Connor Lemons
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You’re Nuts: How many players (and who) will Ohio State men’s basketball take in the 2025 class?
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 by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes will look to add to their one-man recruiting class in the coming months.
The basketball in Ohio, it is very good.
While Thad Matta was inarguably the greatest basketball coach in Ohio State history, it also helped that Ohio high school basketball was producing some of the best talent it had ever seen in the late 2000’s. When Ohio is producing high-level talent, being the head coach at Ohio State suddenly becomes a lot easier. And right now, the state is producing a ton of talent.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated who is the best two-man duo in the Big Ten. Connor went with the freshmen combo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey at Rutgers, while Justin chose Indiana’s combo of Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo. 42% of the readers from last week sided with Connor, while 25% of people sided with Justin. The remaining 34% thought it was some other duo aside from the two our writers picked.
Connor- 80
Jake Diebler has already secured a commitment from four-star guard Dorian Jones, but the Buckeyes aren’t done adding to the 2025 class. Especially with scholarship limits set to become extinct in 2025 in favor of larger roster limits, the Buckeyes will probably add at least another 1-2 players.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25595537/1930883766.jpg "HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: JAN 13 Hoophall Classic")
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Easter’s recruiting page lists him as being from Missouri, but he’s actually from the Toledo area originally and has been recruited by Ohio State for well over three years now. Former head coach Chris Holtmann offered Easter a scholarship in September 2021 — two months before he began playing high school basketball.
Then-assistant coach Jake Diebler was very involved with the recruitment of Easter, but it looked like Ohio State was cooling on Easter towards the end of 2023. Once Holtmann was fired and Diebler was elevated to head coach, Easter’s name started popping up a bit more.
The 6-foot-5 combo guard began at Emmanuel Christian High School in Toledo and will play his senior season at Link Academy in Missouri. He is currently scheduled to visit Ohio State the weekend of Oct. 4-6.
Bundalo has been oscillating between a four-star and five-star recruit for the past year, and currently is the No. 23 player in the 2025 class. He recently announced that he would be playing his senior season at Prolific Prep in California — the same school as fellow Buckeye target Darryn Peterson.
Bundalo is a 6-foot-10, 215-pound power forward who previously played at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. He is scheduled to visit Columbus in an official capacity the weekend of Sept. 20-22, but is being courted by some of the best programs in the nation in addition to Ohio State. Bundalo also has visits scheduled with North Carolina, Michigan State, and UConn, and has scholarship offers from schools like Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, and Alabama, plus 29 others.
It’s rare to find a big man who has the combination of size, speed, and shooting that Bundalo has. While the “blue bloods” being involved is concerning, Bundalo has consistently included the Buckeyes alongside those schools every time.
The two, of course, are in addition to Dorian Jones, who was the first member of Ohio State’s 2025 class back in July. The 6-foot-4, 160-pound shooting guard is currently the No. 69 player in the 2025 class (four-star) and is one of several talented Ohio guards in this class. Jones is a good and improving shooter but also has a reputation for being one of the better on-ball defenders in prep basketball.
I am going to keep this short and sweet because my answer is very simple. I am going to go out on a limb and say the Buckeyes land Darryn Peterson, and that will fill out the class.
The reason is that Ohio State only has two players out of eligibility after this season: Meechie Johnson and Micah Parrish. I believe Jake Diebler and the staff will bring in two recruits to offset that, and then if any guys leave early for the NBA, like Aaron Bradshaw or Bruce Thornton, or if any guys transfer, they will supplement that through the transfer portal to fill out the roster.
Over the years, the Buckeyes have shown that they like to have a mix of recruits, freshmen, and transfer portal additions to maximize the roster and what it needs after guys leave and specific needs arise.
Also, when you get a recruit like Peterson, he is enough to bring a highly anticipated class on his own, and Jones is a guy who can contribute from day one as well.
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 by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Buckeyes will look to add to their one-man recruiting class in the coming months.
The basketball in Ohio, it is very good.
While Thad Matta was inarguably the greatest basketball coach in Ohio State history, it also helped that Ohio high school basketball was producing some of the best talent it had ever seen in the late 2000’s. When Ohio is producing high-level talent, being the head coach at Ohio State suddenly becomes a lot easier. And right now, the state is producing a ton of talent.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated who is the best two-man duo in the Big Ten. Connor went with the freshmen combo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey at Rutgers, while Justin chose Indiana’s combo of Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo. 42% of the readers from last week sided with Connor, while 25% of people sided with Justin. The remaining 34% thought it was some other duo aside from the two our writers picked.
After 167 weeks:
Connor- 80
Justin- 67
Other- 16
(There have been four ties)
Jake Diebler has already secured a commitment from four-star guard Dorian Jones, but the Buckeyes aren’t done adding to the 2025 class. Especially with scholarship limits set to become extinct in 2025 in favor of larger roster limits, the Buckeyes will probably add at least another 1-2 players.
This week’s question: How many players (and who) will Ohio State take in the 2025 class?
Connor: Three - Jerry Easter, Niko Bundalo, and Dorian Jones
Easter’s recruiting page lists him as being from Missouri, but he’s actually from the Toledo area originally and has been recruited by Ohio State for well over three years now. Former head coach Chris Holtmann offered Easter a scholarship in September 2021 — two months before he began playing high school basketball.
Then-assistant coach Jake Diebler was very involved with the recruitment of Easter, but it looked like Ohio State was cooling on Easter towards the end of 2023. Once Holtmann was fired and Diebler was elevated to head coach, Easter’s name started popping up a bit more.
The 6-foot-5 combo guard began at Emmanuel Christian High School in Toledo and will play his senior season at Link Academy in Missouri. He is currently scheduled to visit Ohio State the weekend of Oct. 4-6.
Bundalo has been oscillating between a four-star and five-star recruit for the past year, and currently is the No. 23 player in the 2025 class. He recently announced that he would be playing his senior season at Prolific Prep in California — the same school as fellow Buckeye target Darryn Peterson.
Bundalo is a 6-foot-10, 215-pound power forward who previously played at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. He is scheduled to visit Columbus in an official capacity the weekend of Sept. 20-22, but is being courted by some of the best programs in the nation in addition to Ohio State. Bundalo also has visits scheduled with North Carolina, Michigan State, and UConn, and has scholarship offers from schools like Kansas, Kentucky, Texas, and Alabama, plus 29 others.
It’s rare to find a big man who has the combination of size, speed, and shooting that Bundalo has. While the “blue bloods” being involved is concerning, Bundalo has consistently included the Buckeyes alongside those schools every time.
The two, of course, are in addition to Dorian Jones, who was the first member of Ohio State’s 2025 class back in July. The 6-foot-4, 160-pound shooting guard is currently the No. 69 player in the 2025 class (four-star) and is one of several talented Ohio guards in this class. Jones is a good and improving shooter but also has a reputation for being one of the better on-ball defenders in prep basketball.
Justin: Two - Darryn Peterson and Dorian Jones
I am going to keep this short and sweet because my answer is very simple. I am going to go out on a limb and say the Buckeyes land Darryn Peterson, and that will fill out the class.
The reason is that Ohio State only has two players out of eligibility after this season: Meechie Johnson and Micah Parrish. I believe Jake Diebler and the staff will bring in two recruits to offset that, and then if any guys leave early for the NBA, like Aaron Bradshaw or Bruce Thornton, or if any guys transfer, they will supplement that through the transfer portal to fill out the roster.
Over the years, the Buckeyes have shown that they like to have a mix of recruits, freshmen, and transfer portal additions to maximize the roster and what it needs after guys leave and specific needs arise.
Also, when you get a recruit like Peterson, he is enough to bring a highly anticipated class on his own, and Jones is a guy who can contribute from day one as well.
Continue reading...