Jack Nicklaus explains why he chose golf over Ohio State basketball

In a different universe, Jack Nicklaus might have excelled at a different sport at Ohio State.

While golf was his biggest passion, Nicklaus also excelled as a shooting guard for the Upper Arlington basketball team. He was an honorable mention All-Ohio pick as a senior, drawing the attention of Buckeyes coach Fred Taylor as Taylor was putting together an historic recruiting class.

“I was recruited by Ohio State for basketball along with Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, and all those guys,” Nicklaus said in a 2024 interview with the PGA Tour’s social media channels.

One of those recruited alongside Nicklaus joined him in an exclusive club within the last year. In November, Lucas was honored with a statue in his likeness outside the Jerome Schottenstein Center. That building sits across the street on Ohio State’s campus from the Jack Nicklaus Museum, which features a likeness of its namesake.

“That’s very nice,” Nicklaus said at a May 6 press conference previewing the 50th year of the Memorial Tournament. “He should have been honored.”

Lucas and Havlicek were sophomores on the 1960 Ohio State team that won the program’s only national championship. In 1961, the Buckeyes finished as runner-up to Cincinnati while Nicklaus won the 1961 NCAA title before turning pro, starting a lengthy career as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

He’s remained in contact with Lucas, helping him with some of the childhood educational programs Lucas has spearheaded.

Lucas joined Nicklaus, track and field’s Jesse Owens, football’s Archie Griffin and Woody Hayes as Buckeye athletes or coaches with statues on campus, and Nicklaus knows he might not be on that list had he made a different decision.

“You look at [Lucas and Havlicek], that’s why I didn’t play basketball,” he said of the two former players who stood 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-5, respectively. “I would have had splinters from sitting on the bench with those guys.”

Had he played basketball at Ohio State, Nicklaus said he would’ve been the “ninth or tenth” player for Taylor. Golf provided a better alternative.

“I didn't want to be ninth or tenth man,” he said. “I wanted golf, [where] I could be at the top of my game. But it was fun being recruited and fun playing against some of those guys, and through the high school years.”

Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jack Nicklaus chose golf over Ohio State basketball