Jake Diebler: E.J. Liddell helping Ohio State's Taison Chatman cope with ACL injury
Ohio State’s alumni week came at an impactful time for one of its current players.
Tuesday, second-year guard Taison Chatman underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. The injury will deprive Chatman from a chance to showcase his abilities in 2024-25, but as the Buckeyes welcomed back more than two dozen former players for their annual summer gathering they had a helpful voice on hand for the sophomore.
As Chatman began grappling with the fact that he would miss the season, he got to spend time with former Ohio State standout E.J. Liddell. After being taken by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2022 NBA draft, Liddell suffered a torn ACL that delayed his rookie season.
“That was very powerful,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said Thursday. “E.J. went through that injury going into his rookie season. E.J., he’s great at being able to connect with people, so that was helpful.”
Chatman, who appeared in 16 games last season, was lost for the 2024-25 season after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee after landing awkwardly during a summer workout and undergoing surgery Tuesday.
It’s the same knee that required a surgical procedure leading into his freshman year at Ohio State to repair a meniscus injury that had hampered him during a senior season at Minneapolis Totino-Grace, but the two injuries are otherwise unrelated. He arrived at Ohio State as a four-star player and the No. 33 national prospect in the 247Sports.com rankings, but he was unable to participate in fall camp while recovering from the knee procedure.
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Lightly used through the first two-thirds of the season, Chatman saw more playing time with Diebler as interim coach and appeared in nine of the final 11 games of the year while scoring all 15 of his points during that time. As the roster shuffled during Diebler’s first offseason, Chatman announced his return with an April 11 post to social media. He was projected to play a prominent backup role to third-year returning captain Bruce Thornton and fifth-year South Carolina transfer Meechie Johnson Jr.
"Going into the season felt like depth was a real strength for us at the guard position," Diebler said. "Taison had shown signs of being able to take a jump. I still think depth is a strength for us. I don't think it changes that. How great that depth is certainly impacts that, but we’re in the process of evaluating that."
Diebler did not indicate what direction Ohio State could go to address Chatman's loss. The Buckeyes have one scholarship still available and have been planning to add an international big man to provide further depth in the paint. Now, they could be in the market to also add a guard who wouldn't necessarily be on scholarship but could make enough in NIL to compensate for the cost of attending school.
"We’re looking at all options, and one of them is sitting tight, too," Diebler said. "We have a really good thing going right now. I don’t want to rush into something, but we’re evaluating that, certainly."
Chatman will remain around the program, Diebler said. His NIL package with THE Foundation will not be affected by the injury, a source told The Dispatch.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Taison Chatman gets support from E.J. Liddell
