E.J. Liddell

Two former Ohio State basketball players will be drafted in the first round tonight. Where will Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell go?

He’s someone that can come off the bench and give a contender solid minutes right away. Let’s start with Branham. Branham has a higher ceiling than Liddell and is one of the most intriguing prospects in this draft. As far as Liddell goes, he’s a guy who is ready to contribute to a good team right now.

E.J. Liddell falls to the second round of the NBA draft as he joins Malaki Branham as the second Buckeye selected on Thursday.

But Liddell didn't blossom into a start until his second year, in which he averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 boards during a first-team All-Big Ten campaign for the Buckeyes. He improved by as many as 20, 25 positions, and it’s a credit to the kid.” Liddell finished his Ohio State career with 92 game appearances and 61 starts, averaging 14.1 points and 6.1 boards across his three years in the program. As a matter of fact, you can probably site as many examples where guys kind of stay where they were, or in some ways they do lose their draft value. His race was be in college for three years and grow and develop his game, and he is a perfect example of what can happen when you return another year in college and you’re in sync with the coaching staff about player development and you get better,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said on 97.1 The Fan on Monday. “It doesn’t always happen. The No. 44 overall prospect in the country out of Illinois' Belleville West High School, Liddell showed promise as a freshman contributor for the Buckeyes, putting up 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds off the bench as he appeared in all 31 games for Ohio State in 2019-20.

E.J. Liddell has a strong frame, good length, and plays with a high motor. He combines his strength and power with surprising quickness and explosiveness, ...

Definitely. Liddell has attributes that can’t be taught or coached, and he’s made massive strides in his game each of the last 3 seasons. He’s projected in the teens to mid-20s. Athleticism - Liddell is doesn’t have elite burst, quickness, or vertical explosion, which limits his upside on both ends of the court. Dramatic year-over-year improvement in both 3-point efficiency and volume - same improvement from the free throw line. At the 2021 NBA combine, his standing reach was 8’10” compared to 8’7.5” in 2022. Effort and hustle made up for this in college, but against NBA size this disadvantage will be more pronounced. Struggles to turn the corner on drives Passing - Good court vision and awareness, finds the open man when doubled. His actual max vertical (35-36”) is about average for his position. E.J. Liddell has a strong frame, good length, and plays with a high motor. Especially good as a weak side or chase-down shot blocker. Shooting - Effective in the pick-and-pop and as a spot-up threat at the top of the key.

When EJ Liddell committed to Ohio State in October of 2018, he hoped Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes would develop him into an NBA player.

Liddell became a starter as a sophomore in 2020-21 for the Buckeyes, playing in 29 and starting 28 of the Scarlet and Gray's 31 contests during the COVID-shortened season. As one of the veteran leaders of the team, Liddell started all 32 games for Ohio State, playing 33.2 minutes per contest as a junior and averaging 19.4 points on 49 percent shooting, 37.4 percent from three-point range, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 2.5 assists per contest. Liddell scored 17 points in a loss at Iowa in late February that season and had 17 points and 11 rebounds, his first collegiate double-double, two weeks later in a win against Illinois. He finished the regular season with a 12-point, four-rebound performance in a loss to Michigan State. As a freshman during the 2019-20 season, Liddell served as a backup behind Kaleb and Andre Wesson. While he played in all 31 games for Ohio State, he came off the bench in each contest, averaging 16.6 minutes per game. A four-star prospect coming out of Belleville West High School, Liddell was the eighth-ranked power forward in the country and a top-50 overall player, according to the 247Sports Composite, in the 2019 recruiting class. Liddell becomes the 10th former Ohio State player to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft this century, following former teammate Malaki Branham, who was taken by the San Antonio Spurs 21 picks earlier in this year's draft.

E.J. Liddell has been the pride of the Chris Holtmann era of Ohio State basketball and now he's an NBA Draft pick.

For that to happen, he’s gotta continue to grow as a player.” He averaged 6.7 points off the bench in a limited role as a freshman before blossoming into one of the Big Ten’s bright young stars, averaging 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore. Three years later, he was the only member of the four-man class to spend his entire career with the Buckeyes, developing into their best player.

Back home in Belleville, Illinois, Ohio State's E.J. Liddell experienced an emotional NBA draft day before being picked by New Orleans.

“That family means so much to us,” Holtmann said of the Liddells. “It was as emotional a night, in a good way, as I’ve been a part of with a family. The television cameras flipped their lights on, those in the back of the room started to stand and chant in anticipation. In the end, the community that has supported him throughout had one final gift to give. The collective anxiety of the room only grew as Liddell waited. The entryway featured a photo backdrop as well as a life-size cardboard cutout of Liddell in an Ohio State jersey, although Keith Randolph, current Illinois defensive lineman and former Liddell teammate at West, jokingly disputed his height as he measured up next to it. As the stress of the draft increased in the days leading into Thursday, the Liddells have also had to deal with a health scare. Liddell was headed to New Orleans, but for the moment he couldn’t lift his head from his hands as he wept. Projected as a potential late-first-round pick, Liddell and his family arrived roughly half an hour after the draft got underway. As he did, Holtmann told Muniz what was ahead for Liddell when he got to the Big Ten. He will struggle, Holtmann told Muniz. All freshmen do. Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann had taken a private jet to watch Liddell, who was signed to play for the Buckeyes in the 2019 class, and as the Maroons boarded the bus he wrapped up a conversation with coach Joe Muniz. He could feel the collective anxiety growing in the room as 40 other players were selected ahead of him. He had hoped to go higher in the draft.

Liddell ignored advice to turn pro last summer and improved both his game and his draft stock during his junior season.

He came back and improved upon a season that quite honestly was hard to improve on. But there is a reliability and maturity with Liddell, a two-time Mr. Basketball winner in Illinois, that teams became enamored with during the draft process. It’s that same maturity and work ethic that allowed Liddell to make such great strides as a junior, putting himself in position to get drafted where he did on Thursday night. As he continues to grow in awareness, I think he’s only gonna become better in that area.” He was given more freedom to switch out onto perimeter defenders and show off the increased foot speed on that end that NBA teams were hopeful to see. Liddell was forced to play more as a five-man as a sophomore than he probably wanted to. And that shined even more in his junior season when he wasn’t defending post-ups quite as often. What I didn’t anticipate that was obvious as the year went on was how elite he would be at becoming a help-side defender in terms of blocking shots. He was given more opportunities to make plays on the perimeter. He unquestionably did that at the highest level.” “He was getting told that because of his age he had to go (after his sophomore year), and he wasn’t going to be hotter than what he was, which was not good advice,” Holtmann said. He was the right age in basketball years at 20.

Liddell averaged over 14 points and six rebounds per game in his time as a Buckeye, between the 2019 and 2022 seasons. He earned two First Team All-Big Ten ...

As a junior and team captain, Liddell averaged over 19 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game. Former Ohio State freshman Malaki Branham was also selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. This marks the first time Ohio State has had multiple draft picks in the same NBA Draft since 2007. Liddell averaged over 14 points and six rebounds per game in his time as a Buckeye, between the 2019 and 2022 seasons.