Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell was taken by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 41 pick of the NBA draft on Thursday.
He followed teammate Malaki Branham, whom the San Antonio Spurs grabed with the No. 20 selection earlier in the evening. Liddell is the 55th Ohio State player drafted since 1947.
In 92 career games, Liddell averaged 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. His 1,298 career points are 32nd in Ohio State history, and his 143 blocks are seventh-most.
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A four-star prospect from Belleville (Illinois) West, Liddell came to Ohio State as only the second two-time Illinois Mr. Basketball winner in state history after Jabari Parker did so in 2013 and 2014. Liddell captured the state’s top individual award while leading the Maroons to consecutive state championships in 2018 and 2019 before enrolling at Ohio State.
In his first year, Liddell showed flashes as a rotation player and averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds while appearing in 31 games off the bench. His first career double-double came on senior day against Illinois, when he poured in 17 points and 11 rebounds against his home-state school.
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That set the tone for a breakout sophomore season, one in which Liddell averaged 16.2 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds while earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. He finished eighth in the Big Ten in scoring and field-goal percentage and was ninth in rebounding. Liddell’s seven 20-point games tied him for eighth-most in the league, and when it was over Liddell put his name into the NBA draft process.
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He earned an invitation to the G-League combine, where he struggled when placed into an unfamiliar role on the perimeter and received some stinging feedback. Facing the reality that he would almost certainly go undrafted, Liddell returned to Ohio State for one more season and dedicated himself to improving his all-around game and perimeter skills.
In his final season, Liddell was voted a team captain and averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 blocks to become only the second high-major player in the last 30 years to post at least those numbers for a full season. He led the Buckeyes in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, free throws made and attempted and was second in assists and was named first-team All-Big Ten, a member of the league’s all-defensive team and was a consensus third-team All-American. Liddell is the 16th Ohio State player to earn first-team all-conference honors in consecutive years.
Along the way, Liddell embraced the good and the bad of being in the spotlight at Ohio State. Following a first-round NCAA Tournament upset loss to Oral Roberts in 2021, Liddell went public with the hate mail and threats he received via social media. Following a win at Illinois in 2022, Liddell criticized the reaction from some of the Fighting Illini fans whom he said went above and beyond with their in-game criticisms.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism