Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson taking leave of absence due to personal matters

Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson is taking a leave of absence from the team due to personal matters, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

It is a big blow for the Buckeyes, as Johnson had started all 10 games so far this season to average 28.8 minutes per game. He was putting up 9.1 points and 2.7 assists per contest while shooting 35.6% from 3-point range.

Johnson played his first two seasons of college ball at Ohio State before transferring to South Carolina for 2022-23 and 2023-24. He then made the move back to Columbus to be closer to home for his final college season.

“The first time, it just wasn’t going how I wanted it to I guess,” Johnson said of his decision to return. “It was not ideally what I wanted. I did not want to leave. It wasn’t ultimately my decision to want to leave. To be able to come back, it was everything. Like I said, I was able to come and play with a good guard. There are a lot of places I could have went around the country.

“But knowing Bruce [Thornton] and what he wanted for himself and for this team and for this program, where I’m from. I always wanted to get to a tournament, which I’ve done before here, but to go far it just everything made sense. We were able to get on the same page with Coach and we feel like he has put together a good roster for us to go far. But like I said, that was then and this is now. I’m just excited for what’s ahead.”

Meechie Johnson grew up in Cleveland and played for nearby Andrews Osborne Academy, where he was a three-star prospect. He ranked as the No. 161 overall player and No. 31 point guard in the 2020 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Johnson earned second team All-SEC this past season with the Gamecocks, averaging 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in a career-year.

Ohio State is set to take on Valparaiso at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday in what will be its first game of the season without Johnson. After that, they will face Kentucky this weekend.

It’s unclear at this point whether Johnson will be back in time for that matchup.