Ohio State freshman guard Scotty Middleton has returned to the team after serving a one-game suspension for violation of team rules, head coach Chris Holtmann announced on Monday.
“Scotty’s a really good kid,” Holtmann said on his weekly appearance with 97.1 The Fan. “He has a great heart. We care about him. It was just a simple internal matter where we felt like there was (something that needed to be done)…We love Scotty, we’re glad he’s back and we’re ready to go.”
Middleton, who has appeared in 16 games for Ohio State and logged the eighth most minutes on the team, missed Ohio State’s 79-67 win over Penn State on Saturday after it was revealed just hours before tip-off that the program was suspending him for violation of team rules. The reason as to why Middleton was suspended is currently unknown, but Holtmann told the media at Value City Arena on Monday that his freshman guard has responded well since being disciplined.
“(He’s had) a good approach and good attitude in practice,” he said. “I think sometimes the outside world makes a bigger deal than what it is. He’s good.”
“You have to remember that they’re 18, 19, 20-years-old,” Holtmann added on his radio show. “We look at it like they should be whatever, but in reality, they’re 19, 20. Their brains are still forming, they’re still trying to process and figure things out….There’s great curiosity around it, which I understand, but it’s like ‘Why would you do that? Why would you hold players accountable?’
“Every good player, and every good parent who has brought a good player to us, for example, Michelle Liddell, E.J’s mom, she wanted him coached really hard, always. Some of the best players we’ve had wanted that. They may not have wanted it in the moment — we know discipline for all of us doesn’t feel good in the moment. But it’s just a byproduct of coaching.”
Middleton will rejoin an Ohio State team that has been searching all season for a consistent bench piece to complement the team’s top scoring trio of Jamison Battle, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Bruce Thornton. The freshman has provided the Buckeyes with a spark off the bench at times this season, ranking seventh on the team in scoring at 4.7 points per game, while also contributing 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per contest.
