Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann announced this afternoon that junior guard Eugene Brown III will be unavailable for tonight’s season opener against Robert Morris, which tips off at 7 p.m. on B1G+.
The 6-foot-7 and 195-pound Brown suffered a concussion during the offseason and missed the 101-57 exhibition win over Chaminade last Tuesday. He averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 26 games for the Buckeyes last season, including 10 starts.
“Gene, God bless him,” Holtmann said after the win over the Silverswords. “He's been out a lot of the summer and he's been out now with this concussion for a little bit. He’s just been out a lot, so I feel I feel bad for him. I'm not sure on what his timeframe is going to be.”
With Brown sidelined, Ohio State’s starting lineup for tonight’s game will likely consist of freshman guard Bruce Thornton, West Virginia transfer guard Sean McNeil, Oklahoma State transfer guard Isaac Likekele, sixth-year senior forward Justice Sueing and junior forward Zed Key.
Sueing missed all but two games last year due to an abdominal issue and then missed the exhibition game with a sprained ankle. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds for the Buckeyes last season before he was shut down, but appears to be full go against the Colonials.
“I feel bad for the kid because he’s been a part of pretty much everything that we’ve done once he got healthy and towards the end of summer,” Holtmann said. “He had an ankle sprain, came back, played in the scrimmage and then he had an ankle tweak again. Same ankle, and that’s why he was out.”
Ohio State is 6-0 all time against Robert Morris, including a victory in Holtmann’s first game with the program in 2017. The Buckeyes were led by former forward Keita Bates-Diop, who scored 19 points in a 95-63 win in Columbus.
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