interest me even though I'm committed. They just told me to bounce back."

Bazley gave Ohio State an early verbal commitment, saying that the program and the school checked all of the boxes for him.

"You can't really explain it," he said. "You go up to Ohio State and you just fall in love. The coaching staff, the fan base, my relationship with coach Thad (Matta) and coach Dickerson, it's really good."

Bazley is an AAU teammate of fellow 2018 Ohio State commit Justin Ahrens. Listed at 6-foot-8, he says he now closer to 6-foot-9.