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SG Malaki Branham (B1G Freshman of the Year, San Antonio Spurs)

with all this talk about incoming transfers and already having 2 commitments for next year I sure as heck hope they do not forget about Branham
Branham could be the next domino to fall. He is rated as the No. 23 overall player and No. 4 shooting guard. He’s taken multiple trips to Columbus and has been one of the main targets of Etzler since he committed last May.

The Buckeyes were the first major college program to offer Branham, who now holds from 10 schools, including Illinois, Maryland, Michigan and Michigan State. Branham is coming off of a season where he had the Irish primed for another state championship while averaging 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Projecting Ohio State basketball’s 2020-21 roster: Could Buckeyes have an All-Ohio 2021 recruiting class?
 
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not that i was assuming branham would be a buckeye, but i do wonder if branham-to-osu depends on the availability of freshman playing time. as a freshman, he'd be competing against 5 senior combo/wings (washington, towns, sueing, jallow, and ahrens) and 1 sophomore (brown). good luck finding another program with as much experienced wing talent as our projected 2021-22 team.

if branham sees himself as a one-and-done player, then i think osu has pretty much no shot. why would he go to osu just to sit on the bench or get scattershot minutes? on the other hand, if he seems himself playing at least two years of college ball, then the world is his after the freshman season.

however this recruitment shakes out, i think osu has a much tougher "sell" than initially assumed. top-30 players generally want clear(er) paths to immediate playing time. our best shot at a 2021 wing might be a player ranked a bit lower.
 
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I agree. Maybe guys transfer or get injured or go pro or look awful here, but if Branham decides this summer or fall, how will he know any of that? He will just see a pretty uninviting roster as far as his first (and possibly only) season is concerned.
 
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msu picked up a commitment from 4-star shooting guard pierre brooks. though msu has not offered branham and probably won't now that they have their guy, i think they would have been a major contender for branham had izzo thrown his hat in the ring. my guess it ultimately comes down to osu, louisville, ttun, florida, and bama... unless, of course, a blue blood decides to throw their weight around. regardless, osu is up against some strong competition. obviously hope that he chooses the good guys, but my money is on louisville.
 
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msu picked up a commitment from 4-star shooting guard pierre brooks. though msu has not offered branham and probably won't now that they have their guy, i think they would have been a major contender for branham had izzo thrown his hat in the ring. my guess it ultimately comes down to osu, louisville, ttun, florida, and bama... unless, of course, a blue blood decides to throw their weight around. regardless, osu is up against some strong competition. obviously hope that he chooses the good guys, but my money is on louisville.
Sort of interesting that Izzo did not throw out an offer to Branham hard to believe that Brooks is better then branham Maybe he just does not fit Izzo's style of play but some things are just strange to me. I just hope that we have enough room for him if Holtmann can pull off a minor miracle
 
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