COLUMBUS, Ohio — Meechie Johnson Jr. has been a starter his entire life.
In his freshman season at Ohio State, coming off a short stint with the Buckeyes after enrolling early in 2021, Johnson’s still playing starting-level minutes, averaging more than 20 minutes per game. But he’s still not on the court during tip off, instead hitting the griddy with his teammates to the beat of “Joker and the Thief” by Wolfmother.
It’s different than Johnson is used to, but it’s something he said he can’t be worried about.
“You can’t worry and be caught up in your own feelings and if I am a starter or a bench player, what’s going to happen in the game, how it’s going to go for me,” Johnson said. “Me being an aggressive player, sometimes I make a lot of stuff happen for myself or for my teammates. I just go in there with the mindset of ‘You have to come in there, you have to be aggressive, you have to make some plays, you have to be a playmaker,’ and go from there.”
Kyle Young’s in the same boat.
The redshirt senior forward, who had started 51 of his 52 games in the past two years, has been the first person off the bench in his final year at Ohio State.
But it’s not something he can worry about either. Young knows he will get his fair share of playing time.
“When my number’s called, Coach knows I’m going to go out there and give him my 110% every time,” Young said.
For head coach Chris Holtmann, this is nothing new.
He’s had more than five players average more than 20 minutes per game before. It was the role guard Keyshawn Woods and Young played at times in 2018-19. It was the role Duane Washington Jr. and D.J. Carton played at times in 2019-20.
Sometimes, it takes a little adjustment on the part of the player.
Checking into the game, Johnson said he looks at what Ohio State may need at that given moment: an aggressive scorer, a facilitator, a staunch defender getting in the face of a red-hot scoring or point guard.
In his redshirt senior season, Young has taken it a bit further.
Early in his career, Holtmann called the forward “one-dimensional” as a rim runner and a long post guy. Now, after an offseason working on his perimeter game, the head coach can stick Young wherever he needs an offensive or defensive spark.
“He can guard bigger guys, he can guard smaller guys, even though he’s not super long,” Holtmann said. “Listen, he’s a very good player. It’s why every time he’s out, we miss him. We had a pretty big game last year when we missed him. He’s a very good player and provides a lot for us.”
Against Towson Wednesday, Young just took what the defense was giving him.
As the game continued, teammates, such as sophomore forward Zed Key, were giving him big driving lanes to work with, filling those gaps for easy scores. He had a few open looks from 3, continuing a streak of six-straight makes from deep dating back to the Buckeyes’ Big Ten opener against Penn State.
Young and Johnson turn into whatever Ohio State needs at that given moment.
To Johnson, it’s a continued opportunity for growth, a chance for him to continue to learn the game of college basketball in a role he’s not used to.
“I’ve grown a lot,” he said. “I’ve had some big games where it was big for me. I had some games where it’s like what the heck, man? But that’s basketball. It’s a long season. I see that, and I know that the player that I am, I just have to continue to be better. I just have to continue to watch the film and put the work in.”
Young knows what college basketball is, having been part of the Ohio State program since Holtmann took over in 2017-18.
But not starting isn’t something he can think about. Instead, his mindset goes to where its been for each of the past five seasons: what can ge do to help the team as a collective.
“I just want to be able to give the team whatever I can in the moment,” Young said.
