Hard to say what our needs will be with effectively 10 guys being signed in the past 2 classes and with Key and Brown eligible for a 5th year. Inevitably there will be some attrition, but without knowing who its tough to prioritize targets in the '24 class. I'd guess PF and PG will be the main focus.
6’11” - “310” lbs - good lord! That kind of weight usually does not translate to high level D1 basketball (unless your Shaq) - does he get up and down the court well?
If he comes to Ohio State, I imagine that he'll go through a similar transformation as Kaleb Wesson. No way he can be his best self at that weight on the basketball court.
He moves ok. Don't believe they'd offer unless they saw some upside, but as one here has mentioned he'll probably stay down south, but Georgia has no presence in basketball in their own state, maybe Mike White will change things.
Presuming Key comes back for a 5th year, we'd have 3 bigs so a 4th isn't much of a need. Marshall moves better than Wesson did at that age (he can actually dunk), but his all around skills aren't as good. I think he's a wait and see kinda recruit, not a gotta have. It seems he's pretty keen on staying close to home, so I suspect he ends up at an SEC school.
Again, if Key and Brown take their 5th year, that would leave 1 spot open so we need to be fairly discerning in early recruiting. Now inevitably there will be one or two guys leave/transfer, but without knowing who is leaving, you don't know what you need to fill.
Does anyone know if Flory Bidunga (C, Kokomo IN, 2024) got an offer from Holtmann yet? We need to be heavily recruiting him right now as he is arguably the best player in the country for 2024, is right in our backyard, and just got CB'd to UC. I think we have a shot if we push.
That was really good. I know Ward is pretty critical of the basketball program, but I think he handled that pretty well. Better than Doug Lesmerisses (sp?), who just reveals his ignorance of the program every time he talks about it.
I think it probably helps that he is now working with Landis. I think Landis is probably one of, if not the most, articulate and knowledgeable media person covering the team. He just doesn't have the time to devote to it like Jardy since he has always covered the football program as well.
Like most OSU fans, I consume info from a lot of sources on the OSU beat. When AW was at LR, they hardly even paid attention to basketball except for Spence Holbrook. So when Austin, comments on the program my attitude is “whatever.” Lesmerises seems to always look for the unconventional wisdom, contrary opinion to either football or basketball. I’m all for an alternative perspective, but he forces it all the time. I really appreciate LGHL for basketball coverage. And it seems 11W is trying a little harder with hoops. Most of all, I enjoy the regular basketball commenters here in this forum
Tough to say what the roster may look like by then but as of today, Peterson would be the 4th SG on roster (I'll assume one of the SG's leave and we add one in '24) plus Chatman as a combo.
Well, his last visit was with us and hasn't visited all the schools in his top 6. Cassady (Florida guy for Rivals) just changed his commitment forecast from Creighton to OSU. Haven't heard much buzz, but I like our chances.
A scouting report said he actually plays off the ball quite a bit for Gorman, but is just an all around undersized scoring machine. Similar to RJ Davis on North Carolina.
Gorman has several good PG options. Yes, sometimes they have Mobley playing off the ball because that's the smart move, he's an elite outside shooter. But they also use him in the PG role depending on what personnel they have on the court, and he does a really good job with ballhandling and passing and overall team facilitation in addition to his scoring/shooting.
Basically, they have other good players that they can play at PG, and they play them and when they do, they have Mobley off the ball. The general idea, though, is keeping Mobley on the court as much as possible, because he helps them win.
Really good article about hoops recruiting rankings, the how’s and why’s of decision making. Fwiw, while I am very critical of the “starhanderouters” ranking football players, hoops rankings are an entirely different beast, and are much more predictive of general success/pro career outcomes than the football equivalents.
We installed new LED lights in The Schott and got rid of the bum ass old yellow ass lights and its gonna make in game photography so much nicer bro.
Heres side by side for comparison. The seats will catch significantly less light creating more separation between subject & bg pic.twitter.com/AkodWkHDMM
— Joe Gemma (@JoeDGemma) October 11, 2022
Hahaha thanks for the share. I'm excited about the difference this will make in venue in regards to improving the atmosphere. Of course there is only so much you can do to make a building this big feel more intimate, but we're hoping this moves us in that direction. Hopefully we can get black seats and a new jumbotron in the next few years to keep making progress on that front.
- we are recruiting skilled guys who can play multiple positions.
- we are filling needs.
- we are getting guys to sign fairly early. We are done with the '23 class before the season begins and have a jump on the '24 season on what may be a smallish class.
Do ya'll think the casual osu bball fan appreciates or even knows what has gone on with recruiting recently?
My buddy who is a Buckeye football fan but a die hard UD bball fan (he's an alum) mentioned that Holtmann was killing it with recruiting and asked if the fan base was excited.
I didn't really know how to answer. I mean, the 15-20 of us that comment on this thread on a regular basis are pumped. I think we represent the small pct of die hard osu bball fans. And I don't know if the commenters on the main page and those that comment on social media are a good representation of the casual fans. But based on that, I'd say it is a pretty heavy blend of apathy, snark, and cynicism. I mean, there's more comments for the Bucks being outside of the meaningless Preseason Top 25 poll than the Bucks getting their 4th Top 50 recruit (Mobley) in 3 months. And plenty of the comments on social media and on here about recruiting have comments like "wake me up in March", "over/under on years they will transfer", etc.
I don't really care, just find it kind of funny. And just because the recruiting improved dramatically does not mean Holtmann is going to string together 4 straight Sweet 16s or better like Matta did in Years 6-9. But it sure as hell helps his chances of doing something similar.
As one of a few who is as big of a BasketBucks fan as I am OSU football, I really highly doubt the casual basketball fan understands what Holtmann has done over the past few months (to go along with this 2022 incoming class).
Too many are hung up on recent results to understand Holtmann is completely re-working this roster with high-level talent. For instance, how many believe OSU will take a huge step back this year just because they lost Liddell and Branham? I'm sure there are many because those were the only two "name-recognition" players from last season. The depth and overall talent increase this year versus last is pretty striking, and that is only going to continue over the next two years (or more).
I wish others could see the forest through the trees regarding this program because it is most definitely on the upswing. I for one am extremely excited to see this group push through some growing pains and play at its best at the end of the season if healthy (knock on wood).
One of my best friends is a HUGE Buckeye basketball fan. He goes to 90% of their home games. I am more than just a casual BB fan but not the same fanatical in season fan he is. That being said, he has no clue on recruiting with the Buckeye hoops program. I am a Buckeye football fanatic and was super into recruiting years ago, I just don't have the time or energy to put into it now except following the main guys on media outlets. I see what Holtmann is doing though and its awesome. I just hope the folks that don't know better give him a chance beyond the next year or two. He's beginning to stack some nice classes and set up a great run.
GO BUCKS
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
The way we've been crushing recruiting and all the good positive momentum has me so damn excited. Like you said Bsk, most of the talk however is we're not even ranked. The negative talk to everything positive starts to get annoying. I'm not saying that Holtmann is above criticism, or that he needs to start making tourney runs, but I think we have a very bright future for our OSU Hoops and I think he will. I'm sure we'll have some transfer(s), but most teams will too. Preseason polls don't matter to me. I just want us to get better during the season.
Put me in the category of a blend of apathy and cynicism (no snark from me).
I've always been more of an OSU basketball fan than an OSU football fan. I've followed OSU basketball since the Bill Hosket teams in the late '60s. I've followed all of the good years and the bad years. I had faith in Chris Holtmann up until the end of last year. I've become disenchanted with Chris Holtmann. This happened last year when his 18-7 team, with a chance to win a B1G title, went to Maryland and looked like they had zero interest in playing that game. They lost, and then came home and lost to Nebraska. They beat MSU but then lost to Michigan at home and Penn St. in the B1G tournament where they lost second half leads.
I give Holtmann credit for making the NCAA tournament every year. At this point, I do not believe that Holtman can take the next step. I'll give him credit for stockpiling talent through his recruiting efforts. I'm watching and waiting to see what he does with that talent. I've been reading all of 11W's basketball content, and all of the posts by you and others. I want to get excited about this upcoming season, but it's just not there for me yet.
I don't expect NCAA titles or 4 straight sweet 16s. I do expect a B1G regular season or tournament title 2 out of every 5 years. I do expect getting beyond the first weekend of the NCAA tournament once or twice in 5 years. I've come to believe that Chris Holtmann will not achieve these expectations.
Yes, I'll continue to watch or listen to every game. I'm hoping that my excitement level is restored. I'm hoping that Chris Holtmann restores the faith I had in him prior to February 27, 2022.
To each their own, but other than the Maryland game, that team had some major injury issues. I mean, Sueing was a top 4 player basically lost for the season. Young was another top 4 player lost for essentially all but 8 mins of the Nebraska game. Key barely played that stretch. Towns never played. So much of the stretch you reference, 4 of their Top 8 players did not play.
Now things were made worse by some recruiting and transfer misses. And that's on Holtmann. But take 4 of the top 8 players out of any program and things are likely not going to go well. And I get nobody wants to hear injury excuses, but we have had ridiculously bad luck the last two seasons. It hasn't been normal.
I agree with you that they did not show up against Maryland. And they did have Kyle and Zed (for most of the game) in that match up. But in my humble opinion, in the 5 years Holtmann has been here, IMHO there has only been approximately 2-3 games a season like Maryland where they don't show up and/or get completely ran out of the gym. I get we would all like that to be zero, but good luck finding a program like that, especially in a league as deep and with as many difficult away venues as the Big 10.
You do you, but it seems to be an odd time to just now become cynical and apathetic about the program considering they look to have boosted their talent depth quite a bit. And they are due for positive regression in the injury department as well.
Bsk33 - I agree with that Young and Key being out had major impact. But this team was 18-7 without Sueing and Towns. In my opinion, their absence is not an excuse.
Again, I'll be watching. I understand that some time will be required to put all of the new parts together. I hope that the talent infusion will result in great accomplishments, especially in 2023-24 and 2024-25. We'll see.
At this point, I do not believe that Holtman can take the next step.
This is something I questioned myself at the beginning of last year. Its not that I didn't think he was a capable coach, I questioned whether he could recruit at a high enough level to get a B1G title or consistently be a S16 team. Obviously he's picked up recruiting significantly. The '22 class has 4 top 65 guys that are going to contribute right away and none of them had any ties to Ohio. The '23 class has 3 top 50 guys that are going to be in the rotation immediately and again, only 1 guy with any OH ties.
Recruiting has been tough in this region as OH just hasn't produced that many top 100 players and recruiting in the B1G region is much tougher for basketball than football. I think producing some NBA players has helped his case with recruits and thats starting to pay dividends. I get being somewhat disappointed with results thus far, but I do think there is a reasonable chance of that changing very soon.
Bsk33 and Wigmon - thanks for your responses. I respect your opinions, along with the opinions of a handful of other posters (nomatta, etc.). I hope your optimism is rewarded.
I think people realize OSU is recruiting pretty well but I am not sure they realize that it is at a higher level than Holtmann was recruiting before. I have seen a lot of comments from various people along the lines of "That's great but he will just underachieve with the talent like usual."
I think Holtmann is a solid, balanced coach who builds good culture in his programs. His biggest deficiency to date, imo, has been recruiting and roster construction. The recruiting was decent but we rarely had a talent advantage in T25 match-ups, especially with bad injury luck hitting the past couple seasons.
On paper, his next two classes are his most talented. The only comparable class he had before was the 2019 class, out of which we only really got EJ.
I like the talent level and overall composition of the 2022 and 2023 classes far better than any other class Holtmann has had before (was always a Gaffney skeptic and knew Diallo was a huge reach). I like how the pieces of these classes go together. There are zero guarantees in college basketball, especially in March, but I think there are some reasons for optimism.
I've been extremely blessed by luck. I lived within walking distance of Independence high school during the Estaban Era. And was also able to watch OJ Mayo and Bill Walker at North College Hill high school. I use to be a die hard for Ohio high school basketball and football. But over the years my love for the game of basketball has faded. I still travel within reason to watch high school football though.
Bullets will be back to save the season, and Stroud's dignity.
Yeah, Gregory and Reese were pretty good players at Independence during that era as well. Weaver wasn't eligible alot and was several years older than his grade. Still a heck of a talent and fun to watch.
ESPN 60 guard John Mobley announced his commitment to Ohio State on Sunday, becoming the Buckeyes' first pledge in the 2024 class.
Mobley chose Ohio State over a final six that also included Arizona State, Creighton, LSU, USC and Xavier.
"I have ties to the area," said Mobley, who attends Bishop Gorman in Nevada but lived in Columbus, Ohio, for 11 years. "I like the way coach [Chris] Holtmann coaches and treats his players. On my visit, in practice he talked to everyone. He holds his players accountable, yet he was positive."
Holtmann and his staff explaining their plan for Mobley won him over.
"He has a strong relationship and trust with his players," he said. "They spoke highly of him. I thought he was a very serious guy. But he is really funny. He likes to make jokes. He even laughs at his own jokes."
A 6-foot-2 point guard, Mobley is ranked No. 51 in the ESPN 60 for the 2024 class. He excelled for the Vegas Elite 16U program on the spring and summer circuit, averaging 16.7 points and 3.0 assists, shooting nearly 45% from 3-point range.
What makes Mobley so effective is his deep range and accuracy. His shot has consistency out to the NBA line. His jumper is equally efficient both off the catch and from the bounce, and he is a dangerous high-level threat operating in ball-screen actions and cutting off screens based on how he is defended.
"Their play style fits my game," Mobley said of Ohio State. "They have quick hitters. Flow from their transition game. I can play both on and off the ball."
Today is our "secret" scrimmage vs Wake Forest. It'll be interesting to see how our freshmen and transfers played against ACC competition. It might take a day or two, but usually Jardy provides some insights about our scrimmages.
According to Jeff Goodman two WF players had double doubles. Tyree Appleby and Andrew Carr. Both new transfers to Wake. As for the Bucks, Brice and Zed were our 2 best players.
Thanks for the assist, Raider. Idk who won, and it's not really all that important tbh. I think Ole Miss beat us last year in the scrimmage. I'd like to know how Sueing played.
My brother is on the text list from Jardy. Sounded like they were leaving out a couple players due to minor injuries. As Jardy described "a few minor, typical preseason injuries."
But honestly, even if we were full strength, I could see us getting beat to a Wake team not projected to be all that good.
I am excited about this team and I am pretty bullish on their season outlook. But I am very thankful we have an exhibition followed by Robert Morris, Charleston Southern, and Eastern Illinois at home. And even after that, Maui could very well be a rude awakening.
I think the negative impact of having all these new faces (4 frosh and 3 transfers) in the rotation is a little overrated as far as the season outlook is concerned. But I expect that first month or so to be pretty damn rocky. So an underwhelming performance in an October scrimmage would be pretty expected IMHO.
Thanks for the info Bsk. I don't get the Jardy texts. I agree that Maui might be a tough stretch for us, but I think we're going to surprise people and get better and better as the season goes on.
Well, you never like to lose, but I imagine with 10 or 11 guys fighting to be in the rotation that we looked at a lot of different lineups and move guys around to various positions (as I am sure Wake did too). Holtmanns half court sets have a fair amount of nuance, so it takes some time for guys to really grasp the timing and reads and as mentioned by many, we have a lot of new faces that have to learn both the offensive and defensive schemes.
Good to know. But a few years ago we beat Baylor in one of these scrimmages IIRC. The coach is likely looking at lineups, combinations, and skill sets rather than focusing on winning a meaningless game. So hopefully people don’t over react
Excited that hoops season is right around the corner.
There's info on the scrimmage out there if you know where to look cough247cough...sounds like Holden Mcneil and Sueing played bad, Gayle and Thornton had some nice moments, and it was a close game besides a 13-0 run by Wake
Holtmann needs to win something of consequence this year, not next year. If you told me in June of 2017 "just give him 7 seasons to do something" then I would have laughed. We've had a great offseason and I expect us to have at least a GOOD season even if there are growing pains. My "something of consequence" expectations are to finish in the Top 4 of the conference and to make the S16 and I refuse to budge on that. Holtmann has had plenty of time to build his program it's time to actually go out there and give the fanbase something to celebrate.
I think we have The Shookster's expectations memorized at this point. It seems to get worked into the comment thread of each edition of this thread and nearly every basketball article on this site. It's always good to have a refresher though... I guess.
I would have agreed with the needing to show something this season if Holtmann hadn’t been showing promise on the recruiting trail. Set to bring his two best classes in back to back years.
If Holtmann was an awful coach, then recruiting shouldn't save him. But he's not an awful coach. He's done consistently (though perhaps not superlatively) well with good not great talent. He makes the Dance, usually wins a game there, and has OSU as one of 3 power conference programs to win 20 games every season he has been here.
The 2022 and 2023 classes plus Mobley are good enough to buy him some time. You don't throw all of that out of the window if this season's team, which is basically a new team and whose best talent is in the freshmen group, struggles. I guess my only caveat is that if OSU had the inside track or funds allocated for a grand slam homerun hire, then yeah, maybe you do move on from Holtmann if this season is a poor one.
I guess the other possibility is you promote the guy who was most instrumental in landing the recruits. You make Jake Diebler the head coach. I'm not sure what you gain there other than securing Diebler to stay at OSU, but it's possible that would be worth it.
So, all I know about basketball recruiting is what I’ve read here in these Forum threads. I am excited about the new recruits and transfers and the upcoming season. It’s going to be a bumpy start, teams have to learn how to play together and coaches have to understand what their players will do. But I’m excited to see what the new guys can do.
It was always going to be a bumpy ride this year and to expect anything less is not in tune with reality. They lost their 2 best players by a wide margin. Both with eligibility left to play. 10 new kids with no continuity with each other? Come on. They will be a better team at the end of the year if they all stay healthy and come together. Those of you expecting more should just just fold up your tent now.
Yeah, McNeil will be the only guy that can threaten from deep that starts. The freshman will need to shoot well, and Gene Brown needs to live up to his 3 and D mantra.
Not a mention on this site by staff about a basketball game today. Remember when Thad lost to Findlay in an exhibition game years back? Titus said in his broadcast that Thad wrote the loss on a blackboard and had it remain all year. It all counts starting now.
Hey, we did get an article confirming that JTT won't be the 7th or 8th option of the bench. Priorities.
In Eleven Warriors' defense, that article already has 4 comments in less than an hour. Not sure the Exhibition Game write up would have any in that time frame.
Yea sebaba it baffles me sometimes when I am critical of a free site that has the word eleven in its moniker, and is pretty much solely reliant on ad revenue to support itself. Bit baffling they are not able to ship their dry goods internationally. Actually believed it would be a fair method of giving back. But most sms subscriptions, like cleveland.com and Adam Jardy's friends do not make allowances for overseas. As an expat I work quite hard to support my fansticism, so it is slightly befuddling when technology is some obstacle. Also with the realization that not one single game until Maui will start at a time that does not require me to wake at 2 AM. And even with that, subscription prices to a VPN and then to youtube tv are prohibitive to me.
Also, if I recall what GW3 wanted vs what the coaches had envisioned for him didn't line up. Staff feels much better about Chatman having the ball in his hands and running the offense than Washington
My understanding is that GW3 wanted assurances that he would get to play some in a primary ballhandler role at OSU since that would be his best bet at a future professionally. When he first committed to OSU, the coaches thought maybe he could become a player like that for them, but when they watched him this summer they didn't really feel like they saw him developing towards that role here. They do view Chatman more in that light, a CG who can truly play PG when needed, and were recruiting him without revoking GW3's scholarship offer. But GW3 kind of saw the writing on the wall with Chatman and in the discussions he was having with the coaching staff that he might not have the role he was hoping for at OSU, so he decommitted.
scUM is a slightly surprising choice to me and I have to wonder if GW3 was a bit motivated to prove himself against OSU and that might have helped sway his decision. It sucks because I do think GW3 is quite talented and will probably be in school longer than Chatman, so I am sure there will be at least a season or two where the peanut gallery will be outraged that we let GW3 "get away." But yeah, a little surprised because scUM is likely to have Dug McDaniel (their 5'11 T100 2022 PG) for 3-4 years and they also have a 4-star PG committed in the 2024 class. I guess from GW3's perspective he at least will be in the mix for some PG minutes right away whereas for OSU it was doubtful he would get much of any so long as Thornton and Chatman are here.
It had felt for a while like GW3 might be trending towards scUM because scUM had been pushing for him, but originally I did think he was going to pick somewhere like Dayton (super close to his family now) or Louisville, whose guard situation is pretty wide open.
Blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State University. Thank you to Head Coach Chris Holtmann, Coach Jake Diebler, and the rest of the coaching staff! #GoBuckeyespic.twitter.com/FIFgScBpBn
— Christopher Nwuli (@ChrisNwuli) November 3, 2022
No reason to start a new thread but there was news on the recruiting front today
I can confirm that all four 2023 #Buckeyes commits have signed: Taison Chatman, Scotty Middleton, Austin Parks and Devin Royal:https://t.co/8cFgpzQ2ew
— Adam Jardy (@AdamJardy) November 9, 2022
I saw where someone, may have been Jardy, asked Holtmann if he was done with this class and he said he didn’t want to answer that at this time…anything to read into with that answer?
Coaches always have an eye on the portal, and know that at least a couple of their players invariably do too. It’s just not considered polite to discuss it as an inevitability.
Fwiw, while tOSU’s class is ranked #5, it could be argued that it is potentially as high as #3, given that Sparty and UConn are ranked ahead of them, but benefit from one standout each in their class-Booker-Sparty, Castle-UConn, with the majority of both classes below tOSU in aggregate talent. Duke and UK signed 25% of the 24’ NBA first round between their classes, they are both on a completely different level than any other schools for the 23’ class. Oregon also has as good of a class as anyone n the nation on a per player basis, but only signed 3.
Devin Royal dropped 40 last night, man amongst boys. Faces a big time matchup on Monday at the annual Flyin’ to the Hoop vs stud Xavier Booker (MSU) from Cathedral out of Indiana at 3 o’clock …
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John Mobley Jr. is visiting this weekend. Pretty highly ranked PG from Bishop Gorman who’s originally from near Columbus.
Yes!John (Juni) Mobley, Jr. Got a host of offers from all over the country. Thanks for update
Hard to say what our needs will be with effectively 10 guys being signed in the past 2 classes and with Key and Brown eligible for a 5th year. Inevitably there will be some attrition, but without knowing who its tough to prioritize targets in the '24 class. I'd guess PF and PG will be the main focus.
Yes. But Peyton Marshall might be a potential. He comes from Marietta, Ga. Diebler has done well in recruiting there.
6’11” - “310” lbs - good lord! That kind of weight usually does not translate to high level D1 basketball (unless your Shaq) - does he get up and down the court well?
Artthedart
If he comes to Ohio State, I imagine that he'll go through a similar transformation as Kaleb Wesson. No way he can be his best self at that weight on the basketball court.
He moves ok. Don't believe they'd offer unless they saw some upside, but as one here has mentioned he'll probably stay down south, but Georgia has no presence in basketball in their own state, maybe Mike White will change things.
Presuming Key comes back for a 5th year, we'd have 3 bigs so a 4th isn't much of a need. Marshall moves better than Wesson did at that age (he can actually dunk), but his all around skills aren't as good. I think he's a wait and see kinda recruit, not a gotta have. It seems he's pretty keen on staying close to home, so I suspect he ends up at an SEC school.
Again, if Key and Brown take their 5th year, that would leave 1 spot open so we need to be fairly discerning in early recruiting. Now inevitably there will be one or two guys leave/transfer, but without knowing who is leaving, you don't know what you need to fill.
Does anyone know if Flory Bidunga (C, Kokomo IN, 2024) got an offer from Holtmann yet? We need to be heavily recruiting him right now as he is arguably the best player in the country for 2024, is right in our backyard, and just got CB'd to UC. I think we have a shot if we push.
“I just roke up” - Daniel Larson
There's some other factors in the Bidunga recruitment. He is not coming here.
the empire never ended
too expensive huh?
Welp that flipping sucks. Guy is the best player from Indiana since Oden imo.
“I just roke up” - Daniel Larson
Really good interview from AW and Landis with Holtmann.
This is definitely where I parked my car.
That was really good. I know Ward is pretty critical of the basketball program, but I think he handled that pretty well. Better than Doug Lesmerisses (sp?), who just reveals his ignorance of the program every time he talks about it.
I think it probably helps that he is now working with Landis. I think Landis is probably one of, if not the most, articulate and knowledgeable media person covering the team. He just doesn't have the time to devote to it like Jardy since he has always covered the football program as well.
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
Yes. Like the time Lesmeris said, and I quote..."Chris Holtmann cannot handle me! ...Hows he gonna handle Bronny(James)?!"
Like most OSU fans, I consume info from a lot of sources on the OSU beat. When AW was at LR, they hardly even paid attention to basketball except for Spence Holbrook. So when Austin, comments on the program my attitude is “whatever.” Lesmerises seems to always look for the unconventional wisdom, contrary opinion to either football or basketball. I’m all for an alternative perspective, but he forces it all the time. I really appreciate LGHL for basketball coverage. And it seems 11W is trying a little harder with hoops. Most of all, I enjoy the regular basketball commenters here in this forum
247 site ranking came out for the class of 2025: https://247sports.com/Season/2025-Basketball/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool%2F
Three Ohio kids with OSU offers in the top 50 to start
The three top 50 OH kids all play the same position. Peterson is the one we want.
Have to think we would still take the other guys potentially considering the level of prospects they are.
A pair and a spare, or something like that!
Tough to say what the roster may look like by then but as of today, Peterson would be the 4th SG on roster (I'll assume one of the SG's leave and we add one in '24) plus Chatman as a combo.
‘24 NC 4* SF Sir Mohammed 6’5 200
Made Darren Harris' top 4
Have we ever beat Duke for a kid in the last decade?
Does transfer Seth Towns count?
Love it or leave it!
Who was Duke's coach at the time?
Granted, he hasn’t coached a game yet, but Jon Scheyer already has two of the best classes in school history-22’ and 23’-committed for the Devils.
*Has anyone ever beat Duke for a kid in the last decade? (With the exceptions of Kentucky and maybe Carolina or Kansas)
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
https://247sports.com/Player/Jasper-Johnson-46134852/
28 more days until the regular season tips off for team 124. I can't wait for some hoops.
MrBuck24
Decision 10/16 for ‘24 Juni Mobley. Tweet
Finalists: Creighton, Ohio State, Xavier, LSU, Arizona State, USC.
What's the latest buzz with him Rick or anyone else who may know?
Well, his last visit was with us and hasn't visited all the schools in his top 6. Cassady (Florida guy for Rivals) just changed his commitment forecast from Creighton to OSU. Haven't heard much buzz, but I like our chances.
Travis Branham CB'd Juni Mobley to OSU with a confidence of 7.
MrBuck24
He called it on Chatman, so I’ll take this as a good sign.
Hell yeah! I posted when he was visiting wondering if we could get an early commit and it looks like it might happen.
Would be a great get. He is a bit small at 6'0" but I think he is a legit PG who also happens to be an elite shot-maker.
the empire never ended
A scouting report said he actually plays off the ball quite a bit for Gorman, but is just an all around undersized scoring machine. Similar to RJ Davis on North Carolina.
Gorman has several good PG options. Yes, sometimes they have Mobley playing off the ball because that's the smart move, he's an elite outside shooter. But they also use him in the PG role depending on what personnel they have on the court, and he does a really good job with ballhandling and passing and overall team facilitation in addition to his scoring/shooting.
Basically, they have other good players that they can play at PG, and they play them and when they do, they have Mobley off the ball. The general idea, though, is keeping Mobley on the court as much as possible, because he helps them win.
the empire never ended
Trey Burke. Better shooter/scorer than Burke at similar stages, but Burke really improved physically late in his HS career.
great comparison wigmon!
hoping juni fills out more as he turns 18-20 and progresses like trey did
i understand the circumstances with trey's recruitment, but im still bitter he ended up in AA
Is Mobley a fast/speedy player-like RJ Davis, or more of a great volume shooter type, irregardless of height?
just watched some of his highlights
isnt incredibly fast/speedy - very "shifty" and can fuckin stroke it from deep
he says he models his game after steph...and i can see it.
Finally watched some YouTube of Mobley and I see what you mean, agree with your take.
It's funny that Trey Burke came up as a comparison. He has actually trained with Trey occasionally in the offseason.
Mobley is from Reynoldsburg (suburb of Columbus) and still has a lot of family in the area.
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
Dare I say it it? Stature wise mirrors Jay Burson who was also a shot maker….
Is the Somali SF recruit originally from Columbus in the 24’ or 25’ class?
I believe you are talking about Amier Ali. He’s in the 24 class.
Yup, that’s him, thanks. He might be a tough pull, already has a UK offer.
Will definitely be tough but if we are gonna land a 5/star type player, a guy with Ohio roots is our best shot.
https://247sports.com/Article/college-basketball-recruiting-2024-mailbag-rankings-193888866/
Really good article about hoops recruiting rankings, the how’s and why’s of decision making. Fwiw, while I am very critical of the “starhanderouters” ranking football players, hoops rankings are an entirely different beast, and are much more predictive of general success/pro career outcomes than the football equivalents.
Hahaha thanks for the share. I'm excited about the difference this will make in venue in regards to improving the atmosphere. Of course there is only so much you can do to make a building this big feel more intimate, but we're hoping this moves us in that direction. Hopefully we can get black seats and a new jumbotron in the next few years to keep making progress on that front.
when is mobley announcing?
The time is still TBD, but he's announcing on ESPN2.
MrBuck24
3pm eastern time
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
3pm eastern time
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
Juni Mobley is playing in the border league this weekend and put up 18pts in one game and 29pts in another. His shot looks so smooth and effortless.
MrBuck24
6 foot killer
the empire never ended
Baby Faced Assassin
BOOM!!
MrBuck24
Ranking of 2022, '23, and '24 commitments (per 247 composite):
39 (Middleton)
44 (Chatman)
44 (Mobley)
46 (Gayle)
47 (Thornton)
50 (Royal)
62 (Okpara)
65 (Sensabaugh)
168 (Parks)
310 (Hardman)
To add to this:
- we are recruiting skilled guys who can play multiple positions.
- we are filling needs.
- we are getting guys to sign fairly early. We are done with the '23 class before the season begins and have a jump on the '24 season on what may be a smallish class.
Do ya'll think the casual osu bball fan appreciates or even knows what has gone on with recruiting recently?
My buddy who is a Buckeye football fan but a die hard UD bball fan (he's an alum) mentioned that Holtmann was killing it with recruiting and asked if the fan base was excited.
I didn't really know how to answer. I mean, the 15-20 of us that comment on this thread on a regular basis are pumped. I think we represent the small pct of die hard osu bball fans. And I don't know if the commenters on the main page and those that comment on social media are a good representation of the casual fans. But based on that, I'd say it is a pretty heavy blend of apathy, snark, and cynicism. I mean, there's more comments for the Bucks being outside of the meaningless Preseason Top 25 poll than the Bucks getting their 4th Top 50 recruit (Mobley) in 3 months. And plenty of the comments on social media and on here about recruiting have comments like "wake me up in March", "over/under on years they will transfer", etc.
I don't really care, just find it kind of funny. And just because the recruiting improved dramatically does not mean Holtmann is going to string together 4 straight Sweet 16s or better like Matta did in Years 6-9. But it sure as hell helps his chances of doing something similar.
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
As one of a few who is as big of a BasketBucks fan as I am OSU football, I really highly doubt the casual basketball fan understands what Holtmann has done over the past few months (to go along with this 2022 incoming class).
Too many are hung up on recent results to understand Holtmann is completely re-working this roster with high-level talent. For instance, how many believe OSU will take a huge step back this year just because they lost Liddell and Branham? I'm sure there are many because those were the only two "name-recognition" players from last season. The depth and overall talent increase this year versus last is pretty striking, and that is only going to continue over the next two years (or more).
I wish others could see the forest through the trees regarding this program because it is most definitely on the upswing. I for one am extremely excited to see this group push through some growing pains and play at its best at the end of the season if healthy (knock on wood).
One of my best friends is a HUGE Buckeye basketball fan. He goes to 90% of their home games. I am more than just a casual BB fan but not the same fanatical in season fan he is. That being said, he has no clue on recruiting with the Buckeye hoops program. I am a Buckeye football fanatic and was super into recruiting years ago, I just don't have the time or energy to put into it now except following the main guys on media outlets. I see what Holtmann is doing though and its awesome. I just hope the folks that don't know better give him a chance beyond the next year or two. He's beginning to stack some nice classes and set up a great run.
GO BUCKS
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
The way we've been crushing recruiting and all the good positive momentum has me so damn excited. Like you said Bsk, most of the talk however is we're not even ranked. The negative talk to everything positive starts to get annoying. I'm not saying that Holtmann is above criticism, or that he needs to start making tourney runs, but I think we have a very bright future for our OSU Hoops and I think he will. I'm sure we'll have some transfer(s), but most teams will too. Preseason polls don't matter to me. I just want us to get better during the season.
MrBuck24
Dick Vitale has us at 18th!
Put me in the category of a blend of apathy and cynicism (no snark from me).
I've always been more of an OSU basketball fan than an OSU football fan. I've followed OSU basketball since the Bill Hosket teams in the late '60s. I've followed all of the good years and the bad years. I had faith in Chris Holtmann up until the end of last year. I've become disenchanted with Chris Holtmann. This happened last year when his 18-7 team, with a chance to win a B1G title, went to Maryland and looked like they had zero interest in playing that game. They lost, and then came home and lost to Nebraska. They beat MSU but then lost to Michigan at home and Penn St. in the B1G tournament where they lost second half leads.
I give Holtmann credit for making the NCAA tournament every year. At this point, I do not believe that Holtman can take the next step. I'll give him credit for stockpiling talent through his recruiting efforts. I'm watching and waiting to see what he does with that talent. I've been reading all of 11W's basketball content, and all of the posts by you and others. I want to get excited about this upcoming season, but it's just not there for me yet.
I don't expect NCAA titles or 4 straight sweet 16s. I do expect a B1G regular season or tournament title 2 out of every 5 years. I do expect getting beyond the first weekend of the NCAA tournament once or twice in 5 years. I've come to believe that Chris Holtmann will not achieve these expectations.
Yes, I'll continue to watch or listen to every game. I'm hoping that my excitement level is restored. I'm hoping that Chris Holtmann restores the faith I had in him prior to February 27, 2022.
To each their own, but other than the Maryland game, that team had some major injury issues. I mean, Sueing was a top 4 player basically lost for the season. Young was another top 4 player lost for essentially all but 8 mins of the Nebraska game. Key barely played that stretch. Towns never played. So much of the stretch you reference, 4 of their Top 8 players did not play.
Now things were made worse by some recruiting and transfer misses. And that's on Holtmann. But take 4 of the top 8 players out of any program and things are likely not going to go well. And I get nobody wants to hear injury excuses, but we have had ridiculously bad luck the last two seasons. It hasn't been normal.
I agree with you that they did not show up against Maryland. And they did have Kyle and Zed (for most of the game) in that match up. But in my humble opinion, in the 5 years Holtmann has been here, IMHO there has only been approximately 2-3 games a season like Maryland where they don't show up and/or get completely ran out of the gym. I get we would all like that to be zero, but good luck finding a program like that, especially in a league as deep and with as many difficult away venues as the Big 10.
You do you, but it seems to be an odd time to just now become cynical and apathetic about the program considering they look to have boosted their talent depth quite a bit. And they are due for positive regression in the injury department as well.
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
Bsk33 - I agree with that Young and Key being out had major impact. But this team was 18-7 without Sueing and Towns. In my opinion, their absence is not an excuse.
Again, I'll be watching. I understand that some time will be required to put all of the new parts together. I hope that the talent infusion will result in great accomplishments, especially in 2023-24 and 2024-25. We'll see.
This is something I questioned myself at the beginning of last year. Its not that I didn't think he was a capable coach, I questioned whether he could recruit at a high enough level to get a B1G title or consistently be a S16 team. Obviously he's picked up recruiting significantly. The '22 class has 4 top 65 guys that are going to contribute right away and none of them had any ties to Ohio. The '23 class has 3 top 50 guys that are going to be in the rotation immediately and again, only 1 guy with any OH ties.
Recruiting has been tough in this region as OH just hasn't produced that many top 100 players and recruiting in the B1G region is much tougher for basketball than football. I think producing some NBA players has helped his case with recruits and thats starting to pay dividends. I get being somewhat disappointed with results thus far, but I do think there is a reasonable chance of that changing very soon.
Bsk33 and Wigmon - thanks for your responses. I respect your opinions, along with the opinions of a handful of other posters (nomatta, etc.). I hope your optimism is rewarded.
I think people realize OSU is recruiting pretty well but I am not sure they realize that it is at a higher level than Holtmann was recruiting before. I have seen a lot of comments from various people along the lines of "That's great but he will just underachieve with the talent like usual."
I think Holtmann is a solid, balanced coach who builds good culture in his programs. His biggest deficiency to date, imo, has been recruiting and roster construction. The recruiting was decent but we rarely had a talent advantage in T25 match-ups, especially with bad injury luck hitting the past couple seasons.
On paper, his next two classes are his most talented. The only comparable class he had before was the 2019 class, out of which we only really got EJ.
I like the talent level and overall composition of the 2022 and 2023 classes far better than any other class Holtmann has had before (was always a Gaffney skeptic and knew Diallo was a huge reach). I like how the pieces of these classes go together. There are zero guarantees in college basketball, especially in March, but I think there are some reasons for optimism.
the empire never ended
Is this kid a Tyus Edna's or Estaban Weaver type of talent? I don't follow basketball to the recruiting level any more.
Bullets will be back to save the season, and Stroud's dignity.
More like Seth Curry-Steph’s little brother. Others have suggested Trey Burke as a comparison.
A+ for the Estaban Weaver reference though.
I've been extremely blessed by luck. I lived within walking distance of Independence high school during the Estaban Era. And was also able to watch OJ Mayo and Bill Walker at North College Hill high school. I use to be a die hard for Ohio high school basketball and football. But over the years my love for the game of basketball has faded. I still travel within reason to watch high school football though.
Bullets will be back to save the season, and Stroud's dignity.
Yeah, Gregory and Reese were pretty good players at Independence during that era as well. Weaver wasn't eligible alot and was several years older than his grade. Still a heck of a talent and fun to watch.
Here’s a documentary on Estaban Weaver:
A mighty fine boom
the empire never ended
Welcome home Juni!
From espin, good write up on the new commit!
ESPN 60 guard John Mobley announced his commitment to Ohio State on Sunday, becoming the Buckeyes' first pledge in the 2024 class.
Mobley chose Ohio State over a final six that also included Arizona State, Creighton, LSU, USC and Xavier.
"I have ties to the area," said Mobley, who attends Bishop Gorman in Nevada but lived in Columbus, Ohio, for 11 years. "I like the way coach [Chris] Holtmann coaches and treats his players. On my visit, in practice he talked to everyone. He holds his players accountable, yet he was positive."
Holtmann and his staff explaining their plan for Mobley won him over.
"He has a strong relationship and trust with his players," he said. "They spoke highly of him. I thought he was a very serious guy. But he is really funny. He likes to make jokes. He even laughs at his own jokes."
A 6-foot-2 point guard, Mobley is ranked No. 51 in the ESPN 60 for the 2024 class. He excelled for the Vegas Elite 16U program on the spring and summer circuit, averaging 16.7 points and 3.0 assists, shooting nearly 45% from 3-point range.
What makes Mobley so effective is his deep range and accuracy. His shot has consistency out to the NBA line. His jumper is equally efficient both off the catch and from the bounce, and he is a dangerous high-level threat operating in ball-screen actions and cutting off screens based on how he is defended.
"Their play style fits my game," Mobley said of Ohio State. "They have quick hitters. Flow from their transition game. I can play both on and off the ball."
im not sure we've had a player who can shoot like this.....maybe ever
diebler, skelton, etzler were all great 3 point shooters, but they were all before the "curry era"
mobley's range goes beyond the nba three - he also can stroke it off the dribble effortlessly and with the same form as a set shot
he can be a real weapon in a couple years
you obviously didn’t watch meechie “threechie” johnson
Harbaugh sucks
New offer ‘24 WA 4 * PF/C Jacob Cofie 6’9 225
Someone over 6’8”?????
no way!!!! LOL
keep the train chuggin’ coach!
We are definitely in the market for a 2024 big (McKinley, Burgess, Cofie...)
the empire never ended
https://247sports.com/college/basketball/recruiting/Article/2024-4-star-wing-Darren-Harris-sets-commitment-date-and-time-Saturday-October-22-Duke-Ohio-State-Maryland-195651655/
looks like Duke
Today is our "secret" scrimmage vs Wake Forest. It'll be interesting to see how our freshmen and transfers played against ACC competition. It might take a day or two, but usually Jardy provides some insights about our scrimmages.
MrBuck24
Wake forest lost a lot this year. Don’t think they are even really a bubble team. But definitely still really interested in seeing our how team plays.
According to Jeff Goodman two WF players had double doubles. Tyree Appleby and Andrew Carr. Both new transfers to Wake. As for the Bucks, Brice and Zed were our 2 best players.
MrBuck24
Thanks for the assist, Raider. Idk who won, and it's not really all that important tbh. I think Ole Miss beat us last year in the scrimmage. I'd like to know how Sueing played.
MrBuck24
My brother is on the text list from Jardy. Sounded like they were leaving out a couple players due to minor injuries. As Jardy described "a few minor, typical preseason injuries."
But honestly, even if we were full strength, I could see us getting beat to a Wake team not projected to be all that good.
I am excited about this team and I am pretty bullish on their season outlook. But I am very thankful we have an exhibition followed by Robert Morris, Charleston Southern, and Eastern Illinois at home. And even after that, Maui could very well be a rude awakening.
I think the negative impact of having all these new faces (4 frosh and 3 transfers) in the rotation is a little overrated as far as the season outlook is concerned. But I expect that first month or so to be pretty damn rocky. So an underwhelming performance in an October scrimmage would be pretty expected IMHO.
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
Thanks for the info Bsk. I don't get the Jardy texts. I agree that Maui might be a tough stretch for us, but I think we're going to surprise people and get better and better as the season goes on.
MrBuck24
Sounds like Wake won the scrimmage 80-67.
the empire never ended
I’m sure this will be taken well
Someone should have told Holtmann that it was a round of 64 NCAA Tournament game.
Well, you never like to lose, but I imagine with 10 or 11 guys fighting to be in the rotation that we looked at a lot of different lineups and move guys around to various positions (as I am sure Wake did too). Holtmanns half court sets have a fair amount of nuance, so it takes some time for guys to really grasp the timing and reads and as mentioned by many, we have a lot of new faces that have to learn both the offensive and defensive schemes.
Good to know. But a few years ago we beat Baylor in one of these scrimmages IIRC. The coach is likely looking at lineups, combinations, and skill sets rather than focusing on winning a meaningless game. So hopefully people don’t over react
Excited that hoops season is right around the corner.
There's info on the scrimmage out there if you know where to look cough247cough...sounds like Holden Mcneil and Sueing played bad, Gayle and Thornton had some nice moments, and it was a close game besides a 13-0 run by Wake
Holtmann needs to win something of consequence this year, not next year. If you told me in June of 2017 "just give him 7 seasons to do something" then I would have laughed. We've had a great offseason and I expect us to have at least a GOOD season even if there are growing pains. My "something of consequence" expectations are to finish in the Top 4 of the conference and to make the S16 and I refuse to budge on that. Holtmann has had plenty of time to build his program it's time to actually go out there and give the fanbase something to celebrate.
"We didn't play with enough force tonight"
I think we have The Shookster's expectations memorized at this point. It seems to get worked into the comment thread of each edition of this thread and nearly every basketball article on this site. It's always good to have a refresher though... I guess.
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
Just read Jardy's article about the scrimmage, Wake Forest had us down by 20 in the second half.
They're predicted to finish 9th in the ACC lol
"We didn't play with enough force tonight"
Cool
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
[Insert Allen Iverson practice gif]
It was a scrimmage. Not sure there's anything to worry about. So many new faces to integrate and we're talking about practice.
I would have agreed with the needing to show something this season if Holtmann hadn’t been showing promise on the recruiting trail. Set to bring his two best classes in back to back years.
Yeah.
If Holtmann was an awful coach, then recruiting shouldn't save him. But he's not an awful coach. He's done consistently (though perhaps not superlatively) well with good not great talent. He makes the Dance, usually wins a game there, and has OSU as one of 3 power conference programs to win 20 games every season he has been here.
The 2022 and 2023 classes plus Mobley are good enough to buy him some time. You don't throw all of that out of the window if this season's team, which is basically a new team and whose best talent is in the freshmen group, struggles. I guess my only caveat is that if OSU had the inside track or funds allocated for a grand slam homerun hire, then yeah, maybe you do move on from Holtmann if this season is a poor one.
I guess the other possibility is you promote the guy who was most instrumental in landing the recruits. You make Jake Diebler the head coach. I'm not sure what you gain there other than securing Diebler to stay at OSU, but it's possible that would be worth it.
the empire never ended
So, all I know about basketball recruiting is what I’ve read here in these Forum threads. I am excited about the new recruits and transfers and the upcoming season. It’s going to be a bumpy start, teams have to learn how to play together and coaches have to understand what their players will do. But I’m excited to see what the new guys can do.
It was always going to be a bumpy ride this year and to expect anything less is not in tune with reality. They lost their 2 best players by a wide margin. Both with eligibility left to play. 10 new kids with no continuity with each other? Come on. They will be a better team at the end of the year if they all stay healthy and come together. Those of you expecting more should just just fold up your tent now.
https://omny.fm/shows/buckeyextra-podcast/summarizing-the-secret-scrimma...
Outside shooting is absolutely a concern but at this point no one really knows what they have in this team, not even the coaches and players in it.
the empire never ended
Yeah, McNeil will be the only guy that can threaten from deep that starts. The freshman will need to shoot well, and Gene Brown needs to live up to his 3 and D mantra.
Not a mention on this site by staff about a basketball game today. Remember when Thad lost to Findlay in an exhibition game years back? Titus said in his broadcast that Thad wrote the loss on a blackboard and had it remain all year. It all counts starting now.
Hey, we did get an article confirming that JTT won't be the 7th or 8th option of the bench. Priorities.
In Eleven Warriors' defense, that article already has 4 comments in less than an hour. Not sure the Exhibition Game write up would have any in that time frame.
I play, coach stays. He goes, I go.
Yea sebaba it baffles me sometimes when I am critical of a free site that has the word eleven in its moniker, and is pretty much solely reliant on ad revenue to support itself. Bit baffling they are not able to ship their dry goods internationally. Actually believed it would be a fair method of giving back. But most sms subscriptions, like cleveland.com and Adam Jardy's friends do not make allowances for overseas. As an expat I work quite hard to support my fansticism, so it is slightly befuddling when technology is some obstacle. Also with the realization that not one single game until Maui will start at a time that does not require me to wake at 2 AM. And even with that, subscription prices to a VPN and then to youtube tv are prohibitive to me.
Somethin somethin about having access
George Washington III committed to Michigan.
Stay gold, Ponyboy.
Ugh
the empire never ended
Did OSU cool on Washington, or was Chatman just that much better?
Chatman's better.
Also, if I recall what GW3 wanted vs what the coaches had envisioned for him didn't line up. Staff feels much better about Chatman having the ball in his hands and running the offense than Washington
"We didn't play with enough force tonight"
Chatmans a better fit. Is he better? Who knows, hopefully
My understanding is that GW3 wanted assurances that he would get to play some in a primary ballhandler role at OSU since that would be his best bet at a future professionally. When he first committed to OSU, the coaches thought maybe he could become a player like that for them, but when they watched him this summer they didn't really feel like they saw him developing towards that role here. They do view Chatman more in that light, a CG who can truly play PG when needed, and were recruiting him without revoking GW3's scholarship offer. But GW3 kind of saw the writing on the wall with Chatman and in the discussions he was having with the coaching staff that he might not have the role he was hoping for at OSU, so he decommitted.
scUM is a slightly surprising choice to me and I have to wonder if GW3 was a bit motivated to prove himself against OSU and that might have helped sway his decision. It sucks because I do think GW3 is quite talented and will probably be in school longer than Chatman, so I am sure there will be at least a season or two where the peanut gallery will be outraged that we let GW3 "get away." But yeah, a little surprised because scUM is likely to have Dug McDaniel (their 5'11 T100 2022 PG) for 3-4 years and they also have a 4-star PG committed in the 2024 class. I guess from GW3's perspective he at least will be in the mix for some PG minutes right away whereas for OSU it was doubtful he would get much of any so long as Thornton and Chatman are here.
It had felt for a while like GW3 might be trending towards scUM because scUM had been pushing for him, but originally I did think he was going to pick somewhere like Dayton (super close to his family now) or Louisville, whose guard situation is pretty wide open.
the empire never ended
i definitely feel there's a little added motivation for benedict arnold iii - errrrr i mean gwiii - to choose michigan
and you know damn well juwon and staff were pushing that narrative
New offer ‘25 NV 4 * PF Chris Nwuli 6’7 200 teammate of Juni Mobley at powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Vegas
https://247sports.com/Player/Chris-Nwuli-46134967/
I watched a bit of his highlights and he reminds me of alonzo gaffney
Is that a good thing or a bad thing, the Gaffney comparison?!?!
lol as long as he works hard and is coachable he'll be good. Talent was certainly not the issue for gaffney
No reason to start a new thread but there was news on the recruiting front today
JWilly3
Good deal!!
I saw where someone, may have been Jardy, asked Holtmann if he was done with this class and he said he didn’t want to answer that at this time…anything to read into with that answer?
Coaches always have an eye on the portal, and know that at least a couple of their players invariably do too. It’s just not considered polite to discuss it as an inevitability.
Fwiw, while tOSU’s class is ranked #5, it could be argued that it is potentially as high as #3, given that Sparty and UConn are ranked ahead of them, but benefit from one standout each in their class-Booker-Sparty, Castle-UConn, with the majority of both classes below tOSU in aggregate talent. Duke and UK signed 25% of the 24’ NBA first round between their classes, they are both on a completely different level than any other schools for the 23’ class. Oregon also has as good of a class as anyone n the nation on a per player basis, but only signed 3.
Devin Royal dropped 40 last night, man amongst boys. Faces a big time matchup on Monday at the annual Flyin’ to the Hoop vs stud Xavier Booker (MSU) from Cathedral out of Indiana at 3 o’clock …
Bronny James drops Top3 of tOSU, Oregon and USC. Now if Gene could just get LBJ to be the next Head Coach, amirite?
Lebron as coach would be interesting. We'd probably recruit stupid amounts of talent but put the hottest of messes on the court every season.
the empire never ended