Connor Lemons
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BOOM! 2025 four-star guard, Cleveland native Dorian Jones commits to Ohio State
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy Dorian Jones on Instagram (d1.reaper)
The 216 to 614 pipeline remains strong with Jake Diebler’s second high school commitment as head coach.
While Ohio State has already locked up one commitment from an elite Ohio prospect in 2026 guard Marcus Johnson (Garfield Heights), the 2025 class is even more loaded with highly talented players than the class after it. Many of those players are either from Ohio or have Ohio ties, which makes the Buckeye state one of the most targeted areas for high major coaches at the moment.
One of the most highly sought after Ohioans in the 2025 class went off the board on Monday morning, as combo guard Dorian Jones out of Richmond Heights High School in Cleveland announced he will sign with head coach Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes. Jones is the second major commitment for Diebler and staff since he was hired, after Johnson committed in April.
Jones is the second-highest ranked player in the state of Ohio in 2025, is the No. 12 shooting guard in the class, and the No. 72 overall player in the class, per 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is the first member of Ohio State’s 2025 class, which is almost certain to be a small one considering there are 10 players on this year’s team who could return in 2025. The Buckeyes are likely to take at least one more player in the 2025 class, but that may be all for that cycle.
At 6-foot-4 and 165 pounds, Jones is growing into a long, athletic guard, but will need to add some weight before next summer. His Instagram account and Twitter both use the moniker “D.1 Reaper” as a reference to his tall, lanky frame. Jones picked Ohio State after cutting his list down to a final four of Rutgers, Missouri, Michigan, and the Buckeyes. Jones visited all of those programs in an official capacity except Michigan.
Ohio State has been involved with the recruitment of Jones for longer than any of the other finalists, having offered him a scholarship in the spring of 2022. He has visited campus in an unofficial capacity several times, but his official visit in May of the year was more to get to know Diebler’s new staff and talk about Jones “as a person” rather than as a basketball.
“Just them worrying about me as a person, instead of just growing as a basketball player. Worrying about me as a man.” Jones told the Columbus Dispatch in May.
Jones also told the Dispatch after his OV that the staff spent time with him watching film and working on how to be more dangerous without the ball in his hands, and that Diebler reached out almost immediately after he was hired to re-establish that they still wanted him to be a Buckeye, even though a different head coach made him his Ohio State offer two years ago.
The rising senior was named first team All-Ohio in Division IV last season, helping lead Richmond Heights to a state championship at UD Arena this spring. He averaged 14.1 points last season and scored 13 points in the state championship game. Jones plays AAU basketball for the All-Ohio Red program, which is the same summer team that current Buckeye Devin Royal played for, as well as fellow Ohio State target and Richmond Heights teammate, TJ Crumble (2026).
Jones projects as a high-level shooter who can also guard multiple positions because of his 6-foot-10 wingspan but relatively thin frame. This fits the mold of the “3 and D” wings teams love to draft in the modern NBA.
In the short term, Jones could join a backcourt next year that would include a fourth-year Bruce Thornton, third-year Taison Chatman, and second-year Juni Mobley. While he may not be asked to step in and play major minutes, Chatman’s injury history also means that Jones could slide in and earn some valuable minutes right away on Jake Diebler’s second team ever.
Ohio State is now the fourth Big Ten program to land a 2025 commitment and the only Big Ten program to have a 2025 and 2026 commitment.
You can check out some of Jones’ highlights at the City of Palms Classic from earlier this year below:
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy Dorian Jones on Instagram (d1.reaper)
The 216 to 614 pipeline remains strong with Jake Diebler’s second high school commitment as head coach.
While Ohio State has already locked up one commitment from an elite Ohio prospect in 2026 guard Marcus Johnson (Garfield Heights), the 2025 class is even more loaded with highly talented players than the class after it. Many of those players are either from Ohio or have Ohio ties, which makes the Buckeye state one of the most targeted areas for high major coaches at the moment.
One of the most highly sought after Ohioans in the 2025 class went off the board on Monday morning, as combo guard Dorian Jones out of Richmond Heights High School in Cleveland announced he will sign with head coach Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes. Jones is the second major commitment for Diebler and staff since he was hired, after Johnson committed in April.
Jones is the second-highest ranked player in the state of Ohio in 2025, is the No. 12 shooting guard in the class, and the No. 72 overall player in the class, per 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is the first member of Ohio State’s 2025 class, which is almost certain to be a small one considering there are 10 players on this year’s team who could return in 2025. The Buckeyes are likely to take at least one more player in the 2025 class, but that may be all for that cycle.
At 6-foot-4 and 165 pounds, Jones is growing into a long, athletic guard, but will need to add some weight before next summer. His Instagram account and Twitter both use the moniker “D.1 Reaper” as a reference to his tall, lanky frame. Jones picked Ohio State after cutting his list down to a final four of Rutgers, Missouri, Michigan, and the Buckeyes. Jones visited all of those programs in an official capacity except Michigan.
Ohio State has been involved with the recruitment of Jones for longer than any of the other finalists, having offered him a scholarship in the spring of 2022. He has visited campus in an unofficial capacity several times, but his official visit in May of the year was more to get to know Diebler’s new staff and talk about Jones “as a person” rather than as a basketball.
“Just them worrying about me as a person, instead of just growing as a basketball player. Worrying about me as a man.” Jones told the Columbus Dispatch in May.
Jones also told the Dispatch after his OV that the staff spent time with him watching film and working on how to be more dangerous without the ball in his hands, and that Diebler reached out almost immediately after he was hired to re-establish that they still wanted him to be a Buckeye, even though a different head coach made him his Ohio State offer two years ago.
The rising senior was named first team All-Ohio in Division IV last season, helping lead Richmond Heights to a state championship at UD Arena this spring. He averaged 14.1 points last season and scored 13 points in the state championship game. Jones plays AAU basketball for the All-Ohio Red program, which is the same summer team that current Buckeye Devin Royal played for, as well as fellow Ohio State target and Richmond Heights teammate, TJ Crumble (2026).
Jones projects as a high-level shooter who can also guard multiple positions because of his 6-foot-10 wingspan but relatively thin frame. This fits the mold of the “3 and D” wings teams love to draft in the modern NBA.
In the short term, Jones could join a backcourt next year that would include a fourth-year Bruce Thornton, third-year Taison Chatman, and second-year Juni Mobley. While he may not be asked to step in and play major minutes, Chatman’s injury history also means that Jones could slide in and earn some valuable minutes right away on Jake Diebler’s second team ever.
Ohio State is now the fourth Big Ten program to land a 2025 commitment and the only Big Ten program to have a 2025 and 2026 commitment.
You can check out some of Jones’ highlights at the City of Palms Classic from earlier this year below:
Continue reading...