Ohio State basketball: Jae’Sean Tate succeeding in NBA with effort
By Ryan Stano
The former Ohio State basketball star is succeeding in the NBA the same way he did in Columbus; with effort and hustle.
Raise your hand if you had Jae’Sean Tate succeeding in the NBA. Anybody? Anyone at all? No?? Me neither. The former Ohio State basketball star is doing it the same way he helped the Buckeyes win so many games. He’s doing it with his effort and hustle.
Tate signed a two-year deal with the Houston Rockets before the season that is worth almost $3 million. For the minutes he’s giving them, that’s a bargain contract. Tate has been thrust into the starting lineup now with an injury to Victor Oladipo. Now he’s their starting small forward.
Playing small forward is really the only position for the undersized Tate. Tate is only 6’4 and played power forward at Ohio State. There was no way that was going to fly in the NBA so he had to move to the three position. He had to improve his three-point shot to do so and has done that enough to make it work.
Tate has played in all 27 games the Rockets have played and has started in 17 of them. In those games, he is averaging 9.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 0.8 steals a game while playing 27 minutes. He is giving the Rockets some value when he’s on the floor.
Tate is shooting 54% from the field and 32.7% from three, which is just enough to keep teams honest. Tate is shooting that well strictly because of effort. He’s shooting 63% from two-point range, which is because he’s taking a lot of his shots around the rim.
Getting to the rim at his size takes effort and grit. He is still one of the toughest players out there. He shows that on the defensive end as well. Tate has to guard players that are bigger than him. He uses his lower body strength to keep from getting bullied in the post and has the lateral quickness to stay in front of them.
Houston is only 11-16 right now, but that is only 1.5 games out of the last play-in spot for the final playoff seed. They have had injury and COVID issues this season, which is part of the reason Tate has been thrust into the starting lineup. Tate still has a chance to help this team make the playoffs.
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It’s really good to see someone who works so hard get rewarded with playing time. Tate is making everyone who was a fan of him on the Ohio State basketball team proud.