Generally projected as a first-round NBA draft pick, E.J. Liddell slipped to the second round of the draft on Thursday.
The Buckeye forward was chosen with the 41st generally speaking pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans, joining Malaki Branham as two Ohio State players were drafted around the same time interestingly starting around 2007.
A first-group All-Big Ten choice and third-group AP All-American in his last year at Ohio State, Liddell drove the Buckeyes with midpoints of 19.4 places and 7.9 bounce back and drove the Big Ten with 2.6 blocks for each game this previous season.
Liddell completed his Ohio State profession with 92 game appearances and 61 beginnings, averaging 14.1 focuses and 6.1 sheets across his three years in the program. During the 2021-22 season, Liddell posted twofold digit scoring figures in each game and turned into the 60th player to score something like 1,000 focuses for Ohio State. Liddell shut his vocation with a sum of 1,298 places in a Buckeye uniform, which places him behind only 31 players in program history.
The No. 44 generally speaking possibility in the nation out of Illinois’ Belleville West High School, Liddell showed guarantee as a first year recruit giver for the Buckeyes, setting up 6.7 focuses and 3.8 bounce back off the seat as he showed up in every one of the 31 games for Ohio State in 2019-20. Yet, Liddell didn’t bloom into a beginning until his subsequent year, in which he found the middle value of 16.2 places and 6.7 sheets during a first-group All-Big Ten mission for the Buckeyes.
“(Liddell has) run his own race. His race was be in school for quite some time and develop and foster his game, and he is an ideal illustration of what can happen when you return one more year in school and you’re in a state of harmony with the training staff about player improvement and you improve,” Ohio State lead trainer Chris Holtmann said on 97.1 The Fan on Monday. “It doesn’t necessarily in all cases occur. Actually, you can likely site as numerous models where folks sort of stay where they were, or here and there they really do lose their draft esteem. His draft esteem shot up. He worked on by upwards of 20, 25 positions, and it’s a sound representative for the youngster.”
Liddell tried the NBA draft process after his second season at Ohio State, however got back to the Buckeye program and worked on his stock significantly in his last year.
Presently the Illinois local will focus on influencing the Pelicans without skipping a beat.
Liddell is the principal Ohio State player at any point drafted by the Pelicans.
“Total travelaholic. Subtly charming zombie geek. Friend of animals everywhere. Music buff. Explorer. Tv junkie.”
