COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The buzzer sounded inside the Schottenstein Center and fans began flooding the court; the Ohio State women had just upset Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

As the cheers and dancing began at center court, in the middle of it all, there was a smaller yet more meaningful celebration: one by one, each Buckeye player bent down to embrace 7-year-old Landon McChesney as he could barely contain his excitement in his wheelchair.

“Yeah buddy, we won!” Ohio State sophomore Cotie McMahon shouted with her hands on Landon’s shoulders after getting her celebratory squeeze. Then a hug and a kiss from guard Rikki Harris and another hug from senior forward Rebeka Mikulasikova.

“He’s a part of the family,” Harris said. “He’s not just a part of the team, he’s part of our family. We love him and we just always look forward to seeing him. So he comes to practice every once in a while. He’s at the games and whenever, we make sure he’s at the game, we always run to him after the game because it’s always nice to see him being able to come out here and support us with what he has gone on.”

Landon has a rare genetic disorder that causes devastating neurologic decline including major functional disabilities. There is no official name, no official treatment, and before 2021, there wasn’t any funding.

In November 2021, Landon went viral when his father took a sign about him to College GameDay at The Horseshoe, and the sign made it on camera behind Kirk Herbstreit. After that, the funds came, medical help came, and then, in the spring of 2022, Landon came to help the basketball Buckeyes.

“We just showed up to practice and this was a natural occurrence,” Landon’s mom, Jaren McChesney, said. “I just stepped back and they all just surrounded him with love.”

“It just like helps me remember where we were at when we first met him,” Harris said.

In 2022, Ohio State women’s basketball was coming off a self-imposed postseason ban for the 2020-2021 season due to NCAA violations. Not all programs recover easily, or in some cases at all, from something like that, but the Buckeyes went to work practicing, pressing, and with perspective.

“He’s been through this every step of the way with us. So it just shows us that, like, we still have our people here that was with us from day one and he’s been a big support, him and his family,” Harris said.

“We had a lot of ups and downs, he goes through ups and downs, too,” Ohio State senior forward Eboni Walker said. “But being able to smile through it, push through it, and be better the next day, I really think we took from him as well.”

Now many better days later, the Buckeyes are one of the best teams in the country and are preparing to host the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. Ohio State has not been seeded that high since 2010.

Their ranking may have risen, but thanks to Landon, the Buckeyes have stayed grounded and that is what they believe will get them to the top.

That, and some extra coaching from the other sideline.

“Like, we watch him on the [sideline] to make sure he’s approving of our play,” Walker said laughing. “You know, if he’s mad, then we know we’re doing something wrong and you don’t want to let someone like him down.”

“At the games, he’s locked in. I mean he’s following every play back and forth, following the ball,” Jaren McChesney said. “Like Rikki got fouled and it was like she dropped [to the ground] and then everyone was [yelling] and he started crying because he’s an empath to the very extreme where if you are upset, he gets upset or if he feels like there is something wrong, he just starts to cry. He was genuinely sad for Rikki, like feeling the emotions and tracking and understanding what’s going on, like, ‘Oh this arena feels bad and my friend is on the ground!’ He’s picking up on cues and it’s fascinating.”

“He actually understands it!” Harris added. “He hits his buttons [on his chair screen]. He tells us how good we’re doing and what we need to do. So I think it’s just amazing he’s allowed to be a part of that with us.”

The Buckeyes also make sure to be a part of Landon’s life as well. They have gone to events for his LandOn a Cure Foundation. They have gone to his school to talk to and play with the students. They’ve even gone to his birthday parties.

“We went skating for his birthday and I got to skate with him and it was a blast,” Harris said. “He had so much fun and I think I may have had more fun with him and I was just watching him skate!”

“It’s so much more than basketball,” Walker said. “Just little reasons like Landon right here is why I do what I do.”

The Buckeyes are still practicing and pressing; but now, they are also dancing into the NCAA Tournament with Landon there every step of the way.

“It’s in his face. He’s always smiling. He’s never not smiling when he’s with us,” Harris said. “It’s contagious.”

For more information on the LandOn a Cure Foundation, follow this link.