E. J. Liddell

Eric "E. J." Liddell Jr. (born December 18, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

E. J. Liddell
Liddell with Ohio State in 2022
No. 32 – New Orleans Pelicans
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-12-18) December 18, 2000
Belleville, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High schoolBelleville West
(Belleville, Illinois)
CollegeOhio State (2019–2022)
NBA draft2022: 2nd round, 41st overall pick
Selected by the New Orleans Pelicans
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022–presentNew Orleans Pelicans
2022–2023→Birmingham Squadron
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Liddell was raised in Belleville, Illinois, and went to high school at Belleville High School-West.[2] He averaged 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a junior, won the 2018 Illinois Mr. Basketball award,[3] shared the 2018 St. Louis Post Dispatch Player of the Year with Courtney Ramey,[4] and won the Illinois 4A class state championship.[5] As a senior, he averaged 20.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. For the second year in a row, he won Illinois Mr. Basketball,[6] the St. Louis Post Dispatch Player of the Year,[7] and the Illinois 4A class state championship.[3]

Recruiting

Liddell was a consensus four-star recruit and ranked the best player in the state of Illinois. On October 1, 2018, Liddell committed to playing college basketball for Ohio State over scholarship offers from teams such as Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin.[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
E. J. Liddell
PF		 Belleville, IL Belleville West (IL) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oct 1, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 89
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 41  247Sports: 60  ESPN: 38
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Ohio State 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  • "2019 Ohio State Buckeyes Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

College career
Liddell with Ohio State in 2020

Liddell came off the bench during his freshman year, averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He played in all 31 games and was second on the team with 29 blocks.[3][9] He had a double-double in a win against Illinois.[10]

During the early parts of his sophomore season, he contracted mononucleosis, which led to Liddell being out for several games.[11] He had another good game against Illinois during his sophomore year, scoring a season-high 26 points in a win.[12] Liddell averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game during his sophomore season.[9] After Ohio State's Round of 64 loss to Oral Roberts, Liddell received threats from basketball fans via social media. After he posted screenshots of the threats on Twitter, Ohio State reached out to law enforcement regarding the threats.[13]

On March 31, 2021, Liddell declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[14] He later withdrew from the draft and announced that would return to Ohio State for his junior season. On January 9, 2022, Liddell scored a career-high 34 points in a 95–87 win against Northwestern.[15] He was named to the First Team All-Big Ten.[16] As a junior, he averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. On March 25, 2022, Liddell declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[17]

Professional career

New Orleans Pelicans (2022–present)

Liddell was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. During an NBA Summer League game against the Atlanta Hawks on July 11, 2022, Liddell suffered a torn ACL.[18] On October 16, he signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans.[19]

On July 6, 2023, Liddell signed a multi-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.[20]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Ohio State 31016.6.464.192.7183.8.5.4.96.7
2020–21 Ohio State 292929.4.474.338.7466.71.8.71.116.2
2021–22 Ohio State 323233.2.490.374.7657.92.5.62.619.4
Career 926126.4.480.341.7496.11.6.51.614.1

References
  1. "Former Ohio State forward EJ Liddell agrees to three-year deal with New Orleans Pelicans".
  2. Emerson, Jack (9 September 2020). "Men's Basketball: E.J. Liddell gets more opportunity to shine in sophomore campaign". The Lantern.
  3. "E.J. Liddell-Ohio State Men's Basketball". Ohio State Athletics. 8 July 2019.
  4. Kvidahl, David (March 31, 2018). "All-Metro boys basketball co-players of the year: Ramey, Liddell cemented legacies". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  5. Harrison, Phil (17 March 2019). "Ohio State basketball recruit E.J. Liddell's team wins Illinois state championship". Buckeyes Wire.
  6. Criddle, Dean. "Two players have won Mr. Illinois Basketball twice. West's Liddell is now one of them". Belleville News–Democrat.
  7. Kvidahl, David (31 March 2019). "All-Metro boys basketball player of the year: Belleville West's Liddell leaves a legacy few can rival". St. Louis High School Sports.
  8. Criddle, Dean. "EJ Liddell picks Ohio State over Illini, Missouri". Belleville News-Democrat.
  9. "E.J. Liddell College Stats". Sports Reference.
  10. Murphy, Patrick. "EJ Liddell puts it together in breakout performance vs. Illinois". Bucknuts.
  11. Jardy, Adam. "Ohio State's E.J. Liddell full-steam ahead for Big Ten play after playing through illness". BuckeyeXtra.
  12. "E.J. Liddell fuels No. 21 Ohio State past No. 14 Illinois". Reuters. 16 January 2021.
  13. "Source: Ohio State reaches out to police after E.J. Liddell received threatening tweets following NCAA tournament loss". ESPN.com. March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  14. Zucker, Joseph. "Ohio State's E.J. Liddell Will Enter Name in 2021 NBA Draft". Bleacher Report.
  15. "Liddell leads No. 13 Ohio State past Northwestern 95–87". ESPN. Associated Press. January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  16. "2021-22 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  17. Chavkin, Daniel (March 25, 2022). "Ohio State Star Forward E.J. Liddell Announces Decision to Enter NBA Draft". SI.com. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  18. @PelicansNBA (July 13, 2022). "E.J. Liddell will be out indefinitely after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee. An MRI done last night confirmed the injury, which occurred during the third quarter of yesterday's Summer League game against the Atlanta Hawks" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "Pelicans sign E.J. Liddell to two-way contract". NBA.com. October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  20. "Pelicans sign E.J. Liddell to a multi year contract". NBA.com. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
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