Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann announced on Tuesday that forward Seth Towns will miss the remainder of the season due to a back issue.
“He’s going to continue to rehab and will do everything he can to return to full health,” Holtmann said. “I’m disappointed for Seth. I know he’s had a go of rough injuries. He’s a terrific young man and has really worked at this thing.”
Towns has missed every game this season due to an ongoing knee injury that both he and Holtmann were hoping would be healed well enough for him to play at some point this year. And while the knee was feeling as good as it has in a long time, it was the back issue that ultimately did Towns in.
“This was something we just got news on in the last 24 hours. Up until that point we assumed that he was going to be able to return at some point,” Holtmann said. “The doctors just said, ‘Hey, let’s just shut you down and focus on rehab.’ They evaluated him early this week within the last 24-36 hours and that was the evaluation they made. There was no setback.”
Towns’ career has been beset by injuries and this back issue is the latest chapter. He has played in just 25 games in his two years as a Buckeye and averaged 3.8 points per game. Expectations were larger for him this season, but it just wasn’t to be.
Fortunately for Towns, it doesn’t seem to be career-threatening according to Holtmann. As to his future, it will be up to Towns whether or not to continue playing.
“That’ll be his decision. This is by no means a career-ending injury for Seth,” Holtmann said. “For him, it’s disappointing that he didn’t get a chance to get out there with his teammates and perform because he worked all summer for that. I’m optimistic that there will be brighter days for him.”