Ohio State guard Bowen Hardman enters transfer portal
COLUMBUS — Ohio State sophomore guard Bowen Hardman entered the transfer portal Thursday. The second-year sharpshooter is the first Buckeyes player to hit the portal this offseason.
Hardman was part of the program’s first of two straight top-10 recruiting classes. He signed with Ohio State alongside center Felix Okpara, wing Brice Sensabaugh and guards Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle Jr.
That said, while the other four started down the stretch of the 2022-23 season, Hardman remained in a reserve role throughout his freshman campaign. In fact, the Cincinnati native played in only seven games and never scored in Big Ten play that year.
Hardman saw increased playing time as a sophomore, appearing in 18 games and shooting 9-of-21 from beyond the arc. He burst onto the scene Jan. 23 at Nebraska, where he scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in just eight minutes of action, as then-head coach Chris Holtmann looked for ways to jolt the Buckeyes, who were reeling in conference competition for the second year in a row.
The Princeton High School product went on to play in 10 more Big Ten regular season games, notably scoring seven points and playing a career-high 21 minutes in a loss to Wisconsin on Feb. 13.
Still, he averaged just 4.2 minutes and 1.8 points per game in 2023-24.
Hardman didn’t play in the Big Ten Tournament, but he did reflect on his opportunity to make an on-court impact this year after a second-round win over Iowa on March 14.
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“It’s exciting,” Hardman told Lettermen Row at the time. “I felt like I was able to help contribute to this team in many aspects, especially with shooting and being able to guard for good periods of time. So it was good to be able to do that and find a good rhythm and good role for our team. And whatever that is for whatever game, I just go out there and try to play my hardest as I possibly can.
“And if not, be the best bench player I possibly can be.”
Hardman’s last bucket this season was a clutch 3-pointer late against Cornell in the first round of the NIT. He finished sixth on the team with nine triples made this year.
The 6-foot-3 guard flashed his 3-point marksmanship at Ohio State. Now, he has a chance in the portal to see if he can further his college career elsewhere.
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