Ohio State Buckeyes' Taison Chatman, Austin Parks Expected to Miss Time with Injury

The Ohio State Buckeyes' eighth-ranked recruiting class will not be fully healthy come the regular season.

COLUMBUS -- With Ohio State coming off a season where the top freshmen transitioned into the team’s top players, perhaps the Buckeyes were expecting similar production from this year’s incoming class.

However, coach Chris Holtmann said at Big Ten Media Days Tuesday guard Taison Chatman and center Austin Parks will both miss time as they recover from injuries.

Chatman, a four-star recruit from Totino-Grace High School in Minneapolis, is expected to miss four to six weeks after a minor knee procedure. The former No. 1 player in Minnesota comes in as a combo guard and can contribute his ability to find the open man and three-point shooting.

Parks has been dealing with back spasms and has not been practicing with the team. The No. 28 center nationally was a force in the paint at St. Mary’s Memorial High School but will fall behind senior forward Zed Key and sophomore center Felix Okpara for big man minutes. The freshman comes in measured at 6-10, 250 pounds outweighing Okpara by almost 15 pounds.

Parks’ paint presence can be compared to that of Utah Jazz rookie center Walker Kessler, a force down low who averaged 9.2 points on 72 percent from the field and 8.4 rebounds last season. But both are well-known for their rim protection — something the Buckeyes desperately lack outside of Okpara.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann directs his team against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second half at United Center / © Kamil Krzaczynski, USA TODAY

Holtmann added Tuesday forward Scotty Middleton is the freshman most likely to contribute to the team early on. Middleton, the 11th-ranked small forward in the country, was a highly-touted recruit, receiving offers from Kansas, Michigan State, Kansas State and Connecticut before signing with Ohio State.

Hopefully, once these freshmen are healthy, they will see enough time to be able to help out the team in the future.