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OSU Men's Basketball Recruiting/Projections/General Discussions

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LitlBuck said:
Holtmann better get on his skates. I know it is early but if we miss out on a couple Ohio guys this is not going to bode well going forward.
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i'm cautiously optimistic about our recruiting going forward. just not sure whether i'm more optimistic than i am cautious. i guess i'd be more optimistic if our pf/c (not pf) recruiting were more promising. can't say i have a lot of faith in ho1tmann and johnson signing the kind of post player our conference requires, though.

if johnson doesn't hit at least a solid double for the 2021 recruiting cycle, it might be time for ho1tmann to have an "urban meyer talk" with our frontcourt coach.
 
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OSU_Buckguy said:
i'm cautiously optimistic about our recruiting going forward. just not sure whether i'm more optimistic than i am cautious. i guess i'd be more optimistic if our pf/c (not pf) recruiting were more promising. can't say i have a lot of faith in ho1tmann and johnson signing the kind of post player our conference requires, though.

if johnson doesn't hit at least a solid double for the 2021 recruiting cycle, it might be time for ho1tmann to have an "urban meyer talk" with our frontcourt coach.
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Johnson is not much of a recruiter. Frankly, Pedon and Diebler are doing almost all of the heavy lifting on that front. And Pedon and Diebler mostly recruit guards and wings and forwards.

Johnson is a high character guy who basically has co-engineered Holtmann's defense the past six years. But I think it probably doesn't help our big man recruiting that we lack a dedicated and passionate big man recruiter. Given how we seem fine using half our scholarships on forwards, maybe Holtmann doesn't care that much about investing in our PF/C recruiting and is just hoping he will get lucky here and there with a top big.
 
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nomatta said:
Johnson is not much of a recruiter. Frankly, Pedon and Diebler are doing almost all of the heavy lifting on that front. And Pedon and Diebler mostly recruit guards and wings and forwards.

Johnson is a high character guy who basically has co-engineered Holtmann's defense the past six years. But I think it probably doesn't help our big man recruiting that we lack a dedicated and passionate big man recruiter. Given how we seem fine using half our scholarships on forwards, maybe Holtmann doesn't care that much about investing in our PF/C recruiting and is just hoping he will get lucky here and there with a top big.
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johnson obviously has considerable worth and adds much value to the team. i have absolutely no complaints about our interior defense and overall game-planning. i also think kaleb progressed nicely and so has young. moreover, johnson represents the program and the university like we'd hope.

but relying on development and a clean conscious will usually get a program only so far. i referenced the "urban meyer talk" because if you were a good guy, a good developmental coach, but an average-or-worse recruiter under urban, well... i'm not saying he'd fire you (immediately), but you'd definitely feel the heat.

as i said before and i'm guessing you'd agree (not that were disagreeing to begin with), it's about time we start recruiting one particular position like we're ohio state -- not butler.
 
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Yeah, I do agree. And I like Key, and I get that this staff isn't as much for traditional bigs, and that's fine. But I just don't have a lot of faith in Diallo developing enough here, so I think the quality depth needed to bang around consistently inside in the B1G is looking dubious atm. Reid would be a huge recruiting win but I am not holding my breath. Etienne would either beat out Key or Key would beat out him and then the "loser" of that battle probably transfers, sad to say, as they are 4-year guys only one class apart. Aside from Reid maybe the best big man solution for 2021 is a stop-gap grad transfer big that could at least challenge Diallo for the back-up minutes and then we get a high quality big in the 2022 class.

Though really my bigger concern is quality guard depth and skills on the roster. The staff seems ok with having only 3 guards some years and I'd much rather the minimum be 4-5, with at least 3 of them totally ready and legit for a big role. This thing where we have a couple guards and a former walk-on or whatever... ugh. And obviously some transfers have affected this, but still, we hand scholarships out to forwards left and right and then I guess we just pray our backcourt stays happy and healthy. If we placed a higher premium on ball skills and passing at other positions, ok, but we don't really.
 
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Does Chris Holtmann's staff have a chance with Rivals150 guard Kobe Bufkin?

Just over a couple of weeks ago, head basketball coach Chris Holtmann and his staff delivered an offer to four-star prospect Kobe Bufkin, one of the premier shooting guards in the 2021 cycle.

On Tuesday, Bufkin put the Buckeyes in his top five, along with DePaul, LSU, Michigan and Michigan State. The No. 61 overall player in his class also announced that he is slated to be committing tomorrow.

On the surface, the timing here appeared to be in Ohio State' favor, but it's looking like Bufkin is heading to another program in the Big 10. A wave of FutureCast predictions had been submitted in favor of the Wolverines starting on Sunday, and it would be a shocker if the Michigan-based prospect picks any other program tomorrow.

While Bufkin may be off the table following Friday's announcement, the Buckeyes are still in pursuit of several players residing in the Rivals150.

Ohio State is a contender for top-35 recruit Malaki Branham, who is from Columbus. Branham is also giving a strong look at Alabama, Louisville and Xavier.

Dallan "Deebo" Coleman, a recent offer for the Buckeyes, listed the program as one of eight schools he speaks with the most.

They also recently cracked the top schools lists for priority center targets Chet Holmgren and Charles Bediako.

I was also told a month ago that Holtmann's staff is pursuing Efton Reid, Jalen Warley, Jordan Longino, Mason Miller, Max Christie, and Trevor Keels. Keels, however, informed me in mid-June that Ohio State isn't recruiting him anymore.

As of right now, Holtmann's current class features Kalen Eztler and Meechie Johnson. Based off what I've been told and their recent offers, it looks like the Buckeyes are hoping to add a center and a shooting guard before it's all said and done.

Entire article: https://ohiostate.rivals.com/news/3-2-1-some-good-news

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didn't recall the name, so was a bit surprised that ho1tmann offered a 2021 player without (i'm assuming) a prior face-to-face. and then i saw that taylor is from north carolina. wondered if elon offered him. yep. this is probably an assist from schrage.

anyway, kid looks quite talented. got every tool in the bag. ticks each box for today's kind of 2-guard. might be ideal fit for what we'll need. lotta suitors, though, and no visits for who knows how long.

247 profile



 
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dj moore is moving up osu's board. concern might be whether he's projected to be more of a collegiate combo than a point. don't think it should matter, even from osu's perspective. still think we ultimately get sean jones, but ho1tmann doesn't like short(er) guards. dj has at least a couple inches on sean.

moore and jones would be blowing up right now if not for everything (not) going on. if the staff moves beyond the area (including mcmillan in cincy) for a 2022 guard, something's wrong.

edit: moore's trainer (jason dawson) started for ho1tmann at gardner webb.
 
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until next spring when aau is expected to return as normal, it's probably a good idea to disregard recruiting rankings almost completely. that's overstating it a bit, especially for the 2021 class, but players aren't ranked by what they do between september and march. rankings hinge on aau performance. take away that and you take away the recruiting services' opportunities to evaluate players.

so sean jones and dj moore being unranked? that means nothing to me. and with moore playing for worthington christian, a small d3 team that plays mediocre competition, well... how is he supposed to get an accurate ranking?

going to be interesting to watch how all of this unfolds the next few years. getting legitimately good players (as in, not merely ranked as good) may depend more on talent evaluation than "connections." i see blue-chip programs (duke and uk, notably) signing players who turn out to be duds relative to their rankings. i also see lower programs finding lots of so-called recruiting steals. head coaches and assistants who are pros at dissecting films may have the upper hand on head coaches and assistants who are pros at sales pitches, as well as those programs whose recruiting depends on their entrenched reputation (again, programs like duke and uk).

you think the transfer market has been crazy the last couple years? you just wait...
 
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If we do get Branham and both he and Meechie stick around at OSU for a couple seasons, man, they are gonna be one sweet combo of sophomores in the backcourt for 2021-2022.

I think a Branham commitment might solidify for the staff what they want to do with some of these 2022 offers. They aren't gonna convince a top-ranked 2022 guard to come join the Meechie/Malaki show. But both Meechie and Malaki have strong two-and-done potential, so I think there is still a lot of need for 2022 guards who would be willing to come here and likely come off the bench for a season but still be good enough to be legit starters and leaders as soon as their sophomore years. And I think both Sean Jones and DJ Moore fit that description.
 
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