Ohio State basketball turnaround could be sparked by Gene Brown III

On Feb 11, 2023

Gene Brown III has a role. It might not be the one he had last season, or the one he hoped for when the preseason started, but it’s a role.

After a conversation with coach Chris Holtmann sometime in the last two or three weeks, the challenge for the third-year wing is to fulfill that to the best of his abilities in however much time Ohio State has left this season.

“He feels like I can help them on the defensive side, help out with rebounding, stuff like that,” Brown said Tuesday. “Just going out there and trying to contribute any way I can, trying to connect guys out there defensively, keep the team connected, be a leader out there. Just do whatever I can to help the team win in whatever minutes I’m out there, really.”

As one of two players on the 2022-23 roster to have played in more than two games for the Buckeyes last season, Brown was in line for a more substantial role after averaging 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 17.0 minutes in 26 appearances including 10 starts. Instead, an offseason injury stunted his development and a preseason concussion sidelined him for the first 11 games of the season.

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It’s been an uphill battle ever since for Brown to claw his way into significant playing time. He logged a season-high 17 minutes in a loss at Maryland on Jan. 8 when starting center Zed Key was out with a shoulder injury, then totaled 18 minutes in the next three games before being an unused substitute for a Jan. 21 win against Iowa.

In Sunday’s loss against Michigan, Brown played 14 minutes, hit a 3-pointer and pulled down two defensive rebounds.

“He does a good job pursuing the ball and he does have really good length,” Holtmann said of the 6-7, 195-pound Brown.

His newly defined role has come as Holtmann has trimmed Ohio State’s playing rotation.

Ohio State’s best lineup on the season has started eight games including a stretch of six in a row leading into the Purdue game that saw Zed Key suffer a game-ending shoulder injury in the first four minutes. That lineup of Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Brice Sensabaugh, Justice Sueing and Zed Key is plus-50 (233 points scored, 183 allowed) in 118:59 this season and plus-37 (143 points scored, 106 allowed) in 78:23 of Big Ten action. In the loss to Michigan, this lineup was a team-best plus-8 (14 points scored, six allowed) in 6:54.

It is one of only two lineups to have logged more than 50 minutes this season.

That same lineup with Felix Okpara in Key’s place is minus-3 (65 points scored, 68 allowed) in 34:32 of Big Ten play. It is plus-4 (78 points scored, 74 allowed) in 41:59 overall.

Some early-season lineups have faded as the year has progressed. A lineup of Thornton, McNeil, Likekele, Sueing and Key, which started the first eight games of the season, has outscored opponents by 51 points (190 scored, 139 allowed) in 104:26, but in Big Ten play it’s minus-5 (25 points scored, 31 allowed) in only 19:43.

Brown’s ascension to his current role has seemingly come at the expense of fourth-year Wright State transfer Tanner Holden. After playing 16:37 against Iowa, the 6-6, 220-pound guard played 6:18 or fewer in the next three games before being a healthy, unused substitute at Michigan.

“Your rotation is somewhat limited right now,” Holtmann said. “Just can’t play 10 or 11 guys. We feel like we’ve needed some help in terms of our length and defense and rebounding, and we’ve decided to give Gene a shot there.”

Ohio State’s best lineup with Holden, who is averaging 4.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game, also features Thornton, Sensabaugh, Okpara and Roddy Gayle. That lineup is plus-16 (53 points scored, 37 allowed) in 25:17 and plus-12 (27 points scored, 15 allowed) in 12:24 in Big Ten play.

Brown said having a defined role helps him feel more comfortable within the team.

“It gives you a sense of direction of how you can get on the court, how you can contribute,” he said. “Before the season I kind of had all these expectations so I was trying to act based off of that. Coming in and having that conversation and that defined role just helps your mindset and focus on where your energy’s at.”

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The last time the Buckeyes faced the Wildcats, they emerged with arguably their most decisive win of the season. Ohio State won at Northwestern, 73-57, on New Year’s Day in a game that marked its best adjusted defensive efficiency rating of Big Ten season according to KenPom.com.