Ohio State is in need of a boost after suffering a three-game losing streak following the Buckeyes’ 19-0 start to the season, and that shot of energy could be coming soon.
Head coach Kevin McGuff said on Tuesday that guard Jacy Sheldon, who has not taken the court since Nov. 30 for the Buckeyes, is now day-to-day and could see the floor again as early as one of Ohio State’s contests this week.
“I was saying week-to-week before, I think we’re more day-to-day now,” he said. “There’s a chance she could play this week, but we don’t know for sure yet.”
The Buckeyes travel for a pair of road games this week, taking on Wisconsin on Wednesday and traveling to Maryland on Sunday. If Sheldon does not make her return this week, a likely first outing would be next Wednesday when Ohio State host Minnesota.
Regardless of when Sheldon comes back, her boost will be an immediate one for the Buckeyes. After Ohio State got off to the best start in program history, the Buckeyes have since lost three straight and will look to make things right against the Badgers. As potential weaknesses have started to reveal themselves for Ohio State, Sheldon’s potential return couldn’t come at a better time.
“There’s the obvious impact on the court in terms of her play and how she impacts our team,” McGuff said. “There’s also a psychological lift for the team because they know how good she is and her energy. We play faster on offense when the ball is in her hands, our full-court defense is better. There’s a good lift coming, hopefully soon.”
The Buckeyes have been conservative in their approach to Sheldon’s injury, not wanting to rush back the senior as to not reaggravate the lower-leg injury that has forced her to miss the last 15 games. That approach will extend to when she returns to the court, with McGuff expecting that Sheldon will be on a minutes restriction once she does return.
“That’s going to be tough, because she doesn’t like minute restrictions. That’s probably part of the reason we’ve been very conservative – she wants to play all the time. That’s who she is. But, we will not be able to infuse her back with 40 minutes right away,” he said. “We’ll talk to the doctor and trainer – my guess would be we can get her into 20 minutes right away, somewhere around there. We’ll see how it goes. Any minutes we can get from her soon will be a big boost.”
