Chris Holtmann Gives Injury Updates on Several Players

Get the latest on Jimmy Sotos, Ibrahima Diallo, C.J. Walker, Seth Towns and Kyle Young here.

The No. 13 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes are trying not to ride the emotional roller coaster of the season.

There have been some ecstatic highs and some excruciating lows over the past 10.5 months. But Chris Holtmann has his team at a 12-4 record and they're playing terrific basketball in January, including three consecutive wins against Top-15 teams.

Holtmann met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to preview Wednesday's contest against Penn State. He touched on a number of different things, including several injuries that have bugged the Buckeyes lately.

Seth Towns' road back to full strength is on-going, but he's proven to be a really good option for the Buckeyes when he's gotten on the floor. He's still trying to get "healthy healthy" (as he Tweeted the other day), but he's given Ohio State a good lift this year off the bench.

“He's already proven that he can be a really effective player,” Holtmann said. “We don't win several of these most recent games without Seth Towns. But I think the timeline in him had to be adjusted, and it had to be adjusted for us. He needs a full offseason. He needs to be able to go through that. And I'm excited about what next year's going to be for him. Having said that, I still think I'm excited about his continual growth this year. He's going to help us in a lot of games this year. A lot of games.

“The whole deal with him missing some practice, that's been a struggle for him and it's been a struggle for me as a coach to figure out how to manage all that. But he's been tremendous for us.”

Kyle Young hasn't missed any games for the Buckeyes this year, but Holtmann said he hasn't been able to consistently practice with a lower leg injury. Also, C.J. Walker is still playing through pain in his right hand, which kept him out of the lineup for several games this month.

“I think it's always going to be a pain tolerance,” Holtmann said. “Could there be a situation where it's bothering him or he gets hit and he has to play less? That will ultimately be his call. It's a pain tolerance thing for him from game to game. I really need to take my cues from him on how he's feeling. I don't think the torn ligaments, I know they're not completely healed. He was anxious to get back, as we knew he would be.”

While Towns and Young (and as of last weekend, Walker) have been able to play through the pain, unfortunately right now Ibrahima Diallo and Jimmy Sotos cannot. Sotos is still being bothered by a shoulder injury he suffered against Rutgers on Jan. 9 and Diallo's knee has prevented him from seeing the floor since Dec. 12. Neither player will be available against Penn State on Wednesday evening.

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