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OSU Men's Basketball Recruiting/Projections/General Discussions

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MaxBuck;2346225; said:
I'm thinking that ship has probably sailed, or we wouldn't be chasing other big men so hard this late in the game.
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I think that's incorrect, Matta has to have backup plans. Plus now that they have Russell, focus has changed to big men. With 2 potential spots, it doesn't hurt to offer other great bigs. The worst thing that could happen is landing multiple talented bigs.

Bottom line, Ohio State is very much in the Okafor derby, and have as good a chance as any other school.
 
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Rivals150 update: Okafor retains top spot

Still on top

More than likely, Jahlil Okafor would be the first to tell you that the spring of 2013 didn't go as he might have hoped. There weren't any issues with the play of the 6-foot-11 center from Chicago (Ill.) Whitney Young.

But he battled ankle problems that kept him from playing at 100 percent for the better part of April, May and June.

Now in Prague with USA Basketball's 19 and under national team, Okafor looks to be back to full health and primed for a big July.

Coming off a standout junior season, Okafor certainly had his moments on the spring circuit when he was healthy. Most of all, though, Okafor retains his spot at the top of the rankings because he is a unique prospect.

In an era where every big man wants to face up and show off their perimeter skills, Okafor is a true space-eating, back-to-the basket and highly skilled center who can score in bunches. His combination of size, skill and understanding of position is one that isn't seen very often and he looks like the type of player who could be dropped into a NBA game right now and hold his own.

Not surprisingly, Okafor's recruitment has gone through the roof. It's well known that he and the nation's No. 2 player -- 6-foot-1 point guard Tyus Jones out of Apple Valley (Minn.) High -- are likely to be a package deal for college and No. 16 Justise Winslow -- a small forward out of Houston -- could be joining them as well. So, there's a good chance that whatever school lands Okafor could really hit the lottery.

The schools left on Okafor's list of eight are Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State.
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http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/rankings/rank-2993

Of note:

#1 Jahlil Okafor (5-star)
#2 Tyus Jones (5)
#4 Cliff Alexander (5)
#6 Myles Turner (5)
#21 Craig Victor (5)
#22 Leron Black (5)
#23 Keita Bates-Diop (5)
#35 D'Angelo Russell (4)
#51 Paul White (4)
#52 Elbert Robinson (4)
#59 Jae'Sean Tate (4)
#87 Malik Price-Martin (4)
#91 Vince Edwards (4)
#116 David Bell (3)

I'm sure I missed a few but I think I hit the high points...nice to Keita get his 5th star.
 
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Thad Matta working his recruiting magic with Ohio State's 2014 class
With 4 verbal commitments, Matta's 2014 haul considered elite
Jul. 9, 2013
Written by
Staff and wire reports

COLUMBUS ? Thad Matta is demonstrating his recruiting prowess ? again ? with the Class of 2014.

The Ohio State basketball program has received four verbal commitments, the most recent from Louisville native D?Angelo Russell, who said in June that he would become a Buckeye.

Russell joins Keita Bates-Diop, Jae?Sean Tate and David Bell in a class rated the third-best in the nation, behind only North Carolina and Louisville, according to 24/7 Sports. Three of the four are consensus top-60 national recruits.

NCAA rules prohibit Matta from commenting on recruits until the players sign their National Letters of Intent in the fall.

Bates-Diop is the highest rated of the bunch, at No. 21 in the nation, according to ESPN.com. A composite of national recruiting services lists him as the 23rd-best prospect. The 6-foot-6 forward from Normal, Ill., is just ahead of Russell, a 6-5 combo guard.

Russell is ranked as the nation?s No. 3 shooting guard by Scout.com. He?s No. 35 overall by Rivals.com and No. 23 by ESPN.com. His composite rating is No. 28.

?It?s one thing to know that an assistant coach wants you, and then it?s another thing to know that the head coach wants you just as bad,? Russell said. ?I built a relationship with (Matta), and he was telling me I would come in as a playmaker, that I have the tangibles Evan Turner had with being able to pass and being a big guard, being able to facilitate and get creative for his own shot.?

cont...
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http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/viewart/20130708/SPORTS/307080019/Head-of-the-class
 
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Looking beyond this season, the Buckeyes have one more big man in the pipeline: 6-10 Dave Bell of Garfield Heights, Ohio. But he is a project who could redshirt as a freshman in 2014-15.
So, with the one remaining scholarship Matta plans to offer the 2014 class ? Ohio State already has four commitments ? he will target another big man.
Matta said it is ?highly unlikely? that he will oversign by one player in 2014 in case a player leaves early. That means, then, that the Buckeyes are done pursuing highly rated point guard Tyus Jones of Apple Valley, Minn., despite the fact Jones and one of their top post targets, Jahlil Okafor of Chicago, plan to play together in college.
The commitment to Ohio State last month by 2014 combo guard D?Angelo Russell of Louisville, Ky., left no room for Jones. Instead, the Buckeyes will look for another point guard in the class of 2015, Matta said.
Already, more than a dozen players in the 2015 class have been offered scholarships by Matta, an unusually large number for him. But early offers are a growing trend among coaches who feel if they don?t, they won?t have a chance at a player.
With Matta aiming for five signees in 2014, and Ohio expected to have its strongest class in years in 2016, he will be challenged to balance what he brings in.
?Things change daily anymore, but I don?t think we would (sign) five-deep in ?15,? he said. ?We?d probably be a little bit limited in ?16 if we did that.?
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http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/con.../big-men-are-scarce-in-buckeyes-pipeline.html

Players in the recruiting classes of 2014, ’15 and ’16 who are committed to sign with, have been offered by, or are being evaluated by Ohio State men’s basketball coaches this summer:

2014
COMMITTED
Keita Bates-Diop
• W, 6-7, Bloomington, Ill.
Dave Bell
• C, 6-10, Garfield Heights, Ohio
D’Angelo Russell
• G, 6-4, Louisville, Ky.
Jae’Sean Tate
• W, 6-5, Pickerington (Central)
OFFERED
Leron Black
• PF, 6-7, Memphis, Tenn.
Jahlil Okafor
• C, 6-10, Chicago
Elbert Robinson
• C, 6-11, Garland, Texas
Myles Turner
• C, 6-11, Euless, Texas
Craig Victor
• PF, 6-7, New Orleans
2015
OFFERED
Carlton Bragg
• PF, 6-9, Cleveland (VASJ)
Isaiah Briscoe
• W, 6-3, Union, N.J.
Jalen Brunson
• PG, 6-0, Lincolnshire, Ill.
Eric Davis
• W, 6-3, Saginaw, Mich.
Perry Dozier
• PG, 6-5, Columbia, S.C.
Montaque Gill-Ceaser
• W, 6-5, Downsview, Ontario
Franklin Howard
• W, 6-4, Fairfax, Va.
Luke Kennard
• W, 6-5, Franklin, Ohio
Charles Matthews
• PG, 6-4, Chicago
Mickey Mitchell
• PF, 6-6, Plano, Texas
Ivan Rabb
• PF, 6-9, Oakland, Calif.
Malachi Richardson
• W, 6-6, Hamilton, N.J.
Ben Simmons
• PF, 6-9, Melbourne, Australia
Elijah Thomas
• PF, 6-9, Rockwall, Texas
OTHERS
Tyler Davis
• C, 6-10, Liberty, Texas
Chiek Diallo
• PF, 6-9, Centereach, N.Y.
Noah Dickerson
• C, 6-8, Atlanta
Kaiser Gates
• W, 6-7, Alpharetta, Ga.
A.J. Harris
• PG, 5-9, Dayton (Dunbar)
Trevor Manuel
• PF, 6-8, Lansing, Mich.
Diamond Stone
• C, 6-10, Milwaukee
2016
OFFERED
V.J. King
• W, 6-7, Akron (SVSM)
OTHERS
Tervell Beck
• W, 6-5, Cleveland (Central Catholic)
Derrick Daniels
• PF, 6-6, Dayton (Thurgood Marshall)
Derek Funderburk
• PF, 6-8, 185, Cleveland (St. Edward)
Josh Jackson
• W, 6-6, Southfield, Mich.
Willie Jackson
• W, 6-6, Garfield Heights, Ohio
Thon Maker
• C, 7-0, Martinsville, Va.
James Mann
• W, 6-5, Columbus (Marion-Franklin)
Omari Spellman
• PF, 6-8, North Royalton, Oh.
Jayson Tatum
• W, 6-6, St. Louis
Seth Towns
• W, 6-6, Columbus (Northland)
Seventh Woods
• PG, 6-1, Columbia, S.C.
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2014 Scholarship numbers

With all the talk of the possibility of Okafor and Jones going to the same school and with Ohio State already having 4 commits for the 2014-2015 season, I began to wonder how we would fit 2 more players into this class and came up the following numbers.

We currently have 12 players on scholarship which include 3 seniors (Craft, Rogers, Smith Jr), 6 juniors (Thompson, Williams, MacDonald, Ross, Scott, Lorbach), 1 sophomore (ADV) and 2 incoming freshman (Williams and Loving). I guess we can assume that Ross will leave early which will give us 5 openings for the 2014 class if my numbers are correct.

If Okafor and Jones do decide to come to Ohio State in a package deal, I was wondering where the other scholarship was going to come from. With Lorbach being a walk-on, I guess I could have his class wrong or the possibility that he might decide not to play his senior year. I am just curious if the dynamic duo do decide to come as a package and they want to come to Ohio State where will Thad get that sixth scholarship.

After my numbers and names are corrected which I assume they will be, I will post this in one of the appropriate sticky threads below which breaks down the number of scholarships by class.
 
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LitlBuck;2357780; said:
With all the talk of the possibility of Okafor and Jones going to the same school and with Ohio State already having 4 commits for the 2014-2015 season, I began to wonder how we would fit 2 more players into this class and came up the following numbers.

We currently have 12 players on scholarship which include 3 seniors (Craft, Rogers, Smith Jr), 6 juniors (Thompson, Williams, MacDonald, Ross, Scott, Lorbach), 1 sophomore (ADV) and 2 incoming freshman (Williams and Loving). I guess we can assume that Ross will leave early which will give us 5 openings for the 2014 class if my numbers are correct.

If Okafor and Jones do decide to come to Ohio State in a package deal, I was wondering where the other scholarship was going to come from. With Lorbach being a walk-on, I guess I could have his class wrong or the possibility that he might decide not to play his senior year. I am just curious if the dynamic duo do decide to come as a package and they want to come to Ohio State where will Thad get that sixth scholarship.

After my numbers and names are corrected which I assume they will be, I will post this in one of the appropriate sticky threads below which breaks down the number of scholarships by class.
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I don't think Lorbach counts against the number of scholarships.
 
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LitlBuck;2357792; said:
not trying to be smart but why wouldn't he :confused: is he getting an academic scholarship or is he just playing to be a member of the team.
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I'm a little confused, you said in your own post that he was a walk-on. Perhaps he could get a one year ride if they have unused extras but they wouldn't tie one up on more than a year to year basis.
 
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itownbuckeye;2357794; said:
I'm a little confused, you said in your own post that he was a walk-on. Perhaps he could get a one year ride if they have unused extras but they wouldn't tie one up on more than a year to year basis.
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Yeah, they get unused extras if there aren't enough scholarship players when the season starts. But they know they will go back to being walk-ons if the coaches need the ships.
 
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