Jae'Sean Tate, the Pulse of the Ohio State Men's Basketball Team, Opens Up About His New Coach and Family Tragedy

BTN's “The Journey” is by far the best thing the network produces. This week, they feature Jae'Sean Tate, the emotional leader of the Ohio State men's basketball team.

Tate opens up about the departure of Thad Matta and the uncertainty he felt at the time.

“Definitely, I had the most concern of what was going to happen. I actually met with Mr. Gene Smith by myself. He said, ‘Look guys, I know this is weird, this is different, but you guys have to trust me. I'm not going to set you up to fail. I'm going to bring in the right guy.’”

The episode also sees Tate discuss the tragic loss of his mother, Cori Key, who was murdered by her boyfriend when Tate was eight.

“I just broke down and cried and I cried in that back seat for a long time.”

Jae'Sean would move in with his father and stepmother, providing crucial support for Tate as he grieved the loss of his mother.

“I had to do counseling,” Tate says in the video. “I had very bad anger management at times and I'm just glad Janice was there for me. She was patient with me. A lot of people don't give credit to stepparents, but that's a hard job to do.”