COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Ohio State freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh was selected in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday night. Sensabaugh was the 28th overall pick by the Utah Jazz.
Below is the full release from Ohio State.
Sensabaugh Drafted by Utah in First Round of 2023 NBA Draft
Utah selected the Orlando, Fla., native with the 28th overall pick
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh had his dream realized as he was selected in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. Sensabaugh was the 28th overall pick in the draft.
Sensabaugh is Ohio State’s 26th first round pick, following Malaki Branham who went 20th to San Antonio last year. This is the first time Ohio State has had first round draft picks in back-to-back drafts since a streak of four consecutive drafts in 2007-10.
Sensabaugh was one of the best scorers in the Big Ten and was the third-best scoring freshman in the country last season. The Orlando, Fla., native averaged 16.3 points per game and was second on the team in rebounding at 5.4 per game. He scored in double figures in 29 of the 33 games with 11 20-point games and made a team-high 60 three-pointers while shooting 40.5 percent from long range.
Since 2003, Sensabaugh was one of just seven freshmen to average 15 or more points and be an above average shooter (50 percent on 2-pt FGs, 40 percent on 3-pt FGs and 80 percent on FTs), joining Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Ben McLemore, Lauri Markkanen and Mike Daum.
Sensabaugh was the first Buckeye freshman to lead the team in scoring since D’Angelo Russell in 2015. He was a finalist for the Julius Erving Award, which honored the top small forward in the country. He also earned third team All-Big Ten honors as well as All-Freshman Team honors.
Sensabaugh is the eighth Ohio State player to leave for the NBA following one season in the Scarlet and Gray. Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook all left after the 2006-07 season, Kosta Koufos went a year later in the 2008 draft, B.J. Mullins was taken in the 2009 draft, Russell in 2015 and Branham last year.
Buckeyes Overall in the NBA Draft
- Ohio State has had 56 players drafted since the start of the draft in 1947
- 26 Buckeyes have been drafted in the first round
- A total of 37 Buckeyes have been selected in the first or second rounds
- Malaki Branham was the most recent Buckeye selected in the draft’s first round as he was taken with the No. 20 pick by the San Antonio Spurs in 2022.
- Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook were all taken in the first round during the 2007 NBA Draft with Oden going No. 1 (Portland), Conley No. 4 (Memphis) and Cook No. 21 (Philadelphia).
- Sensabaugh is just the second Buckeye to be drafted by the Utah Jazz, joining Kosta Koufus who was the 23rd overall selection by the Jazz in 2008.
Photo via Ohio State Buckeyes
good article, and thank you
Best best best..
Caroline;
I’m getting caught up after a couple vacations.
Great stat about Brice’s shooting pct. Of the other six players that did it, Curry & Durant are in the Top 50 NBA players of all time, Irving is an 8 time NBA all star, Markky has been in the NBA the past 6 years and is currently an NBA all star, and McLemore played in the NBA 10 years. Daum didn’t play major college BBall and was not drafted. Pretty elite company for Brice.
Your sideline buddy,