This season of Ohio State basketball has been a unique and weird one filled with a ton of hight, just as many lows, and some off-the-court news. We now have the latest breaking news that will no doubt have a heavy impact on the program.
According to a release by the OSU athletic department, freshman point guard D.J. Carton will be taking some time away from the Buckeye basketball team. Here is the short release received Thursday night from the folks at Ohio State.
D.J. Carton, a freshman guard on the Ohio State men’s basketball team, will be taking some time away to deal with personal matters. He will miss the game Saturday vs. Indiana.
Head coach Chris Holtmann also provided a statement in the release.
“D.J. remains a valued member of our program and we will continue to love and support him,” said Holtmann. “Please respect the family’s privacy in this matter.” – Chris Holtmann, Ohio State head coach.”
Carton has had an up and down year so far for Ohio State, but is coming off a game at Northwestern in which he was the leading scorer and dangerous scoring threat for the Buckeyes. His absence not only cuts into the depth at the guard position — one so important for a team that has struggled with turnovers this year, but also takes a dynamic athlete that can get his own shot off the court.
The freshman from Bettendorf, Iowa has averaged 10.4 points per game to go along with 2.8 rebounds and three assists per contest.
Carton released a statement on his own to shed a little more light on what he is dealing with. It all revolves around mental health, and Buckeye Nation and all those around him should be very proud of him taking care of what he needs in order to be set up for better health in the future.
Love my team and Ohio❤️ pic.twitter.com/Sjb3C9sZbJ
— DJ Carton (@DJCarton) January 31, 2020
We’re all with you D.J. You take care of you and come back better than ever both on and off the court.