COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Upon return to the Schottenstein Center on Sunday, the Buckeyes had a new face on the sidelines.

Meechie Johnson Jr. arrived at Ohio State last weekend and was on the court during warmups as the now 20th-ranked Buckeyes took on Cleveland State.

“He’s a great kid, and I think he’s going to be a really good player,” head coach Chris Holtmann said Tuesday.

The 6-foot guard was a three-star recruit from Cleveland, Ohio. He reclassified from the class of 2021 in early November.

Johnson didn’t take shots in warm ups or participate in shootaround, but his presence near midcourt showed he’s getting acclimated around his new Buckeyes teammates.

“I think right now he’s taking all that in,” Holtmann said. “He’s jumped into his first week, three games, a Big Ten team and North Carolina. I think he’s experienced kind of like ‘Woah, this is at another level of intensity.’"

Holtmann said the biggest thing is to make sure Johnson is healthy before being thrust into practice and game-like atmospheres.

Johnson suffered a torn ACL in early 2019 and missed all of the 2019-20 high school basketball season. He did participate in AAU activities over the summer, however.

“We’re committed to his long-term health and how he can help our program, not just this year, but beyond,” Holtmann said. “Even if he didn’t have a prior knee injury, we would still be doing that with anybody."

The fourth-year Buckeyes head coach noted that college basketball is a long season, meaning there’s no need to rush Johnson into things.

C.J. Walker and Jimmy Sotos represent older guards on the current Ohio State depth chart who will handle duties in the near-term. Eugene Brown III was also part of the class of 2020, although Brown's 6-foot-6 frame could allow him to play with versatility on the hardwood.

"He’s going to play, we just want to make sure his health is where it needs to be," Holtmann said. "This is really kind of unprecedented what we’re doing. We just want to be extremely careful to make sure he’s ready for game action when he is.

"He’s going to be a really important player for us next year."