Scarlet Sunrise: Former Ohio State wing Scotty Middleton transferring to Seton Hall
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Former Ohio State wing Scotty Middleton transferring to Seton Hall
Scotty Middleton is headed to Seton Hall. The former Ohio State wing announced his commitment to the Pirates Wednesday night on social media.
Middleton has Jersey roots. Before he spent his senior year of high school at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, he played for The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J. At the time, according to NJ.com, he formed a relationship with Seton Hall head coach — and former Saint Peter’s head coach — Shaheen Holloway.
Middleton’s high school recruitment came down to UConn, Ohio State and Seton Hall. The 6-foot-7 wing chose the Buckeyes, with whom he spent his freshman year.
Middleton missed all three NIT games the Buckeyes played in. He was back home attending to a family matter during the first two rounds of the 32-team tournament and arrived back with the Buckeyes just ahead of their quarterfinal matchup versus Georgia, which he also didn’t participate in.
“He knows he has our support and the support of Ohio State and all the resources we have here that he may feel like he needs or doesn’t need,” head coach Jake Diebler said the day before the quarterfinal. “But we’ve come alongside him, and we’re supporting him.
“I think he’s doing well. He’s just processing some things.”
After making a good first impression in non-conference play, Middleton had a rough start to 2024. While Ohio State dropped 8-of-9 games from Jan. 6 to Feb. 6., Middleton missed two games. He didn’t play against Penn State on Jan. 20 — the Buckeyes’ lone win in that winter slump — because of his violation of team rules, and he didn’t play at Iowa on Feb. 2 because of an ankle injury. Middleton said he actually twisted both of his ankles this season, another obstacle to navigate in a season full of hardships.
In the seven games Middleton played during Ohio State’s month-long Big Ten slide, he wasn’t the 3-and-D contributor he proved to be at the beginning of the year. He converted just 3-of-12 attempts from long range, plus he scored more than five points only once in that span.
By mid-February, seventh-year Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann — who signed Middleton as part of the Buckeyes’ 2023 recruiting class — was fired with six regular season games left.
Middleton averaged 4.4 points per game this season but 6.3 points per game after Diebler took over as head coach. During that eight-game span, Middleton shot 13-of-20, or a blistering 65%, from beyond the arc.
He recorded four multi-make 3-point games in that run. To put that in perspective, Middleton had logged three such outings in his first 22 appearances for the Buckeyes.
Middleton also brought back the defensive intensity he delivered at the beginning of the season, serving as a catalyst for several Buckeyes transition buckets.
He’ll now try to build on that late-season success at Seton Hall, which just won the NIT this past season and is hungry for a return to the NCAA Tournament.
Revisiting best Ohio State performance from each Buckeyes star in NFL Draft
The NFL Draft is Thursday.
With that in mind, Lettermen Row revisited the best performances from each Buckeyes prospect who could hear his name called in Detroit.
From Marvin Harrison Jr.’s spectacular Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal performance to Miyan Williams’ program-record-tying, five-touchdown outing against Rutgers, we take you back through memory lane.
Check it out here.
Revisiting the recruitment of Ohio State’s 2024 NFL Draft prospects
In addition to revisiting the top games from this year’s Buckeyes draft prospects, Lettermen Row revisited the recruitment of each of those Ohio State standouts.
Before they arrived on campus, they had some big decisions to make. Some flipped their commitments to Ohio State, others pledged to the Buckeyes very early.
Here’s a look back at how things shook out years ago.
Counting Down
Buckeyes vs. Akron: 130 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 221 days
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