The Kingdom Summer League is familiar ground for Kalen Etzler. As the longest-tenured player on Ohio State’s 2024-25 roster, Etzler worked on his game during the 2021 and 2022 versions of the annual event now held at Ohio Dominican University.

Sunday afternoon, there he was once again, this time suiting up for team ProXFlex as the league got its 10th season underway. Now entering his fourth season with the Buckeyes, Etzler said the experience of playing in the league has helped him prepare for his seasons at Ohio State.

“It gives me something to do on a Sunday when we’re off,” he said after his team’s 101-100 last-second loss to Bexley Car Care. “Get up and down, stay in shape and fill my game out a little more. When I did it before, it helped my confidence a lot, coming out here.”

Playing alongside Ohio State alumnus Ron Lewis, Etzler finished with 7 points on 3-of-9 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds. The 6-8, 190-pound forward was 1 for 6 from 3-point range with his lone make coming after he stole the ball, pushed it up the court and swished an attempt from just right of straight-on. He also jammed home a dunk off a Lewis assist but was subbed out with his team down 99-96 with 50.8 seconds left, watching the rest of the game from the bench.

Lewis took the spotlight, again showcasing his dangerous 3-point shooting ability by going 6 for 10 from deep. He finished with 23 points in the loss.

“Ron’s the man,” Etzler said. “I didn’t know he could shoot like that. That was impressive.”

The opening day of the league consisted of three games, one of which featured a team that hailed from Cincinnati. Etzler was the only current Buckeye to participate, although the majority of the roster has committed to the league and been placed on teams. Walk-on guard Colby Baumann watched Etzler and said he plans on playing next week while first-year guard John “Juni” Mobley Jr., who played in the league while in high school, was on hand for some of the games as a spectator.

That’s mostly been Etzler’s role during his time with the Buckeyes. After redshirting in 2021-22 in an effort to put on some weight and strength, Etzler has appeared in 16 games, scoring 7 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in 45 total minutes of playing time. Last season, he was a healthy, unused substitute in 17 straight games and appeared in only two of Ohio State’s final 24 games.

As Jake Diebler was promoted from interim to the full-time coach, Ohio State lost five players to the transfer portal, all of whom played more pronounced roles than Etzler has. Despite the lack of playing time, he repeated the same thought process as he did before the 2023-24 season got underway when asked what led him to stay amid the era of the transfer portal.

“I mean, I’ve said it since I committed to this school that I’m an Ohio kid through and through,” Etzler, a Convoy native, said. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, so it was really a no-brainer for me. I’ve got two years left, but if it is my last year I’m going to give all I’ve got for the program and coach Diebler. I’m going to do whatever I can for Buckeye Nation.”

On a team with four new transfers, two freshmen and potentially still two new transfers to be added, that means taking on a leadership role. No player on the roster has been at Ohio State longer than Etzler, who was a three-star prospect ranked No. 156 in the 247Sports.com composite in the class of 2021.

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“It’s really weird because I feel really, really old,” he said. “Whenever they talk in the locker room, sometimes I don’t even know what they’re talking about and it’s only like a three-year age gap. It’s really weird being the old head, but I’m there to teach them with whatever they need.”

Etzler is a two-time academic all-Big Ten honoree and a two-time Ohio State scholar-athlete recipient. This December, he will graduate with a degree in marketing. The plan from there is to begin graduate school and, “if I can come back for my fifth year maybe get my Master’s. That would be awesome.”

For now, it’s about getting up to speed with how Diebler wants to run the program. Monday marks the start of the third week of Ohio State’s summer workouts, and Etzler said a tone has already been set for what the Buckeyes plan to be in 2024-25.

“We’re going to be one of the best in-shape teams in the nation, in my opinion,” he said. “The offseason has been a lot of fast-paced stuff with Diebler. We’re working hard. Just know that.”

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Kalen Etzler works on confidence at Kingdom Summer League