Ohio State junior forward Justice Sueing (14) enters the court before the game against Illinois State on Nov. 25. Ohio State won 94-67. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Ohio State was without its starting and backup point guards against Northwestern, but a trio of Buckeyes stepped up in different ways Wednesday.
Without redshirt senior guard CJ Walker and senior guard Jimmy Sotos, a starting backcourt populated by junior guard Duane Washington Jr. and an unusual occupant in redshirt junior Justice Sueing combined for 36 points in Ohio State’s 81-71 win. Off the bench, freshman Meechie Johnson Jr., who played in just his second collegiate game Wednesday, provided a pair of threes in 11 minutes.
Head coach Chris Holtmann said the challenge of overcoming the injuries was great.
“Certainly been, in terms of moving the lineups around, the greatest challenge of my coaching career just because we’ve not been in a situation where we’ve had this number of injuries to one position,” Holtmann said Wednesday.
Entering the game averaging 15.1 points per game, Washington set a new career-high for a third time this season by hanging 23 points on the Wildcats.
The Michigan native reached the scoring mark by pouring in 17 first half points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. He finished the game shooting 7-of-17 from the field.
Although the scoring lift was rather commonplace, Washington’s role in distributing the ball was uncharacteristic but largely needed. Washington recorded a career-high five assists on two occasions in the 2019-20 season, but he set a new career mark Wednesday when he provided the team with a game-high six assists to counter only one turnover.
“When you get an efficient, consistent Duane Washington, he is what I’ve always believed and that is a very good player,” Holtmann said. “His decision making in the last four minutes probably won the game for us.”
Unlike Washington, Sueing did not tally any new career benchmarks Wednesday, but the California transfer was thrust into a new position when he was tasked with playing point guard.
Holtmann said Sueing was taught the position before the season when redshirt senior guard Abel Porter was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Sueing said he felt comfortable playing point guard and just wants to help the team in any way he can.
He also said he received advice from the position’s previous occupants: Sotos and Walker.
“The two things I’d say is just to stay composed and to take care of the ball,” Sueing said. “That’s the main two things I took from them and the rest was just playing off of instincts and making sure that we ran the plays correctly and got the look we wanted.”
The forward-turned-guard finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He also snagged seven rebounds.
Asked to step up Wednesday, Sueing and Washington had the benefit of prior collegiate experience and the early goings of the season to lean on. Johnson did not have this same luxury.
With the NCAA not counting the 2020-21 season against a player’s designated four years of eligibility, Johnson joined the team in December after reclassifying to the 2020 recruiting class.
Less than two months removed from his arrival and in just his second game in college, Johnson provided a lift for the Ohio State offense when he knocked down 2-of-3 3-pointers to go along with an assist.
“So happy for him, and I can’t overstate how hard that is to do what he’s doing right now.”
Sueing said Johnson has gotten more comfortable as his time with the team has increased, but the redshirt junior conveyed how impressed he was with the player who will be occupying Ohio State’s backcourt now and into the future.
“He’s full of confidence and we love that about him,” Sueing said. “Being the point guard on the floor you have to be able to carry a team and lead them the right way. He’s a young buck on the team, but he’s really taking in all the lessons and all the advice and criticism that we’ve been giving him.”
