Ohio
Now that Aaron Bradshaw is back, how quickly can Ohio State get back to full capacity?
Ohio State’s Aaron Bradshaw talks development, offseason growth
Ohio State center Aaron Bradshaw talks with reporters at Buckeyes media day Oct. 8, 2024.
The sun was setting as Aaron Bradshaw made his way to the loading dock at Value City Arena. With a bounce in his step and an outwardly genial demeanor, the 7-1, 215-pound center was hardly inconspicuous as an arena security guard waved and smiled.
Ohio State was set to host Evansville in about two hours, and the employee had a half-request, half-demand for Bradshaw: 20 points against the Purple Aces that night.
“Say less,” Bradshaw said, smiling. “I got you.”
That night, the Buckeyes throttled Evansville, claiming an 80-30 win to improve to 3-1 and turn the page on their first loss of the season. It was November 19, and Bradshaw had started all four games while averaging 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in an average of 23.4 minutes per appearance.
It was also the last appearance for the sophomore for nearly a month. On Nov. 22, Bradshaw was listed as out on the official availability report as the Buckeyes hosted Campbell, with his absence explained in a three-sentence statement released by Ohio State.
“Aaron Bradshaw is not currently participating in team activities,” it read. “The university is following its established process. Due to federal privacy laws, we cannot share further information at this time.”
While he was away, Bradshaw’s biography remained unchanged on the team’s official website and game notes, describing him as “one of the best personalities on the team.” As the Buckeyes updated their in-arena pregame highlight hype videos, no clips were included that featured Bradshaw.
Monday, Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said on his weekly radio show that Bradshaw is back with the team after “the university concluded its process.” No further details have been released on what brought an end to the university suspension into an alleged domestic incident at his off-campus apartment, and Ohio State is not expected to release a statement about his return.
It’s all basketball again for Bradshaw and the Buckeyes, who now welcome back one of their primary offseason additions. Bradshaw’s expected growth from a freshman year at Kentucky where he averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds while playing 13.7 minutes in 26 games including 10 starts was expected to be a driving force behind Diebler’s first full season at the helm, and now the question is how quickly he can re-assimilate into the regular rotation.
“I don’t anticipate any major, wholesale changes,” Diebler said. “We’ve just got to keep getting better at our foundation and keep building that. At times even I forget all the newness that we have in our program. We’ve got to keep growing. Getting him reacclimated is a part of that growth that we need to do over these next couple of weeks.”
The first obvious attribute Bradshaw brings to the roster is size. Without him, Ohio State has had to lean heavily on small-ball lineups featuring 6-9, 220-pound sophomore Sean Stewart at center and 6-6, 220-pound sophomore Devin Royal at power forward.
With Bradshaw, Royal averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game. Without him, Royal has averaged 17.0 points and 7.4 rebounds while playing 25:57 per game. Stewart has battled foul trouble and a concussion that cost him a game and a half, but after averaging 3.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 14.7 minutes with Bradshaw he has averaged 7.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 19:39 per appearance since.
“Some guys have to play a little bit lower at (their) position, guard the bigs, but that’s life,” Royal said after last Wednesday’s 83-59 loss at Maryland. “You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
The other primary benefactor from Bradshaw’s absence has been sophomore center Austin Parks. After playing a total of 20 minutes and scoring 3 points with five rebounds last season, the 6-10, 260-pound Parks has totaled 34 minutes in two Big Ten games, scoring 6 points and grabbing seven rebounds while also playing solid defense at times.
After Saturday’s 80-66 home win against Rutgers, junior Bruce Thornton mentioned Bradshaw after being asked about Parks’ performance.
“It was great, especially not having AB (Bradshaw),” Thornton said. “We still keep in contact and make sure he’s OK physically and mentally. It’s next man up and Austin did a great job today. I’m on him because we needed him and we know what he’s capable of doing. We’re going to keep pushing him and it showed up today.”
Teams routinely lose players for extended periods of time during seasons and are forced to adapt. In Bradshaw’s absence, that meant leaning into smaller lineups and trying to exploit mismatches while at times giving up significant size to Ohio State’s opponents. According to KenPom.com, which ranks teams based on their average height adjusted for minutes played, the Buckeyes are the 238th-biggest team nationally and smallest in the Big Ten.
Now they can get back to adding a little bit more size to the mix with some versatility as well. Bradshaw is expected to contribute not just in the paint but on the perimeter as well, where Diebler said throughout the offseason that they expect him to knock down some shots and be a shooting threat.
“Teams adjust,” Diebler said. “Schemes adjust. There’s not necessarily wholesale changes at this point of the season, but I do think there’s value in the experience some of our other guys have been able to get. It’s helped them grow, certainly. I think for us, there’s some things we missed from a rebounding and size (standpoint), certainly, but schematically we’ve made some adjustments. He’ll need to get caught up.”
That process is underway.
ajardy@dispatch.com