'06 IN PF Jamil Tucker (Virginia Verbal)

[jwinslow]

Matta must think they really have a shot at Thaddeus Young, the #1 PF and #2 overall player. I just hope they don't wait forever for Thaddeus... b/c Tucker would be a wonderful way to finish out the Thad 5 (chichester is ok, but he's a backup).

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

b/c Tucker would be a wonderful way to finish out the Thad 5 (chichester is ok, but he's a backup).

.....wow have times changed for OSU in basketball.......when the 8th best player in Ohio and a top 150 player nationally is considered a backup....its just unbelievable.

It looks from this article that Tucker does not have an offer from Ohio State.

Tucker at one time was offered, not sure if it has been pulled or what the situation is, but I am going to leave the thread as is for now.

[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>

[Buckeye Dan]

http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto...1_spor_11.html

Recruiting: Tucker leaning toward Ohio State<!--ENDHEADLINE-->

July 3, 2005

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="380"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#003399"><td>By Justin Breen / Post-Tribune staff writer</td></tr></tbody></table> <!--COPY-->



GARY — Jamil Tucker wouldn’t confirm it, but it sounds as if the West Side senior-to-be is going to commit to Ohio State.



“I can’t say it’s a definite lock, but right now, Ohio State really sounds the best,” Tucker said on Saturday.

Tucker said he spoke with Buckeyes coach Thad Matta on Friday, telling him the OSU program was No. 1 on his list. Tucker, who hopes to make an official decision by the end of July, said Matta will be evaluating him at the Nike All-American Camp at IUPUI in Indianapolis. The camp runs from Tuesday through Saturday.



Three of Tucker’s Spiece Indy Heat AAU teammates — Mike Conley, Daequan Cook and national player of the year Greg Oden — already have committed to the Buckeyes.

“It’s real exciting knowing you get to play with great players every night,” Tucker said. “You know what to expect every night. It’s real exciting getting to play with them.”

Tucker, a 6-foot-9 guard/forward, averaged 18.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game for the Cougars, who won the Michigan City Regional title.

Tucker has received scholarship offers from Ohio State, Indiana, Arizona, San Jose State, USC and Miami.

Tucker said Andrean senior-to-be Luke Harangody also will participate in the Nike camp. Harangody has been offered scholarships by Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame and Northwestern.

Contact Justin Breen at 648-3122 or jbreen@post-trib.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

I am pulling for Tucker to get the last spot, I think he will fit in nicely, but I am a little confused as why Matta has to evaluate him when he has an offer....interesting.

[el mastiff]

Why do you say last spot? Doesn't OSU have three spots left?

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

I don't see the staff using all the available scholies at this point. Its possible that the staff will save a couple of scholies in the case where the NCAA decides to take away a few scholies as part of the punishment for the NCAA infractions by O'Brien's staff.

Also, Tucker is ranked as the #72 prospect in the 2006 updated rankings by Scout.com

scout.com$

7/5/05

Tucker will be participating in the NIKE All-American camp this week in Indianapolis, IN.
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