Scarlet Sunrise: Former Buckeyes stars open as longshots for NBA Rookie of Year

On3 imageby:Spencer Holbrook06/25/22

SpencerHolbrook

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Former Buckeyes stars open as longshots for NBA Rookie of Year

Ohio State had two players selected in the NBA Draft on Thursday night.

Both Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell were selected by Western Conference hopefuls. But they each enter their first stages of their careers with long odds to be the league’s rookie of the year next winter.

Liddell opened at +3000 to win the award as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, while the new San Antonio Spurs forward Branham is at +4500 to win the rookie crown.

READ: Malaki Branham selected by Spurs in first round of NBA Draft

READ: E.J. Liddell selected by Pelicans in second round of NBA Draft

Buckeyes will battle Duke in early-season rematch

Ohio State notched a season-defining win over then-top ranked Duke last November.

Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes are now set for an early-season rematch after their thrilling victory over the Blue Devils. Ohio State will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Duke on Nov. 30, exactly one year after beating the Blue Devils on the Buckeyes home floor.

The game will be the headliner of the ultra-competitive Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The game is expected to be on ESPN.

Last season’s matchup between No. 1 Duke and unranked Ohio State started as an unmemorable contest that was teetering on blowout when the Blue Devils jumped out to a 15-point lead. But the Buckeyes clawed their way back into the game by using a 12-0 run to end the game after being down seven at the final media timeout.

Of course, that Ohio State team had two NBA Draft picks: Malaki Branham, who was selected in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs, and E.J. Liddell, who was taken in the second round by the New Orleans Pelicans. Duke’s roster last season featured five NBA Draft picks, so the Blue Devils will be retooling their rotation just like the Buckeyes.

ICYMI: Lettermen Row Recruiting Podcast

The Buckeyes landed commitments from five-star Florida wide receivers Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss in a two-day span, taking their class from No. 4 nationally into the top spot of the On3 Consensus rankings. Lettermen Row staffers Spencer Holbrook and Andrew Ellis are back to break down every angle of it on the Lettermen Row Recruiting Podcast.

Ohio State hosted some of its top targets for official visits last weekend, and there’s plenty of buzz coming out of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center following those visits. What is the biggest storyline to track after a big weekend? There’s a lot to unpack there.

Oh, and the Buckeyes are also opening their doors to another batch of un committed, highly-rated prospects who will take official visits to Columbus this weekend.

And that’s not even mentioning that five-star Buckeyes quarterback commit Dylan Raiola was on campus for a workout Tuesday.

Those are some of the key discussion points on this week’s episode. The duo of Lettermen Row staffers break down the big recruiting weekends ahead along with a rundown of the latest visits from the Buckeyes top prospects.

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