Ohio
When will Buckeyes Meechie Johnson, Aaron Bradshaw return? Here’s what Jake Diebler said
Video: Ohio State coach Jake Diebler after beating Valparaiso 95-73
Ohio State coach Jake Diebler’s full press conference after beating Valparaiso 95-73 on Dec. 17, 2024.
Ohio State’s availability took another unforeseen turn Tuesday evening.
As the Buckeyes took the floor to host Valparaiso at Value City Arena, two injured players remained unavailable. Ques Glover and Colin White, who have now missed eight and five consecutive games, respectively, are dealing with ankle injuries they suffered while playing in games. The two continue to progress, coach Jake Diebler has said, but it’s not clear how quickly they will heal.
The other half of the availability report was a lot less cut-and-dry. Sophomore center Aaron Bradshaw, although technically available to play, was again out for a second consecutive game while working his way back into the mix after not being allowed to participate in team activities for nearly a month due to a university investigation into an alleged domestic incident at his off-campus apartment.
Joining him on the list was fifth-year guard Meechie Johnson Jr., who along with Bradshaw was a critical part of a transfer recruiting class for Diebler’s first full year. A starter for the first 10 games and the team’s second-most-used player, Johnson played 29:30 in Saturday’s 91-53 loss to No. 2 Auburn in Atlanta.
After Tuesday’s 95-73 win against the Beacons, Diebler made reference to Johnson in his opening statement.
“Thoughts and prayers are with Meechie as he’s dealing with some personal matters right now,” he said. “Don’t have a timetable on that yet, but obviously thinking about him as well.”
Following that 38-point loss to the Tigers, tied for Ohio State’s most lopsided loss in nearly 30 years, junior Evan Mahaffey and sophomore Devin Royal said Tuesday that the players had a postgame meeting where they collectively said what they felt they needed to say in order to try and turn the season around. When the Buckeyes resumed practice to prepare for Valparaiso, a game they won 95-73, Johnson was not with them.
“He and I have been having some dialogue the last couple days,” Diebler said. “He wasn’t able to practice the last couple days.”
It’s been a challenging return to Ohio State for Johnson, who was a second-team all-SEC pick at South Carolina last year while averaging 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists while helping the Gamecocks win their most games since 2016-17 (26) and return to the NCAA Tournament. While his 3-point shooting has gone up to a career-best 35.7%, his scoring is down (9.1 points per game), his turnover average is up, his free-throw rate is half what it was a year ago and his two-point shooting percentage is down from 47.1% a season ago to 35.3%.
Clearly, his homecoming hasn’t yet lived up to the hopes he laid out during the preseason, when he represented Ohio State as one of two players at Big Ten media day. Did any of that lead to Johnson’s leave of absence from the team due to what was described by an Ohio State team spokesman as a personal matter?
“I don’t think that’s something we can get into right now,” Diebler said. “That would be pure speculation at this point. One thing I know, I know how important family is to him. He’s really important to me, so we’re just supporting him through this.”
It was more candor Diebler was able to share compared to when Bradshaw’s absence was announced shortly before a Dec. 22 home game against Campbell, when he referred to the statement released by the university and said he was unable to provide further context.
Bradshaw watched his second consecutive game while wearing street clothes on the team bench. He has not played since logging 26:33 against Evansville on Nov. 19, moving him to 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game through the first four games of the year.
Ohio State played five games with Bradshaw not participating in any team activities before Diebler said on his Dec. 11 radio show that he had been allowed to return to the team. That came with a return-to-play progression, Diebler said, and it’s also not clear when that will be complete.
Diebler said Tuesday that the 7-1, 215-pound center is allowed to play once he’s physically ready to play.
“He’s still got to build up to get there,” the coach said. “Wasn’t ready to go today. This is an ongoing evaluation really one day at a time.”
The Buckeyes are utilizing their sport science staff as well as the training and conditioning staff to try and get him back into action. Ohio State’s next game is Saturday against No. 5 Kentucky, Bradshaw’s former team, and it seems a stretch to think he could go more than a month without playing and then jump back in against a top-five team that he shares an emotional tie with.
“There’s a level he needs to play at and practice reps he’s got to get at to where he’s able to get out there and certainly play well for him but also for us,” Diebler said. “I just wish I could say it’s this-day thing. Our whole performance team, it’s all hands on deck. Believe me, it would help us if we had this exact timeline but it really is a day-to-day thing right now. He’s working to do it and we’re seeing progress, which is the encouraging part.”
When that will result in an on-court impact remains anyone’s guess.
ajardy@dispatch.com
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Tick Bite Prevention Guide
Essential steps to prevent tick bites and protect your family and pets while outdoors.
Although they’re silent and among nature’s stealthiest stalkers, ticks now seem to be creating considerable public buzz.
Certain ticks can operate year-round. Nonetheless, interest heightens during spring when intersections increase between reactivated ticks, people and people’s pets.
What happens post-encounter depends on how long a person takes to find and disengage from a tick that has found them. Infection can occur after two-hour attachments. In short, hunters, anglers, hikers, noodlers, birders and anyone else wandering woods and fields, especially during May and June, demand speedy self-inspection and precautionary repellent use.
Lyme disease, a malady that can leave sufferers with chronic malfunctions, draws much attention because of its inexorable and fairly rapid spread from New England into seemingly virgin territory, including Ohio.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS: More about Ohio hunting and fishing
Specific tick species carry different maladies, though some deal out more than one.
Blacklegged ticks, aka deer ticks, are the primary spreaders of Lyme disease. The bite from a lone star tick, another relative newcomer to Ohio, can trigger several illnesses, the most trumpeted being a potential killer known as alpha-gal syndrome that makes the bitten allergic to red meat and dairy.
A few years ago, former Columbus Dispatch nature columnist Jim Fry lay on a hospital bed while paralysis crept up his legs to his arms and neck. Spreading immobility made him unable to lift his head.
“I was terrified,” said Fry, then 79.
Fortunately, a healthcare attendant noticed an engorged tick on Fry’s upper left arm. Removal of the tick veered Fry away from a proximate path to eternity, though full recovery took time.
The would-be assassin turned out to be a dog tick, historically common in Ohio. Also known as a wood tick, the relative of spiders and scorpions can carry in its saliva a neurotoxin that triggers what is known as tick paralysis in susceptible people, dogs and cats. Tick paralysis – rare enough not to ratchet up public awareness, let alone mania – can kill.
Climate change has been popularly depicted as the reason deer ticks and lone star ticks have spread from the South into New England and the Midwest. Climate probably has an influence, but it’s not the primary cause, concluded the Entomological Society of America with findings shared in the publication Entomology Today.
Researchers found it highly probable that tick species currently viewed as newcomers were here spreading their diabolical wares before a wave of settlers mowed down trees for agriculture and virtually wiped out the deer through hunting and habitat destruction.
Deer are not themselves vulnerable to Lyme disease, but they are spreaders of ticks.
It was especially extreme in Ohio around 1900. By that time, the landscape had been transformed from 95% forested to about 5%. Deer went absent. When much marginal farmland reverted to native trees during the next 100-plus years, it stimulated the growth of a teeming deer population.
More deer have allowed more tag-along ticks to reoccupy lost territory, the study hypothesized.
Parting shots
Pro bass fisherman Charlie Hartley, who led the 2008 Bassmaster Classic for a day and who earned a paycheck in 78 of 296 Bassmaster tournaments in which he competed, has been named to the Ohio Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. Hartley resides in Grove City. … Turkey season ends May 24 at sunset in central Ohio and May 31 at sunset in five northeastern counties. Through May 17, the turkey take exceeded the three-year average at a comparable date by about 550.
COLUMBIANA, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – Glen Wenger, 83, formerly of Columbiana, Ohio, passed away at his home in Dublin, Ohio on May 20, 2026, after suffering from Parkinson’s disease and cardiac amyloidosis for many years. He was born February 9, 1943, the son of David and Letha (Brunk) Wenger.
He attended North Lima Schools up until his senior year, which he completed at Eastern
Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg, Virginia, graduating in 1961.
As a young adult, Glen spent two years in Nigeria with Mennonite Voluntary Service. He worked with a community development program, teaching boys in the village of Illah agricultural skills from which they could earn a living. Upon completion of that term, he returned home to Columbiana, where he was employed by Witmer’s Inc. In 1967, he married Ethel Baird. They would have celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary this August.
From 1980-82, Glen and his family served as Mennonite Mission representatives in Nairobi, Kenya, where he and Ethel were houseparents for boarding students at Rosslyn Academy. The trips Glen’s family took to game parks in Kenya were among his most treasured memories.
Upon returning to the US, Glen continued working at Witmer’s, Inc. until his retirement. During his time there, he worked in the parts and sales departments. For several years thereafter, Glen worked at McMaster Farms in Columbiana, thriving on the energy of the farm and finding great satisfaction in the growth and harvesting of various crops of produce. Glen was a dedicated, hard-working man. He was devoted to his family, church, and community. Always ready to help others, he served the Lord in numerous ways at Midway Mennonite Church, where he was a lifelong member. He was the groundskeeper at Midway for many years, as well as the cemetery sexton. He loved music, and contributed his rich bass in many special music groups, the Midway Church chorus, and in duets with Ethel.
Since moving to Dublin in 2019 to be closer to family, Glen enjoyed attending his granddaughter’s musical performances. Glen is survived by his wife, Ethel, son Mark (Candis) of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and daughter Amy (Jeff) Bixler, of Columbus, Ohio; his beloved grandchildren, Stella Bixler, Mira Bixler, Eve Wenger, Cameron Wenger, and foster granddaughter, Dani Naghshineh. Also surviving him are his siblings, Rachel (Joseph) Martin of Westwood, Massachusetts, Dale (Marian) Wenger of Columbiana, Ohio, and Alan (Marilyn) Wenger of Poland, Ohio, along with many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, son Eric, and sister Jean Wenger.
Glen will be greatly missed by all who knew him, and was dearly loved by his family and
friends.
Glen’s family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be given to Midway Mennonite
Church, Columbiana, Ohio or Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pennsylvania.
Arrangements have been handled by Shaw-Davis Funeral Home.
A service to honor his memory will be held at a later date at Midway Mennonite Church
A television tribute will air Monday, May 25 at the following approximate times: 6:47 a.m. on WYTV, 9:43 a.m. on WKBN, 10:58 a.m. on FOX and 8:12 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.
Jackson and Perry townships fight fraud with Sheriff’s Office
Jackson Township police Detective Jeffrey Aynes explains how he traces the movement of a fraud victim’s cryptocurrency through the public ledger.
Months after authorizing crypto as a payment method, Ohio is rolling out more ways to pay certain state fees. The Ohio Treasurer’s Office announced a new digital wallet for residents to pay court fees, the BMV or other state agencies using cryptocurrency and other funds.
The Treasury on May 21 announced the launch of Buckeye Billfold, a digital wallet program that lets residents and businesses pay state agencies using credit cards, bank transfers or crypto, while still keeping cash and checks as options.
State officials say Ohio will be the first state to authorize and promote statewide use of digital asset payments. Digital wallets are apps that store your credit or debit card information, allowing you to pay using your phone or other devices. Any cryptocurrency used is automatically converted into U.S. dollars at the time of the transaction.
Here’s what to know about how Buckeye Billfold works and where you might see it used.
Ohio launches ‘Buckeye Billfold,’ adding crypto and digital wallet options for state payments
Buckeye Billfold expands how Ohioans can pay for certain state services, giving people more flexibility in how they handle government fees.
“Ohio is leading the way by embracing Bitcoin and cryptocurrency innovation,” Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said in a release, adding that the move is meant to modernize how people interact with state government.
According to the Treasurer’s Office, if you choose to pay with cryptocurrency, it won’t actually stay in crypto. The payment is instantly converted into U.S. dollars, so it processes like a typical transaction.
State leaders say the move could reduce processing costs and save time for both the government and users. The initiative also builds on earlier attempts to bring cryptocurrency payments into state government, this time with full legal approval and a vendor in place to handle transactions.
Which Ohio agencies currently accept digital wallet payments?
Not all state agencies accept digital wallet or cryptocurrency payments yet, and availability can vary by agency and service. Several Ohio state agencies now accept certain digital currencies for certain payments, but it depends on the agency, the service, and whether you are paying online or in person.
Examples of agencies and courts that currently accept some form of digital or electronic payments include:
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