When Ohio State tips off against Iowa on Thursday, it will again be without backup point guard Jimmy Sotos. Only this time, the transfer from Bucknell will be out the entire year according to head coach Chris Holtmann. The OSU head coach broke the news right off the bat on a Zoom update Wednesday.
Sotos injured his shoulder diving for a loose ball against Rutgers on January 9th and suffered a separated shoulder. There was hope that he could get back healthy enough to play but instead will have surgery to repair the shoulder.
“We thought he might be able to come back and play, but right now, it’s not going to be possible,” Holtmann said to reporters. “I think he wanted to try and give it a go, but he’s not going to be able to do it.”
For Sotos, it had to be a disappointing blow, and Holtmann said he was very emotional when the injury occurred.
“If you saw him after the Rutgers game, he was emotional,” Holtmann said. “We had a moment there just because he was emotional. I think he knew at that point it could be over. We were trying to exhaust every option to continue the season.”
UPDATE: Guard Jimmy Sotos will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a separated shoulder, @ChrisHoltmann announced today.
Get well soon @SotosShow4! pic.twitter.com/bJ81wzMxjx
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) February 3, 2021
Ohio State got point guard C.J. Walker back a few games ago so the hit won’t be nearly as big, but it still hurts when it comes to depth, and if Walker has further issues with the ligaments in his non-shooting hand.
That means OSU will still have to rely on guys like Duane Washington and Justice Sueing to provide some extra bodies to bring the ball up when Walker needs a blow.