The Ohio State men’s basketball program released their schedule and announced all televised games for the 2023-24 season earlier today.
Credit: Zachary Rilley | Lantern File Photo
After a long day of basketball, Evan Mahaffey used to raid the cabinet for a sweet treat.
Now, working endlessly to become the best sophomore guard in the Big Ten, a protein shake does the trick and gets his body right.
Ohio State basketball players are some of the top athletes in the country, and with their rigorous training and competition, they must properly fuel their bodies for the challenge.
To help ensure their bodies and health are in pristine condition, the Buckeyes call upon the university’s sports nutrition and strength staff, who help athletes feed their bodies in order to perform at the highest level.
Sean Mohney, the men’s basketball performance dietitian, said his job is to not only provide and educate the team about what they’re consuming but also motivate players to eat nutritious food on their own.
“I can offer [the team] all the typical nutrition advice and provide the best possible nutrients for our guys,” Mohney said. “Outside of that, our staff offers help with cognitive acts, mental support and other aspects of nutrition and strength and more.”
Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton said one key to his success with nutrition has been eating a healthy, balanced diet with foods that he enjoys but that also fuel his body for the game.
“I really got into bait fish or salmon and a lot of different rices,” Thornton said. “I got big into vegetables, and I wasn’t eating a lot of fruit now, and now I am; it’s just important to understand the benefits of how these types of foods can help your body.”
Mohney said everybody comes from different backgrounds and has different genetic makeup, so it’s important to understand the importance of individualizing nutrition plans.
“Tailoring specific things and recommendations to them and really individualizing plans for guys, like what they’re used to, their favorite foods or their dislikes,” Mohney said. “That can really go a long way to fit their needs and give them that individual touch that they need.”
Mohney said he sometimes changes diet plans over time by analyzing what an athlete’s body is currently like and their goals in order to provide them with the fuels necessary to succeed in their individual bodies.
Head coach Chris Holtmann said everyone on the team needs to be responsible for their own eating choices. There are a multitude of health resources at Ohio State, and he said the team should use them as best as they can.
“[Our staff] provides great opportunities for our guys, but ultimately it comes down to individual choices,” Holtmann said. “The guys should choose to take advantage and educate themselves on what exactly the best meal or food plan is for them.”
Mahaffey said it’s important for him to utilize the athletic nutrition team because, for him, it’s the most well-rounded his diet has ever been.
“Now that I have different resources, I get better food and I definitely take advantage of it,” Mahaffey said. “It just makes you feel better all throughout the day and gives you more energy overall.”
The nutrition staff works to make sure the team is not only eating a well-rounded diet but is also staying properly hydrated, Mohney said.
“Beetroot juice is great because beets are high-end dietary nitrates that help provide more blood flow and oxygen delivery to the working muscles,” Mohney said. “Athletes, especially a basketball player, who go to practice and work out at a high intensity, can perform the same amount of work at a reduced energy cost.”
Mohney said the nutrition staff caters meals to the basketball players before and after games, and those meals often differ based on the needs of each player.
“Basketball players’ specific needs would be like the higher carbohydrate options just to kind of top off their gas tank, so pasta, rice, potatoes, all those starchy options,” Mohney said. “Then the lean protein options to help them repair and recover.”
The nutrition staff even occasionally travels with the team to away games, Mohney said.
“Any of the bigger trips, the Big Ten Championship, NCAA Tournament, the Maui Invitational is really where performance nutrition with the travel support helps,” Mohney said. “Changing time zones or having a ton of games back to back to back is difficult, so we are here to keep those guys going energy recovery-wise on the court.”
Mohney said everything the nutrition staff provides for the athletes is geared toward supporting their athletic performance and recovery.
“It’s really important for us to supply the quality foods for these guys,” Mohney said. “High-performance cars require higher octane fuels, so in this case [athletes] have bigger engines. They require more power and fuel for their bodies.”
