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You’re Nuts: Who will be the next Ohio recruit to commit to Ohio State men’s basketball?
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy of Steve Helwagen - 247Sports
There’s a deep talent pool in the Buckeye State in both the 2025 and 2026 cycles.
The Ohio State men’s basketball program got a big BOOM earlier this week, with 2025 guard and Cleveland native Dorian Jones announcing that he would be playing for Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes. Jones is the second-highest ranked player in the state of Ohio in 2025, the No. 12 shooting guard in the class, and is the first member of Ohio State’s 2025 class.
In addition to Jones and 2026 signee Marcus Johnson, Ohio State is involved with several other Ohio kids in these two classes. Today, we’re breaking down which one(s) we think could be next to become Buckeyes.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated the most impressive records in Ohio State men’s basketball history for “Broken Records Week.” Connor picked the 12 home sellouts that occured in 2000 and 2007. Justin picked David Lighty’s record of 157 career games played. Justin crushed it, winning with 89% of the vote.
Connor- 76
Back to ‘cruitin. Does Jones’ commitment this week impact other guard prospects that could be considering the Buckeyes? Could his connections in high school and AAU nudge other players to commit and join him?
Here are two players who we think could be next to follow Jones and join the Buckeye men’s basketball program:
For as plentiful and strong as Ohio State’s guard recruiting has been over the past few years, depth at small/power forward hasn’t been a strength of this program — basically since E.J. Liddell left. TJ Crumble feels like a perfect culture fit for the program, as well as fills a need at a position that is sometimes hard to recruit. He is currently the No. 43 player in the 2026 class, the No. 3 player in Ohio, and the No. 15 small forward.
Crumble is a 6-foot-8, 215-pound “small” forward from Cleveland’s Richmond Heights High School. He’s a high school teammate of 2025 commit Dorian Jones, who is mentioned above. He’s also an AAU teammate of Jones within the All-Ohio Red program, as well as 2025 Ohio State target/offeree Antoine West. His familiarity with Jones feels like a good connection that could bode well for Ohio State as Crumble gets closer to a decision.
While he does not have any kind of “list” cut down yet, Crumble has received offers from Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Ohio, Missouri, LSU, Kent State, Georgia Tech, Eastern Michigan, Cincinnati, and Arizona State. He has not indicated when he will make a decision.
Crumble describes his game as a “Mr. Do-It-All” who can “Shoot, post, score, play defense, talk, (and) good play making.” While he was disappointed to see Chris Holtmann fired, Crumble already knows and is a fan of new head coach Jake Diebler, telling 247Sports, “I believe Coach Diebler was the best person for that spot. He’s been the main one recruiting me and he’s been the main recruiter for a lot of the guys who have been going to Ohio State. I have a good relationship and my parents have a good relationship with him. I love Coach Diebler.”
He visited Ohio State last week. Per 247Sports, it is the only program he has completed an official visit with. Crumble is already big enough to compete in the Big Ten, and will only get bigger, taller, and stronger by 2026.
Crumble feels like someone whose stock and recruiting ranking are only going to go up from this point on. Based on the connections he already has with the program, I think he’s someone to keep an eye on this year to possibly choose the Buckeyes.
Unfortunately, I do not believe that Niko Bundalo will be a Buckeye. He has scheduled two official visits this fall — one to Michigan State and one to UConn,” — and it feels hard for any prospect to turn down UConn with where they are now.
The same is true for Darryn Peterson. Anytime you compete with Kansas in recruiting, it feels like you might already be one step behind. That is not to say they won’t land one or both of these two, but if I am going with strict confidence levels, Jerry Easter is who I am going with.
And yes, currently Jerry Easter is not playing in Ohio. He will be in Missouri playing for Link Academy, the same high school as Felix Okpara. But Easter is from Toledo and still holds true to his Ohio roots. So, I am counting him.
Easter is everything you want in a recruit. He has played against a high level of competition, is a top-50 ranked recruit in the country (No. 36 according to the 247Sports Composite), and has great size at 6-foot-5. He has been offered by Michigan State, Michigan, Maryland, and other top programs.
Ohio State has been recruiting Easter for a while, starting under Chris Holtmann and continuing under Jake Diebler. One of the benefits of retaining the interim coach in Diebler is he has already established these relationships in recruiting, and Easter is a prime example of that.
A class built with Easter and Jones would be phenomenal and show a ton of versatility and athleticism.
Continue reading...
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo courtesy of Steve Helwagen - 247Sports
There’s a deep talent pool in the Buckeye State in both the 2025 and 2026 cycles.
The Ohio State men’s basketball program got a big BOOM earlier this week, with 2025 guard and Cleveland native Dorian Jones announcing that he would be playing for Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes. Jones is the second-highest ranked player in the state of Ohio in 2025, the No. 12 shooting guard in the class, and is the first member of Ohio State’s 2025 class.
In addition to Jones and 2026 signee Marcus Johnson, Ohio State is involved with several other Ohio kids in these two classes. Today, we’re breaking down which one(s) we think could be next to become Buckeyes.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated the most impressive records in Ohio State men’s basketball history for “Broken Records Week.” Connor picked the 12 home sellouts that occured in 2000 and 2007. Justin picked David Lighty’s record of 157 career games played. Justin crushed it, winning with 89% of the vote.
After 159 weeks:
Connor- 76
Justin- 63
Other- 16
(There have been four ties)
Back to ‘cruitin. Does Jones’ commitment this week impact other guard prospects that could be considering the Buckeyes? Could his connections in high school and AAU nudge other players to commit and join him?
Here are two players who we think could be next to follow Jones and join the Buckeye men’s basketball program:
This week’s question: Who will be the next Ohio recruit to commit to Ohio State men’s basketball?
Connor: TJ Crumble
Stay Home???️ @OhioStateHoops #notcommitted pic.twitter.com/1K6ggMdhM8
— T.J. Crumble (@_TJCrumble2026) June 25, 2024
For as plentiful and strong as Ohio State’s guard recruiting has been over the past few years, depth at small/power forward hasn’t been a strength of this program — basically since E.J. Liddell left. TJ Crumble feels like a perfect culture fit for the program, as well as fills a need at a position that is sometimes hard to recruit. He is currently the No. 43 player in the 2026 class, the No. 3 player in Ohio, and the No. 15 small forward.
Crumble is a 6-foot-8, 215-pound “small” forward from Cleveland’s Richmond Heights High School. He’s a high school teammate of 2025 commit Dorian Jones, who is mentioned above. He’s also an AAU teammate of Jones within the All-Ohio Red program, as well as 2025 Ohio State target/offeree Antoine West. His familiarity with Jones feels like a good connection that could bode well for Ohio State as Crumble gets closer to a decision.
While he does not have any kind of “list” cut down yet, Crumble has received offers from Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Ohio, Missouri, LSU, Kent State, Georgia Tech, Eastern Michigan, Cincinnati, and Arizona State. He has not indicated when he will make a decision.
Crumble describes his game as a “Mr. Do-It-All” who can “Shoot, post, score, play defense, talk, (and) good play making.” While he was disappointed to see Chris Holtmann fired, Crumble already knows and is a fan of new head coach Jake Diebler, telling 247Sports, “I believe Coach Diebler was the best person for that spot. He’s been the main one recruiting me and he’s been the main recruiter for a lot of the guys who have been going to Ohio State. I have a good relationship and my parents have a good relationship with him. I love Coach Diebler.”
He visited Ohio State last week. Per 247Sports, it is the only program he has completed an official visit with. Crumble is already big enough to compete in the Big Ten, and will only get bigger, taller, and stronger by 2026.
Crumble feels like someone whose stock and recruiting ranking are only going to go up from this point on. Based on the connections he already has with the program, I think he’s someone to keep an eye on this year to possibly choose the Buckeyes.
Justin: Jerry Easter
Unfortunately, I do not believe that Niko Bundalo will be a Buckeye. He has scheduled two official visits this fall — one to Michigan State and one to UConn,” — and it feels hard for any prospect to turn down UConn with where they are now.
The same is true for Darryn Peterson. Anytime you compete with Kansas in recruiting, it feels like you might already be one step behind. That is not to say they won’t land one or both of these two, but if I am going with strict confidence levels, Jerry Easter is who I am going with.
And yes, currently Jerry Easter is not playing in Ohio. He will be in Missouri playing for Link Academy, the same high school as Felix Okpara. But Easter is from Toledo and still holds true to his Ohio roots. So, I am counting him.
Easter is everything you want in a recruit. He has played against a high level of competition, is a top-50 ranked recruit in the country (No. 36 according to the 247Sports Composite), and has great size at 6-foot-5. He has been offered by Michigan State, Michigan, Maryland, and other top programs.
Ohio State has been recruiting Easter for a while, starting under Chris Holtmann and continuing under Jake Diebler. One of the benefits of retaining the interim coach in Diebler is he has already established these relationships in recruiting, and Easter is a prime example of that.
A class built with Easter and Jones would be phenomenal and show a ton of versatility and athleticism.
Continue reading...