First-year guard Bowen Hardman is No. 12 in The Dispatch's preseason Ohio State men's basketball power rankings.
Hardman played his way onto Ohio State’s radar after a strong performance at team camp during the summer leading into his freshman season at Cincinnati Princeton and landed a scholarship offer that fall while on an unofficial visit. He averaged 5.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 24 games including two starts as a freshman and grew his production to 12.1 points per game as a sophomore while shooting 45.9% from the field, 38.5% from the perimeter and 95.7% from the free-throw line.
A significant leg injury suffered during the second game of the year limited his senior season, sidelining him for eight weeks and allowing him to show, in his own estimation “less than 20%” of his total game that season Hardman wasn’t able to take his official visit to Ohio State until June, 2021, more than a year after he had committed to the program
“Thinking about my dad, he would’ve been 110% on board with me in knowing I’m in great hands with Holtmann and all of them,” Hardman told The Dispatch when he committed.