E. J. Liddell
Eric "E. J." Liddell Jr. (born December 18, 2000) is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Early life and high school career. Liddell was raised in Belleville, Illinois, and went to high school at Belleville High School-West. He averaged 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a junior, won the 2018 Illinois Mr. Basketball award, shared the 2018 "St. Louis Post Dispatch" Player of the Year with Courtney Ramey, and won the Illinois 4A class state championship. As a senior, he averaged 20.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8  blocks per game. For the second year in a row, he won Illinois Mr. Basketball, the "St. Louis Post Dispatch" Player of the Year, and the Illinois 4A class state championship. Recruiting. Liddell was a consensus four-star recruit and ranked the best player in the state of Illinois. On October 1, 2018, Liddell committed to playing college basketball for Ohio State over scholarship offers from teams such as Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin. College career. Liddell came off the bench during his freshman year, averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He played in all 31 games and was  second on the team with 29 blocks. He had a double-double in a win against Illinois. During the early parts of his sophomore season, he contracted mononucleosis, which led to Liddell being out for several games. He had another good game against Illinois during his sophomore year, scoring a season-high 26 points in a win. Liddell averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game during his sophomore season. After Ohio State's Round of 64 loss to Oral Roberts, Liddell received threats from basketball fans via social media. After he posted screenshots of the threats on  Twitter, Ohio State reached out to law enforcement regarding the threats. On March 31, 2021, Liddell declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility. He later withdrew from the draft and announced that would return to Ohio State for his junior season. On January 9, 2022, Liddell scored a career-high 34 points in a 95–87 win against Northwestern. He was named to the First Team All-Big Ten. As a junior, he averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. On March 25, 2022, Liddell declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing  his remaining college eligibility.