Ohio State basketball: Why Brice Sensabaugh fits in Utah

Former Ohio State basketball player Brice Sensabaugh was taken in the first round of the NBA Draft on Thursday night. He was taken 28th overall by the Utah Jazz. Once considered a borderline lottery pick, Sensabaugh slid after declining a key pre-draft workout.

This slide might actually end up being the best thing for his NBA career because he ended up getting drafted into a place where he fits great. The Jazz are in rebuild mode right now. They don’t have any expectations to win enough games to make the playoffs.

That means that Sensabaugh won’t have any pressure to contribute right away to winning a bunch of games. He can come in and make as many mistakes as he needs to in order to grow into a better player. We know he can score, he just has to develop the rest of his game.

Playing in Utah means he can come off the bench and do what he does best, which is score. He can work on his passing and defense during the course of the season with the coaching staff. If he can improve those two areas of his game, he has a chance to eventually be a starter.

Another reason why the former Ohio State basketball player slid is that he has a history of knee injuries. He suffered one at the end of the Buckeyes’ season too. He needs to prove that he can stay healthy over an extended period of time.

Do I think Sensabaugh will ever become a star in the NBA? No, I don’t. But I do think he has the chance to have a decade-long career in the league if he settles into his role of being a scorer off the bench. Those are valuable guys to have on your roster.