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OSU Men's Basketball Recruiting/Projections/General Discussions

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RB07OSU said:
Just realized Mobley is our only '24 class commitment. Anyone know what our numbers look like for the '24 class and what positions we are targeting? Also tendering my obligatory apologies for lack of basketball recruiting knowledge...I try to keep up, but a general list of realistic commits would be great so I can go look at threads for the players.
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Initially it looked like we were prioritizing a PF/C, then a wing. We may only take 1 more in the class and the shift seems to be to take the best player we can get and if we have ships available after the season, then fill holes with a transfer. The only position we are not recruiting is the point (presumably would have Thornton, Chatman and Mobley)

Sherrell (PF/C) is probably the #1 priority, then there are a host of wing/guards that we've offered. We've also recently offered a 7'2" center (Burns) who is a bit of a project, but has nice shooting touch.
 
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calibuck said:
Gonna be young.....with plenty of frosh and sophs on the team, obvious that Holtmann will look for some upper class leadership to guide these young 'uns. Hopefully won't discourage the current roster playing the positions these uppers bring. Would imagine that a transfer, being new to the schools, could/would impart the bball knowledge to kids already there, that is reported time and time again from the football team. We'll see how this strategy works out. Nowadays, a 'senior-laden' team is more of a rarity than a normal occurrence. Seniors being 'home grown' even more so. times are a changin'. Go Bucks!
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Definitely going to be young, but have a little more cohesion with the return of 3 frosh who played a fair amount and Key. The incoming frosh seem hungry and should have a similar impact to last years frosh (really looking forward to seeing this group in action). The addition of Battle adds perimeter scoring at the 4 and good defensive guard in Bonner should help improve areas we were lacking in last year.
 
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www.dispatch.com

Ohio State Buckeyes offer five-star 2026 Ohioan Marcus Johnson

Ohio State extended its first known scholarship for the 2026 class to five-star guard Marcus Johnson from Garfield Heights, Ohio.
www.dispatch.com

Ohio State Buckeyes offer five-star 2026 Ohioan Marcus Johnson​

May 1,2023
The approach was thorough if nothing else.

For the last two weeks, Marcus Johnson has showed his talents on the EYBL circuit during the spring live evaluation period. Among the many college coaches to watch the 2026 guard from Garfield Heights, Ohio, was Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann, who watched Johnson play multiple games.

So, too, did associate head coach Jake Diebler. And Ohio State assistant Jack Owens. And when assistant Mike Netti took in Johnson’s final game, that made it a clean sweep for Ohio State’s coaching staff.

When the Buckeyes reached out an offered a scholarship Monday, it left an impression not only because of what the offer meant but the manner in which it was done.


Team USA experience proves valuable for 2026 Ohio standout Marcus Johnson​

Garfield Heights, Ohio, 2026 point guard Marcus Johnson is at the Nike Peach Jam this week, competing alongside his teammates with the Indy Heat 15-U team.

The 6-1 Johnson was just named by ESPN.com as the nation’s No. 11 prospect overall and No. 2 point guard nationally in the 2026 class. He is joined in ESPN’s early top 25 by another Ohio prospect in Cleveland Heights Lutheran East power forward TJ Crumble, who checks in at No. 19.

Coincidentally, Johnson’s Indy Heat team collided with Crumble’s All-Ohio Sumner team in EYBL 15-U play on Wednesday. Indy Heat eked out a 67-66 win as Edward Hazelett made two free throws to win it with four-tenths of a second left. Johnson had 16 points to lead Indy Heat in the win. Crumble had nine points and 10 rebounds for All-Ohio, which got 20 points from Taylen Kinney (from Newport, Ky.) and 17 from Brayden Fogle (from Lexington, Ohio).

Johnson has had a busy spring with his share of national events. He was invited to the Team USA U-16 national team tryouts. He was among 39 players who attended the tryout and, although he did not make the final cut for the team, he said he gained a ton going against some of the nation’s top 2025 and 2026 players.

“Going to the USA camp, that was really about competing,” Johnson said in a recent interview with Cleveland.com’s Matt Goul. “Everybody was among the top players in the country, so going down there and competing against them was fun. I feel like I got better and I learned a lot.
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Of course, Marcus Johnson is the cousin of former Ohio State guard Meechie Johnson. Meechie Johnson played two seasons for the Buckeyes before transferring to South Carolina last summer. Marcus Johnson’s brother, Sonny Johnson Jr., is a guard at the University of Detroit, where he redshirted this past season.

Marcus Johnson has been collecting scholarship offers from a number of top schools in his own right. The group includes Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State, Nebraska, Alabama, West Virginia, Cincinnati and others.
 
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Hopefully tOSU can keep some of the Ohio talent at home. However, as Wigmon pointed out, there will already be a three-deep line at PG. That alone might keep him from coming. Never really heard why Meechie xfered, but probably will fill Marcus's ear. TJ Crumble sounds like more of a needed 'get' to me. Holtmann seems to get his xfers, but few have really panned out. Much promise, certainly, but the rigors of the B10, or showing out in a lesser league (same thing said different way), hinders them.
 
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There is no thread for Jalen Shelley (6'8" top 50 SF with good perimeter skills) so I will post this here. He has scheduled a visit for September and the recent Dispatch article indicates that he has a lot of interest in OSU. Has ties to central Ohio (dad played for the Destroyers and has current family here) and said he's never had a "favorite" BB school, but OSU is a school he was always interested in.
 
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Well heck, with 85 student-athletes to choose from, football has he numbers. With only 13, basketball does not. Many NCAA is won with three top flight players, and two others, whereas, football needs more outstanding players. tOSU is certainly competitive, but falls to the more talented (taller) teams. Yeah, there are more pieces in the Dispatch in season than basketball does, but maybe that's why there's 105,000 in the 'Shoe, versus, what, 24,000 in the Schott? Believe Gene Smith supports ALL of tOSU teams equally (?), at least in the papers.
 
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North Carolina, Rutgers and more highlight an early look at college basketball team recruiting rankings​

No. 15 (tie): OHIO STATE BUCKEYES — Speaking of jump shooters, top-50 point guard John Mobley Jr. has as much range and confidence when it comes to letting them fly from deep as any player in the country. Colin White is a homegrown forward who burst onto the scene during the spring and summer thanks to his skill and toughness.
 
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Hoops Notes: Transfer target close to decision?​

The deadline for college basketball players to enter the transfer portal came and went on Wednesday. Ohio State men's basketball coach Jake Diebler currently has 11 of his 13 available scholarships for the 2024-25 season allotted and is looking to add one or two more transfers to finish it off.

According to sources, the staff was awaiting word from Duke forward Sean Stewart. The 6-9, 227-pound Stewart made recent visits to Cincinnati, Ohio State and Georgetown and was apparently moving closer to a decision.

Stewart was ranked as the nation's No. 22 overall prospect in the 2023 class by 247Sports. Stewart, a native of Windemere, Fla., is the son of former Cal-Berkeley forward and eight-year NBA veteran Michael Stewart.


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At the same time, Ohio State may also be working to get visits with one or more other transfer portal prospects. Sources indicated that OSU was trying to get Bellarmine University center Langdon Hatton to make a visit.

The 6-10, 240-pound Hatton has played one season at William & Mary and two seasons at Bellarmine. He averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this past season. He is a native of Georgetown, Ind.

Two more names in the transfer portal that OSU could be looking at are San Diego State forward Elijah Saunders and Texas forward Dillon Mitchell. The 6-8 Saunders and 6-8 Mitchell would each have two seasons of eligibility left.

OSU was a major player for Mitchell when he committed to Texas two years ago. In fact, OSU was tracking Mitchell on his travel team when it locked on to Brice Sensabaugh in the summer of 2021.
 
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Nike EYBL: Four-star forward Jamier Jones sets last visit before commitment​

Jamier Jones talks final six​

Jamier Jones, the No. 32 overall prospect in the class of 2025 is nearing the end of his recruitment. Jones, 6-foot-6, 210 pound forward from Orlando (Fla.) narrowed his list to Providence, Ohio State, LSU, Kansas, Houston and South Carolina.

Jones has set his commitment date for Sunday May 12th.

Jones has taken visits with Providence, LSU and South Carolina so far.

"I pretty much know everything I need to know with each school," Jones said. "I got one more little visit with Providence May 9th to the 10th then after that I'll know for sure."

Jones broke down each of his finalist with 247Sports.

Ohio State: "Coach Jake has been recruiting me for a minute and I talk to him about twice a week. He would always check in and now he got the head coaching job. Everything he's been telling me has been good."
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Just sayin': I'm not real optimistic on Ohio State's chances here. He's never visited Ohio State and he's visiting Providence again. 24/7 has him "warm" to South Carolina; sounds to me like he is just giving Providence one last chance to beat South Carolina's NIL offer.
 
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BUCKEYE STATE-BASED TALENT HEADLINES RECRUITING TARGETS FOR OHIO STATE BASKETBALL IN 2025​

Now that all but one of Ohio State’s scholarships for the 2024-25 basketball season is filled following some work in the transfer portal, the talent acquisition objective for Jake Diebler and his staff has shifted to the 2025 recruiting class.

The Buckeyes inked two prospects in the class of 2024 between four-star point guard Juni Mobley and three-star small forward Colin White, Ohio’s
Mr. Basketball this past season. No commitments have landed thus far in the 2025 class for Ohio State, though it does hold a five-star pledge in the class of 2026 from point guard Marcus Johnson, cousin of renewed OSU guard Meechie Johnson.

It’s not a typical for a team to still be searching for its first commitment this time of year. In fact, only three Big Ten squads have secured a pledge for the next cycle. Still, Diebler and company have been busy in recent weeks. Multiple reoffers have been extended to players who were prospects under Chris Holtmann as a solid core of targets has emerged for Diebler’s first recruiting class as head coach.

The team’s pursuits have a lot of Ohio flair, as the list below includes two players from the Buckeye State and two who originally hail from there. Players are ranked based on their connection to Ohio State thus far and overall talent.

2025 BASKETBALL RECRUITING TARGETS
PROSPECT POSITION HT. WT. RATING SCHOOL
DORIAN JONES SG 6-4 160 ★★★★ Richmond Heights (Cleveland, Ohio)
DARRYN PETERSON SG 6-5 195 ★★★★★ Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.)
NIKO BUNDALO PF 6-11 195 ★★★★ Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, Ohio)
JERRY EASTER II G 6-3 200 ★★★★ La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.)
EJ WALKER PF 6-8 230 ★★★★ Lloyd (Erlanger, Ky.)
ERIC REIBE C 7-0 235 ★★★★ The Bullis School (Potomac, Md.)
TREY MCKENNEY SF 6-4 225 ★★★★★ St. Mary's (Flint, Mich.)
CALEB WILSON PF 6-9 205 ★★★★★ Holy Innocents Episcopal (Atlanta, Ga.)
DARIUS ACUFF JR. PG 6-3 180 ★★★★★ IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
 
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