Published Apr 7, 2022
What does Ohio State's lineup look like with Justice Sueing back?
Colin Gay  •  DottingTheEyes
Managing Editor
Twitter
@ColinGay_Rivals

Justice Sueing made it official Thursday night.

He's back.

"Can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be," Sueing wrote in a tweet. "We have some unfinished business Buckeye Nation."

After missing all but 31 minutes of the 2021-22 season with an abdominal injury, the forward will return for his sixth season of college basketball and his fourth with Ohio State in 2022-23.

Playing 33 games for the Buckeyes across three seasons, including a redshirt season in 2019-20, Sueing has averaged 10.5 points per game, shooting 48.5% from the field with 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and nearly a steal per game.

Without E.J. Liddell or likely Malaki Branham on the court next season, what will the Buckeyes look like with Sueing back in the flow?

Here's a look.

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The returners

Ohio State is set to bring back six players from its 2021-22 team that lost to Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Meechie Johnson Jr. and Eugene Brown III will be back to anchor the backcourt, with Brown and Sueing interchanging between the guard and forward positions on defense.

In the frontcourt, Ohio State will have Sueing, starting center Zed Key, Kalen Etzler, who redshirted his freshman season in 2021-22 and Harrison Hookfin.

From the 2021-22 team, the Buckeyes will have only two of its top-eight scorers returning in Key and Johnson.

The newcomers 

Along with a veteran like Sueing, Ohio State seems to be building its 2022-23 team around its freshman class.

The Buckeyes have the No. 1 recruiting class in the Big Ten and the No. 5 class overall in the country, bringing in forward Brice Sensabaugh, who head coach Chris Holtmann said will be as much of a "matchup problem" as he's ever had, along with a play-making point guard in Bruce Thornton, a high-level defender in Roddy Gayle Jr., a shot-blocking 6-foot-11 center in Felix Okpara and an in-state shooter in Bowen Hardman.

But Ohio State wasn't done.

The Buckeyes have already tried to make up some of that production lost between Liddell and potentially Branham, securing Wright State’s leading scorer Tanner Holden via transfer after averaging 20.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, shooting 49.7% from the field and 34.1% from deep.

The questions 

Between Holden and Sueing, Ohio State has a lot more potential to build an offense around than it did when Liddell and Branham entered the NBA Draft.

In Sueing, Ohio State has a three-level scorer and defender that can take the ball up and set up the offense while also bullying opponents down low in the paint. He's shown the ability to be whatever they want him to be, showing a level of positionless versatility, a sort of blank canvas for Holtmann to work with.

While Sueing and Holden are something to build around, Ohio State could be int he market for a veteran point guard to run the offense, complimenting the scoring Sueing and Holden can provide, along with a veteran presence down low, especially as the Buckeyes officially wait to see if Seth Towns will return for another season even with all indications pointing to one last season for the redshirt senior.

If anything, Ohio State has a veteran it can build around. The Buckeyes have another starter to fill in the gaps left by Branham and Liddell.