Meechie Johnson Jr. ‘Grown Up’ in Two-Year Hiatus from Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes return a fan favorite for his final season.

Meechie Johnson Jr. brings back to Columbus his playmaking abilities and solid defense. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Buckeyes welcomed their former player with open arms.

Meechie Johnson Jr. spent two years in Columbus before transferring to South Carolina for another two years. After a slow first three years in Columbus and Columbia, Johnson realized Ohio State was where he wanted to be.

“It’s been a blessing to come back,” Johnson said at media availability Thursday.

The redshirt senior said one of the main reasons he decided to come back was because of the “energy” exerted from Buckeye nation, as well as the opportunity to play with Bruce Thornton.

“Me and Bruce, I feel, we will be one of the best backcourts in the country,” Johnson said.

Johnson is most certainly coming off his best year of college ball — leading the Gamecocks with 14.1 points and offering solid playmaking, off-ball abilities and defense, Johnson found himself on the all-Southeastern Conference Second Team.

Johnson has gotten better in every aspect of his overall game each year. The Cleveland native said he wanted to return home for a last shot to win.

“We’ve put together a good roster for us to go far.… That was then, this is now. I’m just excited for what’s ahead,” Johnson said.

Thornton, who will be entering his third year with the Buckeyes, was the surefire leader for the team this past season as the head facilitator and scorer. However, head coach Jake Diebler didn’t manage to retain any of his fellow juniors — most notably Roddy Gayle Jr. — so Thornton has a new backcourt partner in Johnson for the upcoming season.

“I’m very excited to play with him, go through the season and win big-time games,” Thornton said.

Bruce Thornton is the only remaining member from his class but expressed his excitement to play with Meechie Johnson Jr. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Unlike Thornton who hasn’t experienced the feeling of being in the NCAA Tournament, Johnson is yet to miss it. The renewed Buckeye made it twice under former head coach Chris Holtmann — losing to Oral Roberts in the first round in 2021 and Villanova in the second round the following year.

But now the shifty backcourt has their eyes set on a fairly new goal: making it out of the second round and contending for a national title.

Johnson’s last game as a Gamecock was a first-round loss to Oregon, a team who will be joining the Big Ten next season. While the Buckeyes-Ducks football game has surely caught the public’s attention, he and Ryan Day may have something in common:

“That’s revenge for everybody,” Johnson said.

Thornton and Diebler, despite being “impressed with his consistency” on the court, noticed Johnson’s leadership to a further degree.

“His growth as a man, as a leader, his maturity is different,” Diebler said. “He’s still the same fun, loving, hard-working… young man.”

Diebler concluded with his excitement for the backcourt and Johnson’s general return.

“He’s grown up,” Diebler said.

While the Ohio State community awaits the upcoming season’s schedule release, Buckeye fans can be sure of one thing: This backcourt is going to be a problem for defenses everywhere.