The room was decked out in scarlet and gray and several calls of "O-H!" were followed quickly with "I-O!" at Princeton High School Wednesday.
After committing in May 2020, 6-foot-5 Viking shooting guard Bowen Hardman officially signed his national letter of intent to play for Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann.
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Bowen Hardman:Princeton shooting guard commits to Ohio State
"I think they've got a guy that definitely helps offensive-wise," Hardman said. "I think I bring great character to the table. I'm trying to be the best I can possibly be, a player that's going to do stuff on and off the court to help the team win."
Bowen was with his mother Dawn and two sisters. His father David was a 1993 Princeton grad who had coached at Western Hills. Though David died before Bowen's sophomore year, Princeton Superintendent Tom Burton assured him he was watching from above, thankful that all of the shots hoisted paid off in a scholarship.
His mother Dawn had hugs and tears of joy for her sharpshooting son.
"I'm very excited for him to start his new journey," Dawn Hardman said. "We'll definitely miss him at home, but he's only 86 minutes away from me. I feel this is a great thing for him."
Bowen Hardman is starting his fourth year on Princeton's varsity. Though he's always had a knack of knocking down shots on the perimeter, he feels he's stepped up his game for his senior run.
"I can definitely drive the ball better," Hardman said. "That's a big emphasis. And defend. The shot will be there and we'll always work on the shot. I think the drive is huge, especially going to the non-dominant side, the left hand."
He also said he would work on finishing near the rim with Ohio State's Holtmann emphasizing more weight training.
Hardman averaged 15.1 points per game last season, hitting 37% of his three-pointers and 82.4 from the free-throw line. He shot 39.5 on 3-pointers and 92% from the line as a sophomore.
His high game was 25 against Edgewood last season and he had five or more threes in a game five times last winter, including six in Princeton's season finale against Hamilton.
Princeton was limited to 14 games last season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Hardman is bullish on this season's Vikes.
"Adding Riley Woods and Rodney Harris back is huge," Hardman said. "Definitely adding Isaiah Meyers from Colerain is huge and sophomore Dorian Williams is talented. I think we'll have a pretty good year and a pretty good run."
First things first, coach Bryan Wyant needs to wait for some of his players to finish the football season. The gridiron Vikings take on Moeller in a regional semifinal Friday night in Mason.
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