Senior Kyle Young returning to Ohio State for final season
COLUMBUS — Ohio State will have another returning starter in 2021.
Kyle Young announced on Friday he plans to return to the Buckeyes for a final season, boosting Ohio State’s depth and cementing its place as a likely preseason top-15 team. He announced his intentions on his Twitter page.
Young missed the final two games of the Big Ten Tournament and the Buckeyes NCAA Tournament game with a concussion. the forward exited Ohio State’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game with Purdue. After scoring 18 first-half points, the senior took an elbow to the side of his head, leaving the game only minutes into the second half.
How the concussion will impact Young’s play in the 2021-22 season is unknown. The head injury in the conference tourney wasn’t his first of the season; he banged his head with a Michigan player in late February at the Schottenstein Center.
A 6-foot-8 forward, he’s started 65 games the last three seasons for the Buckeyes. Young finished last season averaging 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Ohio State finished the regular season on a four-game losing streak, but Young helped the Buckeyes get back on track in the with 11 points and six rebounds in their 79-75 victory over Minnesota in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Kyle Young exited the Purdue game with a concussion. (Zach Bolinger/Getty Images)
The senior is allowed to return for a final season due to the NCAA’s decision to extend another year of eligibility to all winter student-athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He wasn’t projected to be picked in this summer’s NBA draft.
His decision to stay keeps is Ohio State right at the 13-man scholarship limit if Duane Washington Jr. and E.J. Liddell opt to return. They recently entered their names into the NBA Draft while remaining eligibility by not hiring an agent.
C.J. Walker recently declared for the NBA Draft and hired an agent, while Musa Jallow opted to transfer. The Buckeyes also added Penn State’s Jamari Wheeler.
Ohio State finished 21-10 this past season, falling to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts in the opening round of the Big Dance.
