PF Othello Hunter (Atlanta Hawks)

[CrabMan]

Dont' know anything about this kid, but the Dispatch is reporting that he will visit this weekend.

Buckeyes catch power forward’s eye
Junior-college player will drop in for visit during the weekend to check out school
Friday, September 02, 2005
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



A junior-college power forward who has an offer to become the fifth member of Ohio State’s touted 2006 recruiting class will visit campus this weekend and is "intrigued" by the possibility of playing at the school, his coach said yesterday.

Othello Hunter, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound native of Winston-Salem, N.C., has played basketball only three years but was first-team all-conference at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., last season. He averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and shot 54.6 percent from the field.

"He’s a diamond in the rough," Hillsborough coach Derrick Worrels said. "Ohio State’s coaches have been doing their homework and then some. They’ve been here (since March) and (Hunter) knows that. Coach (Thad) Matta has been here twice."

Worrels said Hunter already has visited Colorado and is scheduled to also visit Texas-El Paso "unless he commits to Ohio State" before then.

Since gaining commitments earlier this year from highschool standouts Greg Oden, Daequan Cook, David Lighty and Mike Conley Jr., Matta and his staff have spent the summer trying to round out the class with a power forward who can complement the other four by stretching defenses, rebounding and defending.

Canton McKinley senior Raymar Morgan is still on OSU’s radar, but speculation on recruiting Web sites has Morgan favoring Michigan State and Michigan over the Buckeyes.

Morgan’s mother, Carole, said this week that her son will not visit Ohio State next weekend for the Texas football game, which Oden, Cook, Lighty and Conley are expected to attend. Instead, Morgan will be at Michigan, which plays Notre Dame.

Morgan will visit Ohio State on Sept. 17 for the San Diego State football game, his mother said, but has not scheduled a date to visit Michigan State.

Ohio State has three more scholarships available for the class of 2006.


bbaptist@dispatch.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Hunter was at the OSU game this past weekend....

Thad Matta is giving this basketball recruit a tour on game day. Assistant coach Dan Peters is in the foreground.

[jimotis4heisman]

this is all but a done deal, the fifth of the thad five...

[crazybuckfan40]

Originally Posted by jimotis4heisman

this is all but a done deal, the fifth of the thad five...

Well that is good news. I am glad the coaches are not waiting of Morgan b/c i think that ship sailed awhile ago.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Othello played at Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, N.C., He played 1 season with Chris Paul, to say he is a late bloomer or diamond in the rough is probably an understatement, but taking into consideration Matta's ability to recognize talent and develop talent, this prospect must be special. Its being reported that Matta is set to meet his mother in the near future.

Othello could verbal soon, but I know that for right now that Morgan is the #1 priority.

Things will change after Morgan's decision, his decision will affect Othello and possibly the next class, as far as the staff's recruiting targets.

[msj2487]

Stick him up top, rivals is saying Othello verballed last night.

[Oh8ch]

I was hoping for a JUCO to fill out this class (IF this ends this class).

In reading other opinons on other boards about this kid there seems to be a lot of skepticism - some even suggesting he is a project.

I'm not buying it. We have reached the point where one of the best things you can say about a recruiti is that he got an offer from Matta. WE appear to have pulled the plug on some 'second tier' kids whom we would have drooled over only two years ago.

This kid has only played organized ball for 3 years but if you have the right level of talent that is a positive statement, not a negative.

With four Frosh coming in next year the last thing we need is someone who needs to marinate for a year before contributing. I am looking for someone who will join in ala Je'Kel Foster and step up within the context of his role from day one.

[BuckTwenty]

The Thad 5 is complete! Othello Hunter commits to tOSU.

Bucknuts Free



Buckeyes Land Commitment No. 5


Othello Hunter

By Kyle Lamb
Date: Sep 27, 2005

The Buckeye basketball recruiting effort has scored once again, this time with an under-the-radar recruit. Power forward Othello Hunter out of Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., has issued a commitment to become the fifth member of the OSU basketball recruiting class. Kyle Lamb has more on this prospect.

The last time Ohio State received a verbal commitment - at least for the class of 2006, it was a double-whammy in late June when Mike Conley and Greg Oden gave their pledge to the Buckeyes. The wait for the next commitment is over now.
Sources have told Bucknuts.com that Othello Hunter, a 6-9 power forward from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, committed to Ohio State upon returning home for a visit to UTEP this past weekend.
Hunter visited Ohio State officially the first weekend in September, and reportedly he enjoyed his visit so much that he was interested in giving a verbal commitment upon returning.
The week after returning, Matta reportedly met with Hunter and his parents in Winston-Salem, N.C. to talk more about Ohio State.
Hunter averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a game this past season as a freshman at Hillsborough, and has been receiving many more scholarship offers and attention from several high-major programs, including Oklahoma. Hunter had visited Ohio State, Colorado and UTEP.
However, Ohio State has been trying to lure Canton McKinley's Raymar Morgan, and although sources tell Bucknuts that they would accept as many as six guys in the 2006 class, they still wanted to first put their eggs in Morgan's basket.
Morgan visited Ohio State on September 15 to 17 and had visited Michigan the week prior to that. He was scheduled to visit Connecticut this weekend, but canceled the visit fueling speculation he was ready to make his choice or he just didn't feel comfortable with Connecticut.
He is set to visit Michigan State this upcoming weekend, September 30 to October 2, and will probably make a public decision soon thereafter. It's believed Ohio State is still after Morgan and would take six players.
As for Hunter, he becomes Matta's tenth verbal commitment in a little over a year, spanning four different recruiting classes.
Stay tuned to Bucknuts.com for updates on Hunter's commitment.

[wadc45]

Rivals $

9/27/05

From BSB...Othello visted UTEP this past weekend but decided to commit to Coach Matta on Monday night. He received late offers from Colorado, Oklahoma, South Florida, and Kansas State but his coach said OSU did the best job recruiting him. He will officially sign with Columbus in November.

Othello has great range for being 6-9. He could really make up for losing out on Morgan if that turns out to be the case.

[wadc45]

keep in mind they could take as many as 6 in this class...

[Padraig]

Originally Posted by BuckTwenty

The Thad 5 is complete! Othello Hunter commits to tOSU.

Bucknuts Free



Buckeyes Land Commitment No. 5


Othello Hunter

By Kyle Lamb
Date: Sep 27, 2005

The Buckeye basketball recruiting effort has scored once again, this time with an under-the-radar recruit. Power forward Othello Hunter out of Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., has issued a commitment to become the fifth member of the OSU basketball recruiting class. Kyle Lamb has more on this prospect.

The last time Ohio State received a verbal commitment - at least for the class of 2006, it was a double-whammy in late June when Mike Conley and Greg Oden gave their pledge to the Buckeyes. The wait for the next commitment is over now.

Hunter averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a game this past season as a freshman at Hillsborough.

I'm confused Is this a mis-statement, or am I missing something?

EDIT
"Community College"...never mind.

[HabaneroBuck]

Sounds like he could contribute, I don't know if I'd go as far as Oh8ch and certify that he must be something special, since Thad offered him. I just think he was the best JUCO PF option this year, and JUCO's generally just give you some solid minutes for a couple of years before your crop from the next few years come in (and 2007 and 2008 should be nice crops).

In all honesty, I would hope that Brayden Bell is better than him and able to get more minutes with the experience he should get this year. But, I'm glad he wants to be a Buckeye. Welcome aboard, Othello.

[ScriptOhio]

I sure hope he is good. I think he just made me lose 2 vBets.

[CoosMeister]

http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/444659.html

<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" width="98%"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="3">Buckeyes Land Commitment No. 5

</td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top">
Othello Hunter

</td> <td nowrap="nowrap" width="3">
</td> <td valign="top"> By Kyle Lamb
Date: Sep 27, 2005

The Buckeye basketball recruiting effort has scored once again, this time with an under-the-radar recruit. Power forward Othello Hunter out of Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., has issued a commitment to become the fifth member of the OSU basketball recruiting class. Kyle Lamb has more on this prospect.
</td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="3">
The last time Ohio State received a verbal commitment - at least for the class of 2006, it was a double-whammy in late June when Mike Conley and Greg Oden gave their pledge to the Buckeyes. The wait for the next commitment is over now.
Sources have told Bucknuts.com that Othello Hunter, a 6-9 power forward from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, committed to Ohio State upon returning home for a visit to UTEP this past weekend.
Hunter visited Ohio State officially the first weekend in September, and reportedly he enjoyed his visit so much that he was interested in giving a verbal commitment upon returning.
The week after returning, Matta reportedly met with Hunter and his parents in Winston-Salem, N.C. to talk more about Ohio State.
Hunter averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a game this past season as a freshman at Hillsborough, and has been receiving many more scholarship offers and attention from several high-major programs, including Oklahoma. Hunter had visited Ohio State, Colorado and UTEP.
However, Ohio State has been trying to lure Canton McKinley's Raymar Morgan, and although sources tell Bucknuts that they would accept as many as six guys in the 2006 class, they still wanted to first put their eggs in Morgan's basket.
Morgan visited Ohio State on September 15 to 17 and had visited Michigan the week prior to that. He was scheduled to visit Connecticut this weekend, but canceled the visit fueling speculation he was ready to make his choice or he just didn't feel comfortable with Connecticut.
He is set to visit Michigan State this upcoming weekend, September 30 to October 2, and will probably make a public decision soon thereafter. It's believed Ohio State is still after Morgan and would take six players.
As for Hunter, he becomes Matta's tenth verbal commitment in a little over a year, spanning four different recruiting classes.
Stay tuned to Bucknuts.com for updates on Hunter's commitment.
</td></tr></tbody> </table>

[sandgk]

1, 2, 3 - Merge