Ohio State redshirt senior forward Justice Sueing (14) sits on the bench with a groin injury during the Ohio State-Bowling Green game Monday. Ohio State won 89-58. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Ohio State redshirt senior forward Justice Sueing’s name found its way onto the injury report yet again, missing the first regular season game of his collegiate career after playing limited minutes in the first two contests of 2021.
Sueing has battled a groin injury since the late stages of last season, which he saw a specialist for, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said.
“No real word on him right now other than he had to be evaluated,” Holtmann said. “He was not able to play, did not feel that he was going to be able to play, so we sent him to a specialist in Cleveland — a productive meeting.”
Holtmann said Sueing told him he was back “almost to 100 percent,” but after reaggravating things before the closed-doors Ole Miss scrimmage in late October, there is no definitive timetable for his return.
“I don’t know right now that it’s season-ending,” Holtmann said. “I think it’s significant.”
That doesn’t help the Buckeyes, who have experimented with different lineups and rotations to compensate for the loss of former guard Duane Washington Jr. — who led the team in minutes and points a season ago.
Junior forward E.J. Liddell has quickly emerged as the filler of that void on offense, scoring at least 25 points in two of the first three games this season, including a career-high 29 against Niagara Friday.
That’s where Sueing will be missed most, as he recorded the highest field goal percentage of anyone with at least 200 attempts for Ohio State in 2020. He would’ve anchored the small forward position for an offense who finished 12th in offensive efficiency last season, according to Team Rankings.
Holtmann said before the season that Sueing would assume a higher volume of scoring and ball-handling — similar to the role he played last year when guards CJ Walker and Jimmy Sotos were sidelined with injuries.
“He’s unique because there’s not another Justice-type player on our roster that has the ability at his size to play downhill, guard multiple positions,” Holtmann said.
The Buckeyes’ offense had a balanced attack against an inferior opponent in Bowling Green Monday, having five players score in double figures, something that senior forward Justin Ahrens said was good for the team’s momentum.
“It felt really good to get things clicking and good momentum going,” Ahrens said. “Obviously, traveling to a lot of different places, we’re looking forward to it. We’re excited and we’re ready to compete.”
Other than redshirting for a year after transferring from California, Sueing was yet to miss a game in his collegiate career before sitting out to rest against Indianapolis in the exhibition Nov. 1.
In his first 94 career games, Sueing averaged over 31 minutes per game, pacing the Golden Bears with 1,070 minutes played in 2018.
Against Akron and Niagara, the Honolulu native found himself in unfamiliar territory coming off the bench for the first time in his Buckeye career, playing 14 and 15 minutes, respectively.
Holtmann said his status moving forward is still unknown.
“What plan moving forward we’re going to have, and if he’s going to play Thursday, all those questions kind of remain open-ended,” Holtmann said.
