Eugene Brown III out 'until otherwise noted'
COLUMBUS — Ohio State third-year wing Eugene Brown III was supposed to be one of three returning contributors for the Buckeyes this season. Except, Brown has been in concussion protocol throughout November and has yet to play a game.
“Gene will be out this game,” head coach Chris Holtmann said Tuesday ahead of No. 25 Ohio State’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup at No. 17 Duke. “He’ll be out probably until otherwise noted.”
Brown appeared in 26 of the Buckeyes’ 32 games last season, averaging 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest while shooting 44.2% from the floor and converting eight 3-pointers.
Brown notably missed four games last season with a concussion. He returned, though, and in early January had a game-saving block at the end of regulation against Nebraska to force overtime in a matchup the Buckeyes ultimately pulled out.
A few weeks later, Brown posted a team and career-high 14 points versus IUPUI. Then, in February, he made his first career start and grabbed eight rebounds in a win at Michigan. Nine days after that, Brown mounted 10 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in an overtime victory over Indiana.
He saw the court in 29 games as a freshman in 2020-21. That season, he averaged just 6.1 minutes per game — 10.9 fewer minutes per outing than he registered as a sophomore last year.
Still, Brown found a way to chip in for an Ohio State team that was a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament. He made a trio of 3-pointers in a December win over Final Four-bound UCLA. He also notched a critical 3-pointer and a timely block in a win at Penn State in February of that season.
Brown is 47-of-114 from the field, in other words 41.2%, in his Buckeyes career.
The 6-foot-7 Brown is a former three-star product from Southwest DeKalb in Conyers, Georgia.
Ohio State — equipped with three new transfers and four impact freshmen in Holtmann’s sixth year at the helm — is 5-1 to start the season.
Even without Brown, the Buckeyes have deployed a nine-man rotation.
