Kalen Etzler is No. 13 in our Ohio State men's basketball preseason power rankings

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Kalen Etzler is No. 13 in our Ohio State men's basketball preseason power rankings

Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Wed, Oct 16, 2024 ·

7 min read

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The first year of the Jake Diebler era will feature the most scholarship players in Ohio State men's basketball history .

Technically, the Buckeyes will feature a full complement of 13 scholarship players for the 2024-25 season. Yet as Ohio State has built its roster for the year and sustained a summer injury to a projected rotation player, first-year coach Jake Diebler was able to add one more piece to the puzzle as a walk-on whose NIL compensation will cover the costs of enrolling at Ohio State.

Projected to finish eighth in the annual unofficial media poll conducted jointly by The Dispatch and The Indianapolis Star , the Buckeyes aim to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out during each of the last two seasons. Ohio State went 22-14 last season as Diebler was named coach after having taking over midseason on an interim basis.

Sifting through a 16-man roster featuring nine new faces including two walk-ons requires effort, and The Dispatch has you covered. To get ready for the season, The Dispatch is once again rolling out its annual preseason power rankings. Each weekday leading into the Nov. 4 season opener against Texas in Las Vegas , we will count upward while projecting which players will have the biggest roles on the 2023-24 season. This isn't just a measurement of who will lead the team in any particular statistical category, but a series of educated guesses on which players' contributions will go the longest way toward where the Buckeyes finish.

The series continues today with fourth-year forward Kalen Etzler.

No. 13 – Kalen Etzler

Position: Forward

Eligibility: Fourth year (one remaining)

Height/weight: 6 feet 8 / 185 pounds

Jersey number: 24

Major: Marketing

Jul 9, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes associate head coach Joel Justus guides forward Kalen Etzler and guard John Mobley Jr. through a drill during a summer workout in the practice gym at the Schottenstein Center.

Background

Kalen Etzler was the fifth member of the class of 2021 to land a scholarship offer from Ohio State, and he became the first player to commit for the Buckeyes in the class when he accepted it on the spot.

He was ranked the nation's No. 55 recruit according to the 247Sports.com composite database, but he finished his prep career as a three-star prospect ranked No. 154 nationally and No. 4 in Ohio after a prep career that included a state championship as a sophomore and more than 1,000 career points. As a senior, Etzler was named Ohio Division IV player of the year after helping Crestview to a 19-6 record while averaging 19.3 points per game.

Etzler signed with Ohio State amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the event was a family celebration at his high school.

Etzler took a redshirt during his first season at Ohio State in order to put on weight and strength to better prepare himself for Big Ten play . He was listed at 200 pounds when he arrived, but that number was more a goal than an accurate measure: Etzler arrived at around 180 pounds and added roughly 10 during that season to get to about 190, although he's now listed at 185.

The year of preparation and work on his body did not translate to appreciable playing time for Etzler as a redshirt freshman. A lightly used player during Ohio State's foreign exhibition trip to the Bahamas, his total playing time of 12:34 was the second-lowest on the roster and he missed all five of his shot attempts. It foreshadowed the role that was to come, as Etzler was unable to carve out a role on a team that would lose 14 of 15 games and miss out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Etzler made his first career appearance when he subbed into the season opener against Robert Morris with 4:22 remaining and the Buckeyes ahead 81-51. He totaled 13 minutes of playing time in the first three games of the season and scored his first career points on a hook shot in the paint with seven seconds remaining in a win against Cincinnati inside the Lahaina Civic Center in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 22. He hit his first career 3-pointer in a Dec. 3 home win against St. Francis (Pa.), but his playing time would all but disappear in the new year.

After playing the final 1:46 of a Dec. 29 win against Alabama A&M , Etzler was a healthy, unused substitute for the next 17 games. He would make two appearances in the final 23 games, subbing in for the final second of Ohio State's senior day win against Maryland on March 1 and the last six seconds of a win against Michigan State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 10.

In his first season on the court, Etzler finished with 7 points and 12 rebounds in nine appearances totaling 29:55. In two seasons, he has scored 7 points and pulled down 17 rebounds while playing 44 minutes in 16 appearances.

Etzler was named an Ohio State scholar athlete in 2022 and 2023 and academic all-Big Ten in 2023 and 2024.

Nov 19, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA;Ohio State Buckeyes forward Kalen Etzler (24) shakes fans' hands after their game against the Western Michigan Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 at the Value City Arena. — Nov 19, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Kalen Etzler (24) shakes fans’ hands after their game against the Western Michigan Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023 at the Value City Arena.

2023-24 recap

For a second consecutive season, Etzler found himself on the outside looking in at Ohio State's playing rotation. His season debut came with 1:24 remaining in Ohio State's third game of the season, a 76-52 win against Merrimack on Nov. 15, and he would play a season-high 3:51 four nights later in a 73-56 win against Central Michigan. Etzler attempted three shots in that game, two of which were 3-pointers, but did not make any.

After appearing in mop-up time in three more non-conference blowout wins, Etzler was a healthy, unused substitute in 17 straight games that included the removal of Chris Holtmann as coach and Diebler's promotion to interim coach. He played 2:37 in a senior day win against Michigan on March 3 and 1:04 in a win at Rutgers one week later, marking his first Big Ten regular-season minutes.

Etzler finished the season with seven appearances totaling 14 minutes, down from his nine appearances and 30 minutes in 2022-23. He had five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one turnover and was 0 for 5 from the field. Four of his shots were 3-pointers.

Despite the lack of playing time, Etzler chose to remain with the Buckeyes and has spoken about the loyalty he feels toward the program after it gave him a scholarship .

Need to know

Years before getting to Ohio State, Etzler wrote out a lengthy list of his own goals that included playing Division I basketball. He's a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, listens to Michael Jackson and an artist who built a wooden cutout of the outline of the state of Ohio that hangs at his house back home. Etzler's uncle, Doug, played at Ohio State from 1992-95, averaging 6.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.

While in high school, Etzler was also second-team all-Ohio and first-team all-Northwest Ohio after averaging 17.9 points as a junior. As a sophomore, he averaged 12.0 points and seven rebounds a game. Current Illinois State coach Ryan Pedon was his primary recruiter at Ohio State.

Oct 6, 2022; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State men's basketball forward Kalen Etzler (24) jumps over his mom, Krista Etzler and lacrosse player Mitchell Pehlke as he competes in a slam dunk contest during the “Buckeyes on the Blacktop” event on the rec basketball courts behind Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch

Etzler is one of the most powerful dunkers on the team and leaped over two people for a memorable slam during the Buckeyes on the Blacktop event leading into his redshirt freshman season. Last year, he participated in the 3-point shooting competition. His older brother, Javin, played four seasons at Miami (Ohio) and one at Ashland University.

When Ohio State played paintball during the summer, Etzler participated without wearing sleeves.

2024-25 season outlook

Etzler arrived at Ohio State as a project, one whose redshirt year was necessary to adapt to the physicality of the college game. After two years as a non-factor for Ohio State on gamedays and the Buckeyes recruiting multiple players ahead of him, it's hard to forecast anything but more of the same for Etzler in his fourth season with the program.

Once again, Etzler projects as a player whose impact will be on the scout team. Although it hasn't translated to playing time at Ohio State, Etzler is a powerful dunker who has shown flashes of athleticism, shooting ability and skill in appearances in the Kingdom Summer League. After not being able to carve out a role during two years when Ohio State went 38-33 and missed the NCAA Tournament both times , the odds remain against Etzler making a leap into the rotation this season.