It’s been a while since Ohio State basketball has had a player selected high in an NBA draft, but figures to change when current forward E.J. Liddell most likely makes the jump after his junior season this year. Liddell flirted with heading off to the NBA after last season but ultimately decided to come back for one more year to work on things he received valuable feedback on as a part of the draft process.
Work on those things he has. Each year, Liddell has taken a step in development. This season, he’s focused even more on better conditioning, ball-handling, and improved 3-point range to be one of the best college basketball players in the country.
Because of his ability to show that he has hard work and an ever-expanding and versatile game that should translate well to scouts and NBA executives responsible for making personnel selections, he has been appearing pretty high up draft boards.
In fact, according to ESPN’s latest 2022 NBA mock draft (subscription required), Liddell is a top fifteen prospect. The worldwide leader has him going off the board at No. 14 to the Atlanta Hawks.
And by now, you know the Big Ten is loaded with player of the year candidates. Ahead of Liddell from the B1G is Jaden Ivey of Purdue, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, and Keegan Murray of Iowa.
This will all change through the rest of the college basketball season and as the NBA draft nears. We will continue to keep our ears to the ground to see what’s coming down the line.
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