It was the kind of season that would try even the most dedicated of basketball players.

From Jan. 5 through Feb. 23, the Ohio State men’s basketball team played 15 games and lost 14 of them. It was a brutal, 49-day stretch that knocked the Buckeyes from likely NCAA Tournament participants to March spectators. And through it all, two scholarship members of the roster remained affixed to the end of the bench, practice contributors and little else.

In their first seasons of eligibility, Kalen Etzler and Bowen Hardman were unused substitutes not just for that stretch of 14 losses in 15 games but for the solitary victories that sandwiched that slide. Etzler, a redshirt freshman, and Hardman, a first-year player, toiled on the scout team and supported the rest of the Buckeyes on game day. It was the type of year that, in the era of immediate one-time transfer eligibility, often results in a change of scenery.

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Not so for Etzler, a forward, and Hardman, a guard. As Ohio State held its own media day to preview the 2023-24 season, the two shared both a table on the practice court inside Value City Arena and a common reason for remaining with the program.

“Growing up, my biggest thing from my family is when you’re committed to something, see it through,” Hardman said.

“When I signed that paper, I committed to this school,” Etzler said. “I grew up a different way and I’m going to stay loyal to my decisions and stay loyal to the school and the program.”

A three-star prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, Etzler was the No. 4 prospect from Ohio, the No. 30 power forward in the nation and the overall No. 156 recruit when he arrived on campus as part of the class of 2021. Etzler scored more than 1,000 points at Convoy Crestview and won a state title as a sophomore but spent his first year on campus trying to put on weight and fill out his 6-foot-8, 180-pound frame.

He made nine appearances last season, grabbing 12 rebounds and scoring 7 points in 29:55. In Big Ten play, he was officially credited with just 1 second of playing time.

“It was tough for me, especially just knowing there’s really nothing besides in practice that I can do,” he said. “I was always there for my teammates, being as supportive as possible. I was trying to make sure I could be as detailed as possible and give any sort of small tips to the guys.”

Hardman’s senior season at Cincinnati Princeton was altered by an early-season leg injury. He was the No. 12 prospect from Ohio, the No. 50 shooting guard in the nation and the overall No. 315 national recruit in the 247Sports composite, and his first year was spent trying to put on strength and weight while adapting to Division I basketball.

He scored 12 points in seven appearances totaling 18:11 and went 4 for 8 from 3-point range. Like Etzler, all but one second of his playing time came in non-conference action.

“Every kid comes into college wanting to play,” he said. “I think the biggest thing I learned is definitely being patient. Be patient for your time. Work your butt off as much as you can and eventually things will start to click.”

Can Bowen Hardman, Kalen Etzler find roles for Ohio State this season?

Despite all of that work, both Hardman and Etzler face long odds for significant playing time this season. Coach Chris Holtmann said the coaching staff outlines projected roles for players during “honest conversations” during the spring.

Holtmann outlined where they both stand.

“I think Bowen has improved and he’s done some good things and has shown the ability,” Holtmann said. “The question for him is he’s got to be able to defend at this level, because he is a terrific, terrific shooter. Kalen, it’s strength and physicality and also defense. It doesn’t do them any good or us any good if we’re sugarcoating it, it’s just honest conversations about where they’re at right now and what we project for them.”

Per multiple players, Hardman’s shooting was a game-changer during practice last season. He’s a leading candidate to be voted the team’s best shooter in The Dispatch’s annual anonymous preseason players’ poll.

“He has an incredible ability to shoot the basketball,” guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said. “We have problems in practice guarding him. Especially when we go against the scout team and he’s playing the opposite shooter, we have a really hard time guarding him. It’s amazing. You have to have your eye on him no matter where he is.”

Hardman was one of five first-year scholarship players last season. When Holtmann would talk about the class, he would mention that four of them were expected to contribute, leaving Hardman as the unspoken odd man out. The others – Felix Okpara, Brice Sensabaugh, Bruce Thornton and Gayle – all saw significant playing time.

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Although it didn’t come during games, Thornton said Hardman was an everyday-type of player.

“Bowen went through a different year than all of us,” Thornton, who will be a captain for a second straight season, said. “He wasn’t there defensively or (strength-wise), but he was there mentally every day. Every day that we needed him, he stepped up and hit big shots. He was always there in practice.”

Hardman said he’s hoping to prove in early-season, non-conference games that he can be counted upon to defend well enough to merit some playing time. He’s listed at 190 pounds, 15 more than his freshman weight. Now entering his third season in the program, Etzler said he’s going to put his head down and go to work.

“Being an Ohio kid, (leaving) is nothing I want to do,” he said. “I’m not going to just bail because it wasn’t easy. I knew the risks coming to this big of a program, this high level of a program. I’m going to do anything I can to put us in the best possible position to win.”

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bowen Hardman, Kalen Etzler sticking with commitments to Ohio State