Matta with a nice commit

[cwerph]

D'Angelo Russell, 6-4 guard, #1 kid in Kentucky for 2014.

There’s no better way to begin a weekend than to win a national recruiting battle. Thad Matta’s Ohio State Buckeyes found themselves in position to pop a cork Friday night when guard D’Angelo Russell (Louisville, Ky./Montverde) popped for Matta’s crew. The Buckeyes edged Michigan State and national champion Louisville for the services of a versatile, highly-regarded guard. Russell, known best for his catch and shoot effectiveness and scoring acumen for NHSI champion Montverde, brings a dual-threat element to Matta’s backcourt.

espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/124603/d'angelo-russell

[victor2111]

BIG time commit for Matta/Buckeyes. Matta 2014 class is looking REALLY GOOD! Now if he could get Okafor to jump on board for the 2014 class, then wow!

[Deleted]

Anytime you land a 5 star commit, I would call it better than nice. This class is looking great so far. All they really need is a PG.

[victor2111]

Probably will not get a PG commit and will be alright if they don't get one. Shannon Scott will be a Senior that year and will get most of the time, D'Angelo Russell can play the 2 & 1. He would play the backup PG position.

Right now Ohio State has 1 more ship for the 2014 class(if no one goes pro). They're ALL IN Jahlil Okafor #1 Center prospect for 2014 class. His final 8 is Duke, Ohio State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, & Illinois. Duke looks to be the favorite, Okafor has said he wants to play with 2014 #1 PG prospect Tyus Jones. Jones if from Minnesota, Okafor is from Illinois. They have 5 schools left on their list that are the same(Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Michigan State, and Ohio State). Problem is seems like Ohio State is farther down the list for Tyus Jones. They're high on Okafor list but so is Duke and a couple other schools. It is gonna be a battle, if Ohio State can get Okafor, this class is just as good as the Thad 5 class. Russell said he was going to talk to Okafor and recruit him to Ohio State. When asked if he would do the same for Jones, he said no. lol

Here is the 2014 class and what Ohio State 2014/2015 team will look like.
5* #1SG D'Andgelo Russell - Great commit. Great #2. Can play #1 also.
3* #20C David Bell - Underrated commit. Getting a lot more hype lately and people think he is a late bloomer. Might not be big impact freshman year, but later years could be.
4* #15SF Jae'Sean Tate - Good Defender, Raw prospect, solid offense game. Good prospect.
4* #6PF Keita Bates-Diop - 6-7 F. Can play SF/PF. Probably one of the few players in this class that can make a big impact right away. Since Ohio State has Loving in the 2013 class, KBD will probably play the #3 position at Ohio State.

2014/2015 roster:
PG: Scott(SR)/Russell(FR)
SG: Russell(FR)/Williams(SO)/ADV(JR)
SF: Thompson(SR)/KBD(FR)
PF: Ross(SR)/Loving(SO)/KBD(FR)
C: Williams(SR), McDonald(SR), Bell(FR)

That is where the roster sits now. Ross could potentially go pro after this year. KBD can play 3/4. Russell can play 2/back up 1. It would be great to have another PG but I don't think Ohio State will add one unless they can get Jones to OSU. I would be really surprise if that happen. It would be amazing if Ohio State could get Okafor to Ohio State. If they get him, this team is loaded. Can go REALLY BIG at times.


Then the good news is 2015 will have a 5* prospect from Ohio(Carlton Bragg) top 2 Ohio State and Kentucky. Ohio also had a 4* SG prospect(Luke Kennard), Ohio State is high on his list but people think if Kentucky offers, he will go there 100%. Kentucky is his dream school. So wait and see there. Then there is 5* Texas PF prospect Mickey Mitchell. Name sound familiar? Yeah, brother of 5* LB Mike Mitchell who is now a freshman on Ohio State football team. So that has to help. So 2015 could be a really good class for Ohio State also.

Then 2016 will have another 5* prospect from Ohio, That is 5* VJ King, from the same HS as LeBron James. Top 5 player in 2016 class, G/F.


Basically the future looks very bright for Ohio State basketball.

[cwerph]

Jun 7, 2013 23:02:42 GMT -5 @jtrbucks said:

Anytime you land a 5 star commit, I would call it better than nice. This class is looking great so far. All they really need is a PG.

The only place I looked was ESPIN - he's a 4 star there.

[Deleted]

Jun 8, 2013 5:46:43 GMT -5 cwerph said:

Jun 7, 2013 23:02:42 GMT -5 @jtrbucks said:

Anytime you land a 5 star commit, I would call it better than nice. This class is looking great so far. All they really need is a PG.

The only place I looked was ESPIN - he's a 4 star there.

I thought ABM banned us from all things ESPN.

[Deleted]

I'm really excited about this Jermaine Lawrence coming to UC. He's only ranked like 25th overall but his skill set is like Kevin Durant's(if he's half that good, it will be great). He should be fun to watch.

[silverbullet97]

Ohio State would also take Jaquan Lyle at PG if they can get him.

[victor2111]

Reggie Rankin ‏@reggierankin
Buckeyes land one heck of a scorer in SG D'Angelo Russell. Lefty with feel, stroke to the arc and a sweet floater. Smooth operator on O!

Reggie Rankin ‏@reggierankin
Buckeyes 2014 class on cusp of being special! Tate the tough guy, skill and versatility of Bates-Diop, scoring of Russell, upside of Bell!


UPDATE On 5* #1Center Okafor:
Top 3 according to people are (Duke-Michigan State-Ohio State).
IF he does play with 5* #1 PG Jones, they will BOTH most likely end up at Duke.
IF he goes his own way, it will probably come down to tOSU/MSU battle.

[silverbullet97]

Our in with Okafor is Sully. They are very similar players and I know they were talking for a while. Personally, Jones go Duke and Lyle ends up at IU but Matta is still fighting for them all.

[mauricxe]

Nice to see Matta can keep bringing top talent to the program.

[WANG]

Very good get, 2014 class is shaping up nicely