Ohio State basketball's E.J. Liddell addresses 'disrespectful' Illinois fans after road win
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E.J. Liddell entered the State Farm Center with a target the size of Illinois on his back, and he knew it. That much comes with the territory when one of the most accomplished prep players in state history returns as a member of an intra-conference foe.
So it wasn’t the fact that the chants of “E.J. sucks!” from the Illinois fans were clearly audible on the FS1 broadcast that bothered Liddell, or Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann. It was the other stuff, the expletives that both player and coach said they heard throughout what would be a thrilling, 85-82 Buckeyes win on Thursday night, that were still on Liddell's mind the following day.
During his postgame press conference, Holtmann addressed the situation. Friday, in a rare thread posted to Twitter, Liddell told fans to “know their place” when it comes to what is acceptable to say to an athlete and what is not.
Ohio State basketball insider: Stay in the know with texts from beat reporter Adam Jardy
“I can’t even explain how rude and disrespectful some fans were,” Liddell wrote Friday afternoon. “Know your place. I have no hard feelings with that university but man y’all are crazy as hell if you think you can just talk to an athlete any kind of way. I play basketball everyday with a smile on my face.
“If you hate me for that, I don’t know what to say. Makes me wonder how some of y’all treat others. Y’all can’t take me out my element. Love me some good trash talk, and the chants “EJ Sucks” cause at the time I was 0/3.”
A product of Belleville West, Liddell led his school to consecutive state titles during his final two seasons. In the process, he became the second player in state history to twice capture Illinois Mr. Basketball honors, putting his name next to Jabari Parker in the record books.
1/4: Was too late to tweet something out after the game yesterday but man did I have a great time! Got to see my best friend, some family, and a lot of fans of mine from home. Great environment I loved the boos and the chants, they made me feel special.
— E.J. Liddell (@EasyE2432) February 25, 2022
Liddell committed to Ohio State after including Illinois and Missouri among his finalists. The Fighting Illini offered him an early scholarship under coach John Groce, but he was fired following the 2016-17 season and replaced by Brad Underwood. Ohio State, too, fired coach Thad Matta that offseason, and when Chris Holtmann replaced him the Buckeyes began aggressively recruiting Liddell.
By the time Illinois resumed its pursuit, it was too late. Friday, for the first and only time in his Ohio State career, Liddell played in front of a crowd on Illinois’ home floor and finished with 21 points, six rebounds and four blocks despite battling a flu that had him spend much of Tuesday night in the hospital after helping the Buckeyes defeat Indiana in overtime at Value City Arena.
Liddell is 3-2 against Illinois and has averaged 19.0 points in those five games. His high school coach, Joe Muniz, was shown on the broadcast watching the game from the stands in Ohio State clothes. His prep teammate Keith Randolph Jr., now an Illinois defensive lineman, said leading into the game that he’d be cheering for his best friend.
“Happy my family didn’t get a chance to make it due to the weather but man I’m glad they only heard things that was said through TV,” Liddell wrote. “All aside I had a great time! Some fans just need to get over that I didn’t pick their school.”
Buckeyes senior E.J. Liddell has heard inappropriate comments before
This isn’t the only time Liddell has used his platform to shine a light on inappropriate comments directed at athletes. Following Ohio State’s first-round upset at the hands of No. 15 seed Oral Roberts during last year’s NCAA Tournament, Liddell went public with some of the death threats and hateful messages he received after the loss.
Postgame, Holtmann said the environment was the loudest he’s ever coached in but that he felt some of the Illinois fans had crossed the line.
“I thought the environment, fans were highly engaged,” he said. “I didn’t love some of the things they were saying to one of our players. I thought that was completely uncalled for. Completely uncalled for. I don’t think there’s a place for it. Having said that, they were highly engaged and highly involved. They stayed engaged the entire game. It was made for a very difficult finish.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's E.J. Liddell addresses Illinois crowd's comments
