COLUMBUS, Ohio –– Ohio State’s lack of a true big man in the post-friendly Big Ten was a criticism harped on more than anything besides the Buckeyes’ overall inconsistency last season.
Head coach Chris Holtmann heard the gripes loud and clear, and after being in talks as a potential suitor for a number of power forwards and centers in the early offseason, Ohio State landed a commitment from former Butler and Indiana big man Joey Brunk over the weekend.
Coupled with last week’s announcement that Buckeye senior forward Kyle Young would be back for a fifth year, the Ohio State frontcourt has certainly seen some legitimate fortification in the past several days.
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However, with Brunk being one of the lesser known –– or at least less discussed –– commodities that Ohio State was in the running for in the big man transfer market, does he truly solve all of the Buckeyes’ issues on the inside?
We won’t have a fully fleshed-out sense for exactly how strong the Buckeye frontcourt will be next season until there is some finality on the situation regarding first-team All-Big Ten forward E.J. Liddell, who is testing the NBA Draft process over the offseason.
Most expect Liddell to ultimately return for a junior season at Ohio State Ă la Kaleb Wesson a couple years ago, but all possibilities are on the table at this juncture.
Liddell and Young shouldered the load down low for the Buckeyes a season ago, and standing at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8, respectively, it’s easy to see why fans would be clamoring for a bigger player to bang against the likes of Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn and Purdue’s Trevion Williams.
Each of those players had tremendously impactful performances against the Buckeyes this past season as teams were acutely aware of the mismatches, which forced Liddell into frequent foul trouble and allowed for an abundance of second-chance opportunities.
Liddell had little trouble scoring on the inside last season, even if he was often guarded by 7-footers on a routine basis, so the primary issue that needs to be addressed for Ohio State is on the defensive end.
With Young missing the final three games of last season, the Buckeyes were too often put in situations where freshman forward Zed Key was tasked with difficult defensive assignments in key moments, or where wings like Justice Sueing, Seth Towns and Musa Jallow were forced to match up with opposing centers for brief stretches.
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Brunk, assuming he’s healthy after missing this past year with a back injury that required surgery, should be able to relieve some of that pressure and physical toll with a capable 6-foot-11 presence alone, regardless of the traditionally limited offensive role he has played on teams in the past.
In 2019-20, his first season with Indiana, Brunk played just under 20 minutes a game, scored 6.8 points per game on 52 percent shooting and pulled down 5.2 rebounds a night, figures that would have made him the sixth-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder on this year’s Ohio State team.
Although Buckeye fans may have wanted a big with more upside, such as five-star prospect Efton Reid, Brunk will provide an efficient veteran presence for a coach that thrives on bringing in just that type of thing through the transfer portal.
Ohio State won’t be asking Brunk to reinvent the wheel or shoulder too heavy a load, and especially not if Liddell returns and Key continues to deliver on the potential he showed in his first season with the program.
Instead, Brunk will service an obvious need for the Buckeyes in a small but vitally important role considering the routinely stout competition at his position in the conference.
His arrival may not make a huge splash, but the addition of Brunk is no doubt one of the subtle tweaks that could help put Ohio State over the hump if players like Liddell and Duane Washington re-up for another run in 2021-22.
