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Father of Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell denies report that son is considering transfer to Illinois
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A recent report indicated that Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell might be considering a transfer to B1G foe Illinois before the start of the 2021-22 college basketball season. Liddell’s father says that’s not the case, though.
Over the weekend, the Champaign-Urbana (Illinois) News-Gazette reported that Liddell “and his Belleville family have engaged in serious discussions about him transferring to Illinois.” That has sparked some buzz about the Illini landing one of the best big men from the conference from last season.
However, Liddell’s father, Eric, has denied the report and rumors.
“No, he’s not going to Illinois,” Eric Liddell told The Columbus Dispatch. “We haven’t talked to not one person from Illinois. That hasn’t even been in our household. We’re just testing the waters right now.”
Following last season, Liddell entered his name into the NBA Draft to receive an evaluation and test the waters. He retained his college eligibility so that he could return to Ohio State if that was his best option.
Another reason the rumors sparks about E.J. Liddell is because he was seen on campus at the University of Illinois in April. But Eric Liddell denies that had anything to do with a potential transfer situation.
“E.J. had a hat on his head,” Eric told The Dispatch. “He had a hood over his hat. He has his mask on, trying for nobody to see him because he knew stuff like this was going to happen. No, nobody has talked to no Illinois about him transferring. Nowhere near that.”
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB