That Ohio State Player Who Went Viral For Slapping The Floor on Defense? He Hurt His Shoulder So Badly Doing It He's Out for the Season
[Columbus Dispatch] Ohio State sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate will miss the rest of the season and will undergo surgery Friday to repair a left shoulder injury.
The news was announced Tuesday night before Ohio State played No. 6 Michigan State at Value City Arena.
The news delivers a serious blow to Ohio State’s already thin chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes likely needed to win two of their final three games and at least a game or two in the Big Ten tournament in order to play themselves onto the bubble.
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Damn, the Basketball Gods are some cruel motherfuckers. As if Jae’Sean Tate wasn’t punished enough by getting embarrassed and going super viral, tweeted around the internet all weekend long and ending up all over ESPN. Now we’re adding a season ending shoulder injury to the mix?
He was removed from a game Saturday at Nebraska with 1:47 left in the first half in obvious pain. After reaching around a defender to throw a pass with his dominant, left hand, Tate ran up the floor and immediately came out of the game.
He was crouched past the baseline with athletic trainer Vince O’Brien and bounced up and down for about a minute before grabbing a seat on the bench. He received more attention from O’Brien and did not return for the remainder of the half.
Tate was the last player to emerge from the locker room after halftime for the Buckeyes, but he started the half. He appeared to aggravate the injury during the final minutes of the second half when he pounded the court while guarding Tai Webster beyond the three-point arc.
Tate came away from the play grimacing and after talking with coach Thad Matta on the sideline was taken out for four seconds before returning and playing the remainder of the second half and the entirety of overtime.
That’s cold man. Real cold. Dude started all 28 games this season and averaged a solid 12 and 6, but the legacy we’re left with now is “Jae’Sean Tate? Oh he’s the dude who broke his arm slapping the floor on the defense while the guy blew by him? Yeah I tweeted a GIF of that idiot.”
Good lesson for the kids out there though. Unless you play for Duke and are trying to cement supervillain status, don’t slap the floor on D. And DEFINITELY don’t do it if you have a long history of bad shoulder problems.