[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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7/12/05

Just a few short days ago, Jamil Tucker's college decision appeared imminent.

Now that the euphoria of July's first week-long evaluation period has subsided, the sought-after West Side senior, who hasn't taken an official campus visit, is looking to slow things down.

West Side coach John Boyd said Monday that Ohio State, which Tucker said was his No. 1 choice at last week's Nike All-America Camp in Indianapolis, no longer appears interested in tendering the 6-foot-9 swing player a scholarship offer.

He also said Purdue is "definitely" out, as well, because coach Matt Painter told Tucker he couldn't promise more than a bench role when Tucker arrived.

With that in mind, Boyd said it's time for his star to look elsewhere, even if that means waiting a while before settling on a school.

"We just don't think that Ohio State, after not offering him a scholarship, we don't think they respect the kid's caliber," Boyd said. "We don't think they respect his ability to play the game."

Ohio State coach Thad Matta has already clinched the nation's No. 1 recruiting class by securing verbal commitments to Indianapolis Lawrence North players Greg Oden and Mike Conley, as well as David Lighty and Daequan Cook.

Matta still has three scholarships to give for his 2006 class, and when Andrean's Luke Harangody passed on the Buckeyes over the weekend, it reduced the field of potential takers by one.

But Ohio State still has hopes of landing Memphis star Thaddeus Young -- who has been coy about his intentions in published remarks and says he won't decide until November -- as well as 6-foot-8 Raymar Morgan of Canton, Ohio, Virginia's Vernon Macklin, Minnesota's Bryce Webster and New Jersey's Lance Thomas.

Boyd said Matta and his staff had been recruiting Tucker as a power forward candidate, like all of the aforementioned players, when Boyd feels his player's best chance to succeed is at the shooting guard or small forward spot.

Tucker sacrificed his leverage in the situation, Boyd said, when he expressed his desire to play for Ohio State with AAU teammates Oden and Conley last week at Nike Camp.

"I always told the kid, 'Don't put your eggs in one basket,' " Boyd said. "If it was me personally, I would have never told Ohio State that was the place where I wanted to be. The kid was away from me and I couldn't do quality control.

"I think this was a very bad idea with Thad, because if he doesn't think I have any influence in this area, (he's wrong). I just like business to be taken care of. I don't think they were straight-forward with us. They told us they were gonna evaluate Jamil. All in all, they had some eyes set on some other people. ... That's the ugly side of it. It's a business and kids need to know that."

Hoosiers fans will be glad to know Indiana is still on Tucker's radar.

"I really like Indiana," said Boyd, an IU alum. "Mike Davis came up and offered Jamil a scholarship right to my face, right before school was out. I wish he'd get in touch with me."

Tucker could not be reached for comment Monday.

Obviously, in my opinion the kid made a mistake and forced Matta's hand and now the staff is not interested in giving him an offer by all reports. They told him they would evaluate him and before he had a chance to talk to Matta, Tucker announced a press conference. Obviously, his high school coach is upset, he is just sticking up for his player but unless your on the inside, its hard to tell where the communication break down happened.