TCU basketball’s Chuck O’Bannon is ready to carry on his family’s March Madness legacy
Charles O’Bannon is a proud father first and foremost, seeing his son Chuck and his TCU teammates living out their dreams by reaching college basketball’s biggest stage.
And Charles has no doubt that his son is ready to carry on the family’s March Madness legacy. Charles and his brother Ed were starters on the 1995 UCLA team that won the national championship.
Now Chuck is a starter on a TCU team that is searching for the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory in 35 years. The 9-seed Frogs face 8-seed Seton Hall in a South Region first-round matchup at 8:57 p.m. Friday at Viejas Arena.
“Chuck is built for these moments,” Charles said. “I’ve seen him hit many big shots to win games and win tournaments. This is nothing new for him. It’s just another big stage. He’s been on the big stage a number of times. He’s ready for this.
“He’s an O’Bannon. He was born for this.”
Nobody is bringing more confidence into the tournament than Chuck. He endured a shooting slump near the end of the season but scored a team-leading 15 points in TCU’s loss to Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Despite the loss, O’Bannon was among the bright spots by finishing 6 of 8 from the field. O’Bannon hadn’t made six shots from the field since a Jan. 29 game versus LSU.
“I’m glad that game happened for me personally,” said O’Bannon, who is averaging 9.2 points per game. “I needed to see stuff go in. I was obviously out of rhythm for a few games, so hopefully that KU game carries into March Madness.”
For O’Bannon, simply following in the footsteps of his dad and uncle by playing in the NCAA Tournament is an accomplishment.
O’Bannon is in his fifth year of playing college basketball, which would’ve been unthinkable when he left Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School as a five-star prospect in 2017.
O’Bannon started his college career at USC, but battled a number of injuries and eventually transferred to TCU before the 2020-21 season. He started 16 of 25 games for the Frogs last season, averaging 6.8 points.
O’Bannon looked like he might have a reduced role coming into this season, but he played his way into the starting lineup by mid-December and is averaging 23.6 minutes per game.
O’Bannon is on the short list of players that TCU would want taking a potential game-winning shot. Charles is hopeful that type of situation comes his son’s way during the tournament.
“No question,” Charles said. “I’m really just extremely proud for him because of his battle, his journey. From high school and being a McDonald’s All-American and having a lot of success to his first couple of years in college and not getting a chance to play because of injury and circumstance.
“He’s getting a chance now and everyone on the team is playing well. I’m so, so happy for him to finally make the tournament. There’s nothing like it. It’s such a great experience and I’m happy he’s able to experience this.”
Seton’s rim protector
A question thrown out to TCU coach Jamie Dixon and the players in the day-before news conference Thursday centered on Seton Hall’s 7-foot-2 center Ike Obiagu. He’s one of the best rim protectors in the country with 91 blocks, which ranks fifth in Seton Hall single-season history.
Obiagu has blocked 275 shots in his college career.
“We’ve gone up against a 7-footer but the mentality for each and every player is still to be aggressive,” TCU junior forward Emanuel Miller said. “No matter who is in the paint, we have to have the mentality that we’ll get a bucket.”
Injury update
TCU sophomore guard Mike Miles said his left wrist and right ankle are good to go, but he’s still battling issues with his right (shooting hand) wrist.
“The right one still gives me problems, still hurts,” Miles said. “But I’ve been playing through it for about two months now, so it’s not going to change anything.”
