Ohio State redshirt junior forward Justice Sueing (14) rises for a dunk during the Ohio State-Illinois State game on Nov. 25. Ohio State won 94-67. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Justice Sueing had to wait over a year to make his Buckeye debut, but he wasted no time to make an impact with his new squad.
The redshirt junior transfer forward played a key role in No. 23 Ohio State’s 94-67 victory over Illinois State to open the 2020-21 campaign. Sueing said he was excited to be back on the hardwood following his prolonged basketball hiatus.
“It’s great to be out here with my guys, man, it’s been a long time this year sitting out,” Sueing said Wednesday. “I can’t wait to see what we can do this year.”
Sueing got off to a hot start, scoring 12 points on a flawless 5-of-5 from the field in the opening half while adding two rebounds and a steal. Sueing added seven points of his first-half scoring output during Ohio State’s 22-0 run to open the game.
“When you see a couple shots go in, it felt like our team really gels in and is able to feed off of that and it led to that 22-0 run,” Sueing said. “More importantly, we just stayed together and were playing off of each other.”
The Hawaii native finished his Buckeye debut with a game-high 19 points on 88.9 percent from the field.
Much of Sueing’s offensive output came when he attacked the rim, which he called a strength in his game.
“As long as I’m getting to the rim or E.J. (Liddell) is getting to the rim, we will make the right plays,” Sueing said.
Sueing’s impact didn’t only come through his offensive game. The former California Golden Bear added a team-high eight rebounds — four of which came off the offensive glass.
Sueing redshirted last season following his transfer, as he had to fulfill a year of residency at Ohio State per NCAA rules. However, he did not survive his year off unscathed as he sustained a foot injury that kept him out of practice until he was cleared in late August.
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said he could see Sueing’s potential from early on in his tenure as a Buckeye.
“We felt early on in practice last year that he was gonna be a really good player for us,” Holtmann said. “I think he’s done some things that we continue to see growth and improvement from him.”
In his season off, Sueing said he used the time to acclimate to the culture that Holtmann has built at Ohio State.
“Once I got here, I knew from the jump that it’s straight about getting better and making your teammates around you better as well,” Sueing said. “The coaches pushed me to be the best player I can be.”
With Ohio State slated to open Big Ten play in mid-December, Holtmann said there is still room for Sueing’s game to translate from the less physical Pac-12 conference.
“The physicality of athletes in our league and this level, I think is gonna be an interesting challenge for him,” Holtmann said. “To be able to continue to play that way and, yet, go through the kind of competition that we’re going to see and the size that he’s gonna see at his position night-in and night-out.”
As Sueing’s debut proved to be successful, he said he didn’t have individual accomplishments on his mind.
“I’m just out there trying to do what it takes to win,” Sueing said. “A big thing with our team is that everyone is so interchangeable, everyone is so good at playing off each other.”
