Men's basketball season is about to get underway, and it's time to dive into the Ohio State roster.
After a 16-19 record that caused the Buckeyes to miss the postseason for the first time in coach Chris Holtmann's six seasons with the program , Ohio State returns several key core players while adding a highly rated freshman class and a three-man transfer group all expected to make significant impacts.
To get ready for the season, The Dispatch is once again rolling out its annual preseason power rankings. Each weekday leading into the Nov. 6 season opener with Oakland , 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 walk-on forward Owen Spencer .
Position: Forward
Eligibility: Fourth year (one remaining)
Height/weight: 6 feet 9 / 230 pounds
Jersey number: 44
Major: Biology
Spencer was a three-time letterwinner at Cincinnati Turpin, where he was a team captain as a senior while averaging 11.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 assists per game. He was a three-year recipient of the All-Eastern Cincinnati Conference Academic Award, the Turpin Scholar Athlete Award and the Spartan Academic Award. In his final game, Spencer scored 31 points against Milford while hitting four 3-pointers.
He enrolled at The Citadel and spent two seasons as a reserve playing for the Bulldogs before transferring to Ohio State during the summer of 2022 to help provide some size and strength to practice. Walsh and Lincoln Memorial had also offered him scholarships out of high school.
In two seasons with the Bulldogs, Spencer appeared in 23 games, scored 20 points and pulled down 41 rebounds. His career high came during his freshman season when Spencer scored 7 points in 11 minutes in a 100-58 win against Division II foe Toccoa Falls on Dec. 5, 2020. But during his second season at The Citadel, Spencer had two blocks, an assist and a rebound in 13 minutes in a 107-81 loss at Duke on Nov. 22, 2021.
It marked the second-most minutes played in a game by Spencer that season. He was on the court for 16 minutes of a 75-62 home loss to Chattanooga on Jan. 29, a game in which he scored a season-high 3 points and tied his career high with five rebounds.
Spencer transferred to Ohio State after the Bulldogs fired coach Duggar Baucom following a 13-18 record in his seventh season with the program . He started to look for options at the Division II level before Ohio State assistant coach Mike Netti reached out to offer him a walk-on opportunity and a chance to be closer to home.
In his first season with the Buckeyes, Spencer drew the biggest challenge possible. With third-year center Zed Key sidelined due to injury, first-year center Felix Okpara picked up a second foul with 10:27 remaining in the first half of a Feb. 19 game at Purdue. In front of a sold-out crowd at Mackey Arena, the Buckeyes called on their lone remaining big man – Spencer – to check in and grapple with Zach Edey, the 7-4 center on his way to being named national player of the year.
It was a baptism by fire for Spencer, who to that point had totaled 12 minutes of playing time in five appearances and hadn't seen action in Ohio State's last 14 games. He would play a season-high 5:33 in the game and grab two rebounds with one assist, one turnover and four fouls as Purdue won, 82-55 . Spencer was the lone Buckeye to have a positive plus-minus rating for the game, finishing at plus-1 after not seeing any second-half playing time.
"It was good to see him out there," Isaac Likekele, one of Ohio State's captains, said afterward. "Owen's a hard worker. He hasn't complained since day one, regardless of what coach has asked him to do. It's good to see guys like that go in the game. He's never stepped on the floor at this high-major of a level."
Placed on scholarship during the season, Spencer would finish having played 18:54 in seven appearances. He scored 3 points on 1 of 6 shooting from the floor and also had nine rebounds. His only fouls of the season were against the Boilermakers.
"He provides us a scout team center than can also play in a pinch if we need him," Holtmann said at the time. "Great attitude, great kid. We were really happy to do that for him."
Spencer's father, David, ran track and field at Tri-State University, while his uncle, Kevin Kiser, rowed for Purdue. Kiser was named the team's most valuable player in 1986 and invited to the Olympic trials in 1984 and 88. Another uncle, Brian Kiser, was a men's All-American at Purdue in the shot put in 1990 and a Big Ten champion in both the shot put and discus.
A biology major, Spencer is planning to be a heart surgeon. He was inspired after visiting his mom, an obstetrics nurse, at work as a child and being intrigued by the medical field. While at Turpin, he applied for a special field trip where has allowed to watch an open-heart surgery. When he was placed on scholarship after a Jan. 21 win against Iowa, he found his parents and gave them a letter informing them of the news. The realization made his mother cry, he said.
Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle Jr. has described Spencer as the funniest player on the team. Spencer is listed as having gained 15 pounds since last season.
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Much like last season, Spencer will be counted on to provide a big, physical practice body for the Buckeyes. It remains a longshot that he will see any appreciable playing time this year, especially given that Ohio State added more size in this year's recruiting class in the form of 6-10, 260-pound center Austin Parks to go alongside both Key and Okpara.
At 6-9, though, he remains the third-tallest player on the roster. He has been slowed during the preseason with an undisclosed injury and did not participate during the team's Oct. 19 open practice or in the exhibition game at Dayton three days later.
Owen Spencer thrilled to earn Ohio State scholarship
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State Buckeyes power rankings: No. 14 Owen Spencer
