Sean Stewart ready to showcase full skill set with fresh start at Ohio State

COLUMBUS — Sean Stewart dreamed of playing at Duke. He grew up on the same street in Windermere, Florida, as two-time national champion and program legend Grant Hill. Stewart fell in love with Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2015 when Hill took him to see the Blue Devils in action.

Eight years later, Stewart made his debut in Durham. Wearing a Duke uniform is an opportunity he didn’t take for granted. It’s one he’s sincerely appreciative of — even if it lasted just one season.

Stewart averaged only 8.3 minutes and, as a result, just 2.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game as a freshman. Although he played a part in Duke’s Elite Eight run, the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 17 overall prospect in the 2023 class didn’t have a chance to showcase his full skill set in 2023-24.

The borderline five-star forward is looking for a bigger role in Year 2.

“It’s just time for a fresh start,” Stewart told Lettermen Row Thursday. “I love Duke with all my heart. It was my dream school. And I’m glad I got to play for the team.”

Stewart reiterated: “But I think it’s just time for a fresh start.”

He’ll get that fresh start at Ohio State. Stewart committed to the Buckeyes Friday and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-9, 227-pound Stewart is excited for an opportunity to play for new Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler, who was his lead recruiter during his high school recruitment.

Stewart seriously considered the Buckeyes the first time around but chose Duke over Ohio State as well as Michigan. On the second go, Ohio State got his pledge instead of Georgetown and Cincinnati — plus Miami and Georgia Tech, which he also looked at — and he believes Columbus is where he can take the next step in his career.

So does his father, Michael Stewart, who spent eight years in the NBA and knows that Sean’s one-year snapshot at Duke isn’t representative of his game.

“Sean can do more than run and dunk,” Michael told Lettermen Row Thursday. “Sean has a pretty diverse offensive skill set. If you watch some of the things he was able to do in high school, I thought he was one of the best kind of mid-post face-up players in the country: 17 feet and in, rip throughs, one, two dribbles, getting to the basket, pull-up jump shots — I thought he was really good at that.

“Last year, he didn’t have an opportunity to show much of that. So I think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised at how advanced his offensive game is.”

Sean shot 36-of-63, or 57.1%, from the field during his freshman campaign at Duke, with all but three of those makes counting as “Close 2s,” according to BartTorvik. Even though he was third on the team with 14 dunks, the Montverde Academy product attempted just 12 shots BartTorvik qualifies as “Far 2s,” and he made just three field goals from that range. He didn’t take a single 3-pointer.

Sean is working with a shooting coach this month to expand his range, particularly so that he can make an impact beyond the arc, but he’s already confident in his mid-range ability, which was on display even before he transferred to Montverde. He spent the first three years of his high school career at Windermere High School in Lake Butler, Florida, and notably averaged 20.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game as a junior.

Sean also feels like he can tap into his ball handling chops next season at Ohio State, especially after pulling down rebounds.

“I have the ability to get a rebound, push the break to a guard instead of just waiting for guard to come get it straight off the rebound,” Sean explained. “So just a lot of stuff I didn’t get to show last year that I’m going to work on this summer and work my butt off and show everybody this year.”

Sean Stewart throws down a dunk against La Salle during the 2023-24 season. (Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)

‘I think he’s one of the best defenders in the country’

While Sean wasn’t able to demonstrate his complete offensive package last season, he did tease his game-changing defensive talent.

He registered a 6.2% block percentage and a 3.7% steal percentage, according to Sports Reference, ranking first and second, respectively, among all Duke rotational players in 2023-24.

“I think he’s one of the best defenders in the country,” said Michael, who set the all-time blocks record at Cal back in the ’90s. “He can guard one through five legitimately. I think he showed that every time he was on the court last year, and definitely in high school. He can guard centers. He can switch and guard anybody on the court. I think there’ll be an evolution to that part of his game as well, regarding pick-and-rolls, chasing guys off screens. I legitimately think he can guard anybody on the floor.”

That defensive versatility will come in handy. Diebler not only likes to a deep rotation, but he’s not married to players playing specific positions, either. To him, Sean is a frontcourt weapon, in general.

So is Kentucky transfer Aaron Bradshaw, the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 4 overall prospect in the 2023 class who joined the Buckeyes earlier this offseason. Bradshaw stands 7-foot-1, can stretch the floor, brings great energy every time he’s on the hardwood and is extremely athletic like Sean.

“Me and Aaron are really versatile players,” Sean said. “So I feel like it’s gonna be a really good combination in the frontcourt.”

Sean Stewart during the 2023 McDonald’s All American game at Toyota Center in Houston Texas. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

Sean Stewart’s prior relationships with current Buckeyes + why Jake Diebler stood out in the transfer portal

Bradshaw and Sean aren’t great friends yet, but Sean knows they will be. And that’s because they already shared a team together. They played alongside one another in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American game.

Sean is tied to more than just one current Buckeyes player. In fact, guard Meechie Johnson — who transferred back to Ohio State earlier this offseason after starring at South Carolina — hosted Sean on his visit to the Buckeyes when Sean was a high school junior. Sean noted that Johnson has texted him a few times while he’s been in the portal, checking in to see if Sean likes his fit at Ohio State.

There’s one more player connection, too.

Point guard Bruce Thornton, a two-time captain and the face of Buckeyes men’s basketball at the moment, played for the same AAU program as Sean. Sean’s squad was called the Florida Rebels, and he was in the U-16 division, and Thornton played for Each One Teach One in the U-17 division. But they got to know each other a bit on the circuit.

Sean’s pre-existing relationship with Diebler, however, stood out the most.

“I entered the portal the 19th [of April], which is relatively late to everybody else, because we were playing pretty far into the season. It’s been a lot quicker of a process. You got to get to know people faster. So we really valued prior relationships, which is why Ohio State was a really good fit because Diebler was my main recruiter coming out of high school. We talked almost basically every day.

“For him to call me, and for him to be the head coach, it was a great relationship we already had. It was something that we talked about a lot.”

Diebler’s transition from associate head coach to interim head coach to full-time head coach last season was unorthodox, and it’s certainly made for an overwhelming start to 2024. But that transition is also helping the 37-year-old in the recruiting realm. Because the words Diebler first spoke to Sean three years ago on the trail now carry even more weight since Diebler is the head coach.

“We were looking for a place that could could utilize [Sean’s] skill set a little bit better, give him an opportunity to play a little bit more and also just continue his growth and development as a young man, a student and an athlete,” Michael said. “Diebler laid out a comprehensive plan for how they were going to help him get that done. And not just coach Diebler, but his entire staff.”

Michael continued: “The whole thing is kind of crazy, because you have a couple of weeks to digest as much as you can and make a decision. So it was honestly really important for us that Coach Diebler was still there, because we had a relationship with him. We trusted him. That’s the hardest thing to do in such a short time period.”

Montverde Academy forward Sean Stewart (left) and IMG Academy forward Amier Ali (right) battle for positioning during the Sunshine Classic basketball tournament at Mills Championship Court on the campus of Montverde Academy in December 2022. (Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)

Diebler led Ohio State to an 8-3 record — and to the NCAA Tournament bubble — in his 11 games as interim/full-time head coach last season after Chris Holtmann was fired on Feb. 14. Michael said the increased tempo Diebler’s team played with, as well as the trust Diebler puts in his players, are both appealing to Sean.

Sean can change ends well. Couple that with his ability to play above the rim, and you have you have a lob threat on the break as well as a frontcourt player who’s going to get back to help protect the rim on the other end.

“There was some guys who hadn’t played a lot of minutes before Diebler took over,” Michael said. “Once he took over, guys like [freshman forward] Devin Royal, who hadn’t played a whole lot, he put trust in him. He poured confidence into him. And you can see the results.”

Michael added: “[Sean] spent a lot of minutes on the bench last year. He’s gonna be shot out of a cannon. He’s ready to get there, get to work, engage with the guys and engage with the coaching staff and hopefully have a great season next year.”

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