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SG Walter Offutt (Asst. BBall Coach Toledo Rockets)

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I think I speak for everyone who follows the basketball program when I say that Matta has done what most of us thought was impossible at Ohio State, which is put us on par with the big boys in recruiting. He has done it in less than 2 years. Unbelievable.
 
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IndyStar
high school notebook
Warren's Offutt decides on Ohio St.
Sophomore guard, nursing a knee injury, says he's comfortable with Matta's program.

By Jeff Rabjohns
<script language="JavaScript"> <!-- document.write( ''+'jeff.rabjohns'+'@'+'indystar.com'+''); //--> </script>[email protected]


Ohio State's success in recruiting Indiana basketball players continued Monday when one of the state's top sophomores said he has decided to play for the Buckeyes.
Walter Offutt, a 6-3 shooting guard from Warren Central, took an unofficial visit to Ohio State over the weekend and said Monday he will play for coach Thad Matta.
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he'll return: A knee injury will keep Walter Offutt (right) out of the lineup awhile for coach Scott Heady's (left) Warren Central team. - Matt Kryger / The Star
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</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> "I just like the coaching staff very much, and I like it there. My mom likes it. My dad likes it," Offutt said. ". . . They recruit you on basketball, but coach Matta cares about you more than just basketball. It's like a father-son thing. He's there. You can call him if you need to talk about something."
In the Class of 2008, Offutt is ranked No. 12 in the nation by scout.com, No. 3 among shooting guards. He is recovering from a knee injury suffered in June and isn't expected back on the court until possibly January. Last year, Offutt averaged 10 points and shot 55 percent from the field for the Warriors.
His AAU coach, Tony Safford of Indiana Elite, said the long-standing relationship between Offutt and Matta was a major factor.
"That had a lot to do with it, Walter's trust in Matta," Safford said. "Last year, when (Offutt) went on an unofficial visit, he wanted to commit then. I said, 'No. You're only a freshman.'
"I had to grill him and his parents to make sure he really wanted to do this, and he was really sincere."
Offutt's oral commitment to Ohio State follows the June announcement by Lawrence North's Greg Oden and Mike Conley, both seniors this year, that they would play for the Buckeyes.
Oral commitments are non-binding. Players can't sign a binding national letter-of-intent until November of their senior year.
Tennis regionals set
The third time was the charm for the third-ranked Brebeuf Jesuit boys tennis team, which knocked off No. 1 Park Tudor in last week's sectional after falling twice previously to the Panthers to earn a spot in the Ben Davis Regional that runs today and Wednesday.
The Braves will face No. 20 Brownsburg in one of today's 5 p.m. semifinal matches, while Ben Davis meets Perry Meridian in the other. The final is at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
In other regionals involving area teams today, No. 2 Cathedral faces Lawrence Central and No. 8 Carmel meets Mount Vernon at 4 p.m. at North Central; No. 5 Center Grove plays Greencastle and Roncalli faces Waldron at 5 p.m. at Center Grove; and No. 14 Zionsville faces Crawfordsville and No. 10 West Lafayette meets Seeger at 4:30 p.m. at West Lafayette.
The finals at Center Grove and West Lafayette are set for Wednesday; the final at North Central will be Thursday.

Pat McKee contributed to this report.
Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.

Copyright 2005 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved
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Adidas Superstar Camp - Day 2 (BN44 posted day 4)
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Class of 2008:

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]G Walter Offutt -- Finished among the leading scorers on the day. The 6’3 Indianapolis native, and one of only 3 in his class (along with 6’10 BJ Mullens of Columbus, OH and 6’9 Michael Beasley), showed very good offensive skills.[/FONT]
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Not bad to have already landed 66% of the studs from 08 at this camp. Duke/NC recruiters rumored to be changing their drawers regularly.

[/FONT]
 
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Welcome to the Buckeyes Walter! Wow, that was like a shot out of nowhere. Very refreshing, as I'm in football mode and fb recruiting likewise. I love news like this that was not even in the back of my mind. Just another example of our new coach doing his thing. All I'm asking for now is a 25-year contract for Matta. Anyone? :cheers:
 
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scout.com$

10/7/05

Offutt knew over a year ago that he wanted to be a Buckeye. Despite missing so much time the last year he is still considered the #12 player in the 2008 class. His family was very impressed by the academic side of tOSU. His knee injury will keep him out of action until January.
 
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Scout.com (free)

10/19/05


<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Walter Offut Makes Early Pledge

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Walter Offutt

</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Jeff Goodman
National Recruiting Analyst
Date: Oct 18, 2005

This comes from the "In case you missed it" department. Ohio State got another commitment earlier this month - from a 2008 guard.
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It happened a few weeks back and barely registered a blip on the recruiting scene. Maybe it’s because few have actually seen Walter Offutt play – or maybe it’s because his commitment to Ohio State was overshadowed by a 2006 recruiting class that includes Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Daequan Cook and David Lighty.


Offutt is a 6-foot-3, 170-pound combo guard coming off a freshman season at Warren Central (Ind.) in which he averaged 10 points, three rebounds and four assists per game. He tore his ACL this past June and will be out of action until after the New Year.

``He’s very athletic,” Warren Central coach Scott Heady said. “He’s not a pure point guard, but he can play the point or the off-guard spot. He’s very good at slashing to the basket and is a very good defender. He really competes.”

``I’ve been coaching for 13 years and from a competitive standpoint, he’s as good as I’ve ever had,” added Heady.
Offutt also received interest from the likes of Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Notre Dame and Iowa.

``I knew when I was little that Ohio State was the right place for me,” Offutt said. I’ve known Thad (Matta) since I was little.”

Offutt recently turned 16 and took an official visit to Ohio State a few weeks back and decided he didn’t need to go any further with his recruitment.

``I had my mind made up before I went down there,” he added. “I went down for the visit mainly for my mom and so she could see how she likes it.”

``People are trying to say I’m too young,” Offutt continued. “But I don’t worry about it. I know Ohio State is the right place for me.” Offutt joins B.J. Mullens from World Harvest Prep (Ohio) as sophomores who have already committed to Thad Matta and the Buckeyes.

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Interesting how he says he knew when he was little that he wanted to play for OSU and he also liked Matta. The planets must have aligned for Walter when Thad took the job in Columbus.
 
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