As Scotty Middleton adapts to college, Ohio State's Zed Key helping as mentor
Offense was hard to come by inside State Farm Arena, and Scotty Middleton was feeling the pressure. In what would become a 67-60 win over UCLA, Ohio State had scratched out a 14-12 lead with about six minutes to play when the Buckeyes got the ball to the freshman who found himself matched up on Bruins freshman wing Brandon Williams.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Williams got into Middleton, got his hands on the ball and forced a jump ball situation. UCLA regained possession with 6:19 to play and the 6-7, 190-pound Buckeye was subbed out in favor of sophomore guard Bruce Thornton.
It had been a bit of a rough start to the game for the freshman. To that point, Middleton had missed three shots, one of which was a forced shot that came out of the flow of the offense. The turnover was his first, but as he headed to the bench one of his teammates knew what he was going through.
So as Middleton headed off the court and passed the scorers table, he was quickly embraced by fourth-year center Zed Key. It was exactly what the freshman said he needed in that moment.
“It was just certain interactions where people know personnel,” Middleton said. “Knowing people on your team and knowing certain people get in their heads after turnovers or missed shots or something like that. He was just encouraging me to move onto the next play and ultimately get back in tune with the game.”
In other words, Key gets Middleton and vice-versa. There’s an understanding between the two given how they hang onto a poor possession, mistake or rough stretch of play. Both are emotional players who admit to sometimes struggling to shake it off and move onto the next situation.
After three seasons of college basketball, Key said that while he’s made progress in that area, it’s an ongoing battle for him.
“I struggle with this,” he said. “When you have a bad offensive side of the game or you have a bad turnover or miss a shot you’re supposed to make, you tend to get in your own head. I still deal with this to this day. It’s natural for it to happen. Basically, it’s controlling your response and moving onto the next play.”
That can be easier said than done, and it helps to have someone else going through the same situation. Middleton said it didn’t take him long upon arrival to learn that Key was a player he could lean on when he felt his emotions getting the best of him, and the veteran said the two frequently help calm each other down in practice.
“I think Zed’s learning from some of his own challenges of dealing with his emotions in the right way,” coach Chris Holtmann said. “It’s a continual process for him. I think Zed’s trying to impart some of the things he’s learned on a younger player. That can be really beneficial to Scotty if he says, ‘Take it from me, you’re better off if you move on from a poor play.’ ”
A challenge for players such as Middleton is trying to make sure their aggression is being channeled in the right way. Holtmann said part of what makes the freshman a valuable player is the passion he plays with. The Buckeyes want to encourage, not diminish, that aspect of his game.
“He’s got a learning curve there,” Holtmann said. “He just has to make sure he’s channeling that in the right direction, because I think it can be a real strength for him but it can also be challenging for him when he lets those get the best of him.”
There is a bit of irony in Middleton turning to the team’s most boisterous player for a calming word. Key raises the roof when he runs down the court after a dunk, shoots off imaginary finger guns when he’s fouled while scoring and is the first player to celebrate his team’s success on the bench. There’s a clear joy in the way he plays the game.
When he was a freshman, Key said he had veterans such as CJ Walker, Kyle Young and E.J. Liddell who were able to help him acclimate to the game. Now, he’s doing the same for Middleton while still navigating his own way.
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“I’ve been in the program, so guys know, ‘he’s been here, so he probably knows the way. He hasn’t been here for years and didn’t learn anything,’ ” Key said. “I’m not perfect at it. Sometimes in practice I’ll have that bad body language and Holtmann will be like, ‘You’ve got to fix your bad body language,’ and I’m like, ‘Yes, coach.’ I’m one of the older guys and guys look at that.”
Guys like Middleton, who did not score against the Bruins but played 17:47, contributed to the team’s defensive effort and had the second-best individual plus-minus rating of the game at plus-9.
“It’s just making winning plays every possession,” he said. “I don’t think I scored that game, but I definitely made an impact on the game defensively, bringing some leadership to it. Just overall playing my role. Just being a winner.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Freshman Scotty Middleton being mentored by Ohio State's Zed Key
