Mono forces Belleville West grad and Ohio State star to miss Big Ten basketball opener
EJ Liddell, a two-time Illinois ‘Mr Basketball and current Ohio State sophomore, will miss the Buckeyes’ Big Ten opener this week after being diagnosed with mononucleosis.
Liddell’s father Eric Liddell, confirmed Sunday night that his son was diagnosed on Thursday and sat out the Buckeyes’ 67-61 win over Cleveland State on Sunday.
Liddell, a 2019 graduate of Belleville West, led the Maroons to back-to-back Class 4A state championships in 2018 and ‘19 and was rated a consensus top 35 national recruit in his senior year.
Ranked 22nd in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll, Ohio State (5-0) opens its Big Ten schedule Wednesday at Purdue, then returns home Saturday to host No. 16 North Carolina.
Eric Liddell said his son is doing well despite not being able to play.
“E.J. is handling this fine. Right now we’re listening to what the trainers are telling him,’’ he said. “E.J. has been working hard, but he said to me ‘Dad, I don’t know why I’m so tired.’
“They did tests on him last Wednesday and we got the diagnosis Thursday.’’
Currently leading the Buckeyes in scoring (15.5 ppg.) and rebounding (7.5 rpg.), Liddell was coming off one of his best performances when he scored 19 points and added 12 rebounds in a win at Notre Dame.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 10:58 AM.
