A Look At Ohio State's Three Senior Day Honorees

Though the Ohio State Buckeyes' roster is littered with youth and inexperience, their regular-season home finale against the Maryland Terrapins will feature a senior day send off for forward Justice Sueing and guards Isaac Likekele and Sean McNeil.

Author:
Casey Smith
Mar 1, 2023 1:35 PM EST

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Ohio State Buckeyes

Maryland Terrapins

Wednesday is a big game for the Ohio State Buckeyes as they take on the No. 21 Maryland Terrapins looking to mount some momentum ahead of the Big Ten Tournament where they'll have to win it all to make the NCAA Tournament.

However, about 20 minutes before tip-off, the Buckeyes will honor forward Justice Sueing and guards Isaac Likekele and Sean McNeil for senior night.

Justice Sueing

Sueing is in his fourth year with the program, the longest-tenured Buckeye on the active roster, and he's had a rollercoaster Ohio State career.

He transferred over from the California Golden Bears after 2018-19, but this was prior to the one-time transfer rule that grants immediate eligibility, so he had to sit out the 2019-20 COVID-19-shortened season.

"He's a great kid for one, like he's a really thoughtful kid," head coach Chris Holtmann said. "People see him as a laid-back kid, which he is. You know, growing up in Hawaii, he does have that personality."

Sueing injured his foot in January 2020 but took Buckeye Nation by storm in his Ohio State debut, dropping 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor.

He provided a nice complement to leading scorers guard Duane Washington Jr. and forward E.J. Liddell who both averaged 16 points per game, notching 10.7 per contest.

Sueing's second season was derailed by an abdominal injury that limited him to just 30 minutes of game action across two games in 2021-22.

This season, though, he's been a staple for the Buckeyes' lineup appearing in all 29 games.

Earlier this season in his hometown of Honolulu, HI. against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, he had a career-high 33 points, as he's averaged 12 points per game — the highest of his tenure at Ohio State.

Holtmann said he likes "where his headspace is at right now," coming off a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in a 72-60 win against the Illinois Fighting Illini Sunday.

"Justice, obviously, has been with us for a while. He's played a big role in our team a couple of years ago that made a run in the Big Ten Tournament and had a really good regular season," Holtmann said on his radio show Monday. "He's a guy that's battled through a lot of injuries here and I just love how he's playing right now."

Isaac Likekele

Likekele is the first of two graduate transfers a part of the senior day festivities, coming over from the Oklahoma State Cowboys last offseason.

Holtmann said on 97.1 The Fan that Likekele has fulfilled what he was looking for in the transfer portal.

"We were looking for some experience, some defensive versatility, a guy who could play multiple positions, a guy that could guard multiple positions," Holtmann said. "And then also a guy that could bring an element of leadership to a group that, you know, we just weren't sure what it was going to look like given no one had been in that role previously."

Likekele shined in his lone double-digit scoring performance of the season, as he posted 18 points and 10 rebounds against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 21.

Holtmann said on his radio show that he was talking with former Villanova Wildcats head coach and CBS color commentator Jay Wright who told him he thought Likekele needed to shoot more. Likekele has attempted 113 shots in just under 600 minutes of gameplay this season.

Holtmann said Likekele wants to be a coach after his playing career is over.

"He's got a really good mind for the game," Holtmann said. "He's bright, understands how to play, he's a cerebral player, thinks the game and you can tell he wants to be a coach. He's got a really good mind for it."

Sean McNeil

McNeil is the final of the Buckeyes' trio to be honored Wednesday.

Holtmann said he, along with Likekele have helped "bridge this gap" between the experience that departed the program after last season to the youth of the active roster.

McNeil came to Columbus after three years with the West Virginia Mountaineers and one at Sinclair Community College.

He established himself as a sharpshooting 3-point specialist in Morgantown, WV., converting at a career 36.8 percent clip from downtown.

This season has been much of the same, as he's attempted a team-high 133 triples this season while making 35.3 percent of his shot attempts from deep.

That's not the only trick in his bag, though.

He's been able to get to good mid-range looks off screens, while even throwing down a dunk on a backdoor cut against Illinois.

"I think it was out of the timeout after we drew up the play, I was like, 'I'm going to try to dunk it no matter what,' McNeil said. "Even if there was somebody down there, I don't care if I missed it or whatever."

Though McNeil has only been a Buckeye for a season, he said he's "fortunate" to have built new lifelong relationships with his coaches and teammates.

"My three years at West Virginia kind of will hit home a little bit more than my one year here," McNeil said. "But that doesn't take anything away from the connections, the relationships I've built here, you know. Something that i'll carry on with me for the rest of my life."