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D'Angelo Russell, former Ohio State players return to work with current Buckeyes at 'Vet Week'
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- D'Angelo Russell, former Ohio State players return to work with current Buckeyes at 'Vet Week'
Former Ohio State players D'Angelo Russell, Malaki Branham, E.J. Liddell and others are back on campus and suiting up for the Buckeyes again.
The former players are obviously out of eligibility, but each was back inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center on Monday to participate in Ohio State's annual "Vet Week," when former Buckeyes come back to work with and play against members of the current team .
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Monday, the participants were split into two groups, which were then divided into post players and guards before going through skill workouts and shooting drills. At one end of the court, 2007 first overall NBA draft pick Greg Oden (Portland Trailblazers) worked with Ivan Njegovan on absorbing contact and scoring in the paint as alum Trevor Thompson watched. At the other end, Russell helped Myles Herro with a drill as OSU senior Bruce Thornton called out instructions to his fellow Buckeyes.
Ohio State Buckeyes: Brotherhood brings D'Angelo Russell, former Ohio State players back for 'Vet Week'
Not everyone was able to participate. Ohio State forward Devin Royal watched while wearing sunglasses after suffering a minor eye injury that has him sidelined. Colin White, wearing a walking boot on his left foot, also watched as he continues to recover from offseason surgery to address the high-ankle sprain from early in his freshman season, which lingered all year.
Baylor transfer Josh Ojianwuna sat in the gym for a bit, unable to participate as he continues to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during the 2024-25 season. Finally, international signing Mathieu Grujicic is getting acclimated to campus and allowed to participate in team meetings and unofficial workouts, like open gyms, but cannot take part in official organized team activities until he receives his full international transfer visa.
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Here's a look at what the workout was like during the 45-minute period in which reporters were allowed to be present.
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Ohio State's Mathieu Grujicic walks through the practice gym at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on June 16.
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Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @ cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @ AdamJardy .
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's what we saw at Ohio State men's basketball's annual 'Vet Week'
