Key’s exit impacts OSU roster turnover
Forward/center has entered transfer portal
After four seasons at Ohio State, Zed Key has entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining.
A 6-8, 225-pound forward/center, Key averaged 7.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 121 career games including 49 starts. A fan favorite for his energetic celebrations and off-the-court personality, Key was an Ohio State captain and four-year contributor.
He endeared himself to the Buckeye Nuthouse student section from his early days, shooting off imaginary “finger guns” to celebrate and-one opportunities and raising the roof after each dunk. His teammates called him “Mr. Fix-it” for his ability to help with just about anything they needed. During the summer of 2022, he was one of five Ohio State representatives on a trip to Selma, Alabama, as part of the Big Ten Equality Coalition. A lover of cars, Key also famously owned a pet snake.
“These last four years have been nothing short of a dream come true,” Key wrote in a post to Instagram. “From the moment I arrived on campus, I felt embraced and accepted in this community and I’m forever grateful for every moment on and off the court. Playing for this university has been an honor that I will always cherish.”
After averaging 5.2 points and 3.4 rebounds as a freshman, Key moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore and saw his production grow to 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game. He assumed a captain’s role as a junior and was in the process of putting together a breakout season as a Jan. 5, 2023 home game with Purdue loomed.
Key had averaged 13.4 points and 8.4 rebounds through the first 13 games while shooting 62.9% (66 for 105) from the floor, including a 6-for-19 mark from 3 (31.6%). But within the first four minutes against the Boilermakers, he suffered a shoulder injury while guarding Zach Edey. Key missed the next game, returned for the next 11 and played with a heavy brace on his left shoulder before shutting it down after a Feb. 16 loss at Iowa to have season-ending surgery.
As a junior, Key averaged a careerhigh 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds despite the injury.
While the Buckeyes were putting together an unprecedented run in the Big Ten Tournament that season, Key took a bus to Chicago to cheer them on because he was unable to fly so soon after his operation. During the offseason, Key reworked his body, lost nearly 30 pounds and reported for fall camp fully healthy and in the best shape of his career while accepting a reserve role behind sophomore center Felix Okpara.
Key finished 2023-24 averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while appearing in all 36 games including two starts.
His minutes per game dropped from a career-high 24.8 in 2022-23 to 15.4 in 2023-24. He averaged the same number of points as Okpara despite playing roughly 270 fewer minutes than his counterpart.
After a loss to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, the Buckeyes faced an uncertain future. An NIT bid was likely, but inside the locker room at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Key was asked about the possibility that he had just played his final game for the Buckeyes.
“It’s honestly sad,” he told The Dispatch. “It’s crazy. I feel like yesterday I was a freshman coming in here. Now, I’m a senior, four years. It hasn’t hit me yet. I still have another year of eligibility left, but we’ll see. I’ll graduate first. There’s a lot of unknown here.”
Key is the fourth Buckeye to announce his departure, joining Bowen Hardman, Scotty Middleton and Roddy Gayle.
James in the portal
Bronny James, who played his freshman season at USC, announced Friday that he intends to declare for the NBA draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility and entering the transfer portal.
In his season with the Trojans, James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 36.6% from the floor and 26.7% from 3-point range. He appeared in 25 games after he went into cardiac arrest during the preseason – the result, doctors said, of a treatable heart defect. James was cleared to play roughly four months later.
The son of NBA great Lebron James, Bronny James heavily considered Ohio State out of high school before signing with the Trojans. The Buckeyes are likely to look at pursuing him a second time, The Dispatch has learned.
ajardy@dispatch.com