'06 OH SF Raymar Morgan (Michigan State Verbal)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

wadc....you are correct.

[Buckeye Nut]

Thanks for the clarification and let's hope he's been studying hard. I think he would be nice addtion to this class!

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

SchoolSports.com (free link)

6/21/05

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>AND 1 High School Basketball Championship Final 10

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff>


</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Ryan Canner-O'Mealy
Date: Jun 20, 2005

The field of 10 for the AND 1 High School Basketball Championship (HBC) is set. And what a field it is.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>
After weeks of regional play, the field of 10 for the AND 1 High School Basketball Championship (HBC) is set. And what a field it is.

The tourney’s 2005 edition must be exactly what the organizers had in mind, as some of the nation’s top teams from all across the country will meet in Philadelphia this weekend to crown a champion.

There are some new faces and plenty of old ones, but everywhere you look, there seems to be an overflow of talent.

This past weekend, the defending champion, Dunwoody (Ga.) secured its free trip to Philly with a 68-63 win over Chapel Hill. An’Juan Wilderness scored a game-high 29 points to keep Dunwoody’s hopes for a repeat alive.

In the East I regional, St. Benedict’s (N.J.) and star senior Lance Thomas (13 points) just squeaked by St. Patrick’s (N.J.), 43-42.

For the third straight year, Canton McKinley (Ohio) won its regional, defeating Taft, 78-67. McKinley, which won the Ohio state title this year, was led by Raymar Morgan who had 17 points and nine rebounds. Marcus Parker also added 17 points in the winning effort.

Marshall (Ill.) took advantage of Custer, 90-58, to win the Midwest II Regional. This will be the second straight year that Marshall has been one of the elite 10 to make it to Philadelphia for the HBC. Senior guard Patrick Beverly scored 29 points, including 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

So now the field is set: Dunwoody, St. Benedict’s, Canton McKinley, Marshall, Charlestown, Dallas Carter, Laurinburg, Artesia, Rainier Beach and Paul VI.

* * *

And there will be several intriguing subplots in the City of Brotherly Love.

For example, will Canton McKinley and Dunwoody meet again, as they did last year? And if so, can McKinley extract revenge on its way to an elusive tournament championship?

Also, Massachusetts is one of the few states that doesn’t allow its coaches any coaching time in the summer. So while most other coaches can be on the bench during these games, Charlestown’s Jack O’Brien cannot. He can be in the building, but won’t be allowed to diagram plays, call subs or anything like that. In the Northeast regional, nearly every team was in the same situation, so there were no competitive disadvantages, but at the national level, it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Regardless, O’Brien and his troops seemed pretty happy to be going and weren’t really worrying about late-game strategy.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

6/23/05

Ohio State and Michigan State are the teams to beat for Morgan. Both have said there will be a scholie available for him. Michigan, Syracuse, Miami (FL), and Purdue are still in the hunt.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

SchoolSports.com

6/28/05

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Canton McKinley (Ohio) Captures AND 1 HBC title

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff>


</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Jon Mahoney
Date: Jun 27, 2005

Canton McKinley (Ohio) emerged victorious at the AND 1 High School Basketball Championship in Philly with a 78-68 victory over Artesia (Lakewood, Calif.) in Sunday's title game.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>

Click Here for more AND 1 HBC coverage

The fourth annual AND 1 High School Basketball Championship (HBC) featured tremendous play from some of the nation’s top high school basketball programs. And after three days of intense competition during the finals this past weekend at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Canton McKinley (Ohio) trumped the competition en route to capturing the 2005 team championship.

The AND 1 HBC is viewed as the March Madness of high school hoops because if you lose once, you can’t win the title. McKinley was one of 10 regional winners at the finals, but it proved to be the best of the bunch with a 78-68 victory over Artesia (Lakewood, Calif.) in the championship game.

McKinley lost in last year’s semifinals to eventual tournament champion Dunwoody (Ga.), which lost to Rainier Beach (Wash.) in this year’s tourney. Unfortunately, Dunwoody was forced to play without star forward An’Juan Wilderness, who was at the NBA Camp.

Raymar Morgan, who was named tournament MVP, had a game-high 26 points and had 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in the win over Artesia. He added 17 points and nine boards in the Midwest I regional final win over Taft, which gave McKinley its third straight regional HBC title.

“His play all weekend long was exemplary,” said McKinley head coach David Hoover. “He’s just a great player who can do a lot of different things.”

Winning the HBC title capped off an amazing season for McKinley, which also won the 2005 Division I Ohio state title.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[wadc45]

Rivals $

6/30/05

From the Michigan site...Raymar says the verbals of Conley and Oden increase his interest in Ohio State. He says OSU has not officially offered but they have told him they are going to. His coach talks a bit about how Raymar has matured as a player and a student.

Very postitive article for OSU, especially coming from a scUM reporter. Everything I have heard about Raymar and his situation leads me to believe that an offer is forthcoming provided he has in grades in order. I would love to see Raymar be the 4 in this recruiting class. I think he can do the dirty work like a Harangody, but he is also much more athletic and can put up some points in a hurry.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com$

6/30/05

Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Uconn, Cincy and North Carolina are the schools he is interested in with OSU and MSU in the lead at this point. Morgan says both schools are even at this point and the recent verbals of Conley and Oden have increased his interest in OSU. He will attend the Nike Basketball Camp next week in Indy.

(Wadc......I know your crossing your fingers for Morgan to join the class.... )

[bucknut11]

From today's Canton Repository...

Matta may not be finished landing some of the country’s best high school juniors. The Buckeyes may turn their attention toward McKinley’s Raymar Morgan. OSU has not offered Morgan yet, but if he were to sign along with the four verbals, Matta would have a class made entirely of top 30 national recruits.

“Ohio State hasn’t offered,” said Morgan, who has offers from Michigan State and Michigan. “My interest in Ohio State, though, is pretty high. I’ve seen (Oden and Conley) play before, but I’ve never played against them. It would be exciting to play with them if that happens.

“Because they’re going to Ohio State, that factors into the equation for me and pushes my interest up more. I’d say Ohio State and Michigan State are at the top of my list.”

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Many people feel that the only thing stopping Morgan from becoming a Buckeye is academic.....

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com (free link)

7/1/05

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Morgan a Hot Commodity

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff>
Raymar Morgan

</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Sam Webb Columnist/Photographer
Date: Jun 30, 2005

The race for Canton (OH) McKinley forward Raymar Morgan is heating up…and after his performance in last weekend's AND 1 High School Basketball Championship, it's easy to see why.
</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>
Canton McKinley, which won division 1 state title in Ohio this past year, was looking to continue its tourney winning ways at last week's AND 1 High School Basketball Championship in Philadelphia. For his part, Raymar Morgan did his best to ensure his team would do just that.

"It was all right," Morgan said of his performance. "We played in the championship. We won and I played pretty good. I was named the MVP." The MVP trophy is a clear sign that the versatile athlete's showing was more than just "all right." His 26 points and 10 boards were game highs in McKinley's 78-68 victory over Lakewood (Ca) Artesia in the title game. He also chipped in three assists and three blocks.

Morgan's ability to do so many things on the court has a number of programs very interested in his services, but three Big Ten schools stick out for him at this point. When GoBlueWolverine last spoke with him, Morgan indicated that he had yet to receive a scholarship offer from any of them. That, however, is no longer the case. "Pretty much just Michigan State," Morgan said regarding what offers he currently has on the table. "Ohio State said they would probably offer and Michigan said that they would probably offer."

The Spartans were the early aggressors in Morgan's recruitment, and that gave them the leg up for quite some time. That said, the Ohio State Buckeyes have now loosened that grip a bit. When asked if the top-flight recruiting class the Buckeyes have put together affects how he looks at them, Morgan answered honestly. "Yeah, it does…a lot," he said. "But I'm still waiting. Ohio State and Michigan State are pretty much my top two right now. Then its Michigan."

According to Morgan, all three schools still have a chance to win him over. He is in no hurry to make a decision and probably won't visit any of the schools for the reminder of the summer. What will likely be the deciding factor in when he sits down to makes his choice? "Probably the visit," he said. "I've visited all three of them already, but the official will probably be what does it. I will probably make my visits during school next year. I don't really have a set timeframe [for making the choice], but I think I'll probably make it in November."

GoBlueWolverine will have more on Morgan in the coming weeks.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com (free)

7/2/05

Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>July 2, 2005
Who's next on the hoops radar? <HR width="100%" noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>Jeff Rapp
BuckeyeSports.com Staff Writer </TD><TD noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Gordon Gekko once surmised that "greed is good." While that is a debatable point at best, it may not hurt Ohio State men's basketball coach Thad Matta as he now looks to add to what already is being hailed as the best recruiting class in the country.

<!--Start Matta Image--><SCRIPT ********************>document.write(insertImage('ht tp://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/917/163623.jpg', '163623.jpg', 1, 322, 276, 1, 'Ohio State coach Thad Matta\'s tireless work ethic is enticing many of the nation\'s top players.', '', 1120253844000, 'Matta', 917, 'Align=Left'));</SCRIPT><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=284 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=278></TD><TD width=6 rowSpan=4></TD></TR><TR><TD align=right>Associated Press</TD></TR><TR><TD height=3></TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Ohio State coach Thad Matta's tireless work ethic is enticing many of the nation's top players.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End Matta Image-->Matta was able to land verbal commitments from consensus No. 1 schoolboy Greg Oden and his prep teammate Mike Conley (No. 40 among seniors-to-be according to Rivals.com) with their landmark announcement Wednesday at Indianapolis Lawrence North High School.

They doubled a recruiting class that already included the top seniors-to-be in Ohio -- 6-4 Daequan Cook of Dayton Dunbar (No. 8) and 6-5 David Lighty of Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph (No. 20).

Matta has as many as three more scholarships at his disposal for the class and is all but certain to spend at least one of them on a power forward or combo forward, meaning the class could one day share the court like the storied "Fab Five."

Not coincidentally, OSU is right in the mix for as many as six such players, and that doesn't even count 6-8 Josh Chichester of West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West (No. 136), a two-sport star who committed to the Ohio State football program July 1 but admitted he is entertaining the idea of joining the men's basketball team.

Chichester has promise as a collegiate four-man but would not be able to join the Buckeyes on the hardwood until January 2007 at the earliest, and that would be as a walk-on. He told BuckeyeSports.com earlier this summer that Matta had given his blessing for such a scenario but he wasn't sure if he would indeed try to play both sports.

That then begs the question, who is going to complete the Thad Five?

The most prominent candidates at the moment appear to be 6-8 Thaddeus Young of Memphis (Tenn.) Mitchell (No. 3 on the recently updated Rivals Top 150), 6-8 Lance Thomas of Fanwood (N.J.) St. Benedict's (No. 22), 6-9 Jamil Tucker of Gary (Ind.) West (No. 45), 6-7 Luke Harangody of Shereville (Ind.) Andrean (No. 80) and 6-7 Raymar Morgan of Canton (Ohio) McKinley (No. 85).

Another possibility is 6-9 Bryce Webster of Mendota Heights (Minn.) St. Thomas Academy (No. 113), but his interest in OSU has apparently wavered.

Cook said he chatted up Young while the two played together in the USA Basketball Youth Developmental Festival in San Diego in early June.

"We talked a lot," he said. "We talked about what it's going to be like in college ball. It wasn't about what school he was going to go to, we just talked about how fun it would be to play together."

Cook and Conley also popped the idea on Thomas, who like Young is a premier athlete and scorer but not a classic power forward.

Conley and Oden got their first look at Harangody recently when the three played together in a state all-star series. Harangody reportedly is favoring Notre Dame but could get a full-court press from Matta soon since Conley offered him a glowing report.

"He was very good," Conley said. "I like the way he played. He's physical and tough and would do all the dirty work, and I feel that we need somebody like that. We don't need all superstars who can jump out of the gym. We need big men who can do the little things as well."

Tucker has listed OSU as a favorite along with Purdue and Indiana. Somewhat soft inside but well-skilled, Tucker has not yet received a firm offer but one could be on the way.

"He really likes Ohio State a lot," Conley said. "He wants to be with us and go to the same college with us. I think he's really sold on Ohio State. If the scholarship's open for him, I think he would take it."

Morgan also has not been offered yet as he is trying to attain a qualifying test score. He has had two clear favorites for months: Michigan State and Ohio State. Like the four commitments, Morgan is a winner, having led McKinley to the 2005 state title.

He is considered a 3-4 but can rebound in the trees when the situation calls and has the athleticism and passing ability to mesh in with the likes of Conley, Cook, Lighty and Oden.

"We need somebody that can rebound and play defense, score some," Cook said. "That's about it."

Matta may agree and go after Harangody, a classic banger who could take a lot of physical toll away from Oden. Or he could play it safe and tab Tucker or Morgan, who apparently wouldn't take long to jump on board.

However, the inside word is that Matta will go the way of Gekko and hold out for Young or Thomas -- whose recruiting likely will stretch into the late fall if not next spring -- with dreamy thoughts of employing four players flanking Oden who all can shoot outside, score, handle, pass and drive.

As it is he'll have Conley, Cook, Lighty, Sylvester Mayes, Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler in 2006-07.

Maybe greed is good.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Morgan is considered the #33 prospect in the nation according to Scout.com's updated rankings released today.

scout.com$

7/5/05

Morgan will be participating in the NIKE All-American camp this week in Indianapolis, IN.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[wadc45]

44820 -

I figured I would move this discussion over to Morgan's thread since I think it has more to do with him than Harangody. If this needs to be split entirely, feel free...

While I will readily admit that Harangody is the big bruiser that everyone seems to think we need to go with the four commits on board, I would argue that in the Matta system, Harangody, at least at his present size, would find it difficult to be involved in the offense. His athleticism, at least from the video I have seen, is not nearly what Raymar's is. Morgan may be an inch (or I think at least two) shorter than Harangody, but his athleticism more than makes up for the height differential. And I think if he comes to OSU and puts on about 20-25 pounds, he would be the bruising PF we need to go with Conley, Oden, Cook and Lighty, yet would bring yet another dimension of athleticism and scoring ability that I think Harangody lacks. Morgan loves playing down on the baseline, either with his back to the basket or facing up. He can be incredibly dangerous from that spot on the floor.

I still think Luke likes the idea of being a big fish in a smaller pond at ND. Of course, if we can land Young or Thomas, then this is all probably a moot point.

Somebody over at Scout obviously like Morgan too, as he moved up from 49th to 33rd in the newest rankings...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

7/6/05

Good Article about Matta and Company hitting the three major summer camps going on during July. The staff can evaluate from July 6-15 and July 22-31, with July 16-21 considered a "dark" period. Article touches on who could be the next addition to the 2006 class.

The following prospects of interest to Buckeye fans will be in action...

Greg Oden
Mike Conley
Daequan Cook
Jamil Tucker (could be the next verbal to the 2006 class)
Luke Harangody
Thaddeus Young
Josh Chichester
Raymar Morgan
Kosta Koufus
O.J. Mayo
Bill Walker
Keenan Ellis
Lance Thomas
Dallas Lauderdale
DeJuan Pursley
Aaron Pogue
Eric Gordon
Yancey Gates
B.J. Mullens
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[HabaneroBuck]

Dayton Daily

Despite landing four of the top 25 players in the nation, Ohio State is still shopping, too.

The Buckeyes are searching for a power forward to pair with center Greg Oden, wings Daequan Cook and David Lighty and point guard Mike Conley.

Raymar Morgan, a 6-7, 210-pound swingman who led Canton McKinley to a state title last season, is interested, and his stock is soaring. He vaulted 16 spots in Scout.com's national rankings this summer to 33rd after winning MVP honors at the AND1 tournament in Philadelphia.

Michigan State and Michigan have offered scholarships, but OSU told Morgan they're still evaluating him.

"They're recruiting me pretty hard — they just haven't offered yet," said Morgan, who admits he may not fit the paint-patrolling profile. "They just say, 'Rebound the heck out of the ball.' "

Topping the Buckeyes' wish list is 6-8 Thaddeus Young of Memphis. He is rated third nationally behind Oden and Texas-bound Kevin Durant and reportedly is considering OSU.

Morgan said a chance to link up with Oden and Co. would be hard to pass up.

"Actually, I never even thought of Ohio State when I was growing up as being a basketball school," he said. "But now with all those guys going there, it's getting exciting."

To me, you just simply take Raymar Morgan. The big plus about him (other than the fact that he is skyrocketing up the charts based on tremendous development in the last year) is that he is a superstar-calibre player who sublimated his overall skills for the good of McKinley last year. The kid is easily a top-50 player in the country, and he averaged 17 points a game! That's the kind of team effort that will work well, in particular with this class. I think he's proven his rebounding ability on the summer circuit this year.


Besides that, we landed Brayden Bell last year, and even if he isn't a prototypical "banger," he's obviously a 4. The pieces are set. Just take Raymar and be happy with him. I know Thad is holding out for Thad Young, but I feel the same about Raymar as I felt about Javon Ringer last year. I don't care what the circumstances are, I don't like seeing him slip away. I hope Raymar doesn't, but I certainly couldn't blame him if he chose Michigan State in the end, just like Javon!