Lengthy, so bear with me...
I could not be happier about bringing in Koufos and Diebler together. A 6-5 guard who is in range the moment he steps into the gym and brings all the intangibles to the game and a 7-footer who can score both inside and out and is a great leader and plays with incredible intensity? You could bring in just about anyone you want with those two and it is going to be a great class. But then adding a bruising post player in the 6-9 Lauderdale, who will continue to develop, and possibly a dynamic scorer from the wing who can also makes plays at the rim in 6-8 Alex Tyus and you are talking about a class, should it come to fruition, that to me is almost (almost) as incredible as the one before it.
Fast forward to 2008 and you already have a do everyting 1/2 combo guard in Walter Offutt who I think will continue to improve as his knee heals and he regains his confidence in his knee and his game. He is a great floor general, even when not playing the point, and is a great passer who can also get you a couple of boards and steals. He's the kind of guy that is never going to light up the box score, but I think will consistently give you 10-15 points, 5 boards, 4 assists and a couple of steals every night. Call him the David Lighty of the '08 class. You have a 7-footer in Mullens who, to be honest, I was concerned about being offered and accepting so young and playing against some weaker compeition. But obviously from all we have heard, Mullens is steadily improving his game, transferring to a bigger school and developing his inside game to the point where he was more than able to hang with guys like Koufos and Lauderdale at the OSU team camp. Then factor in that we are sitting pretty with Noopy Crater, who I think, with the exception of Mayo and Rose in the '07 class, may be the top PG in the country regardless of class and a 6-8 PF in Delvon Roe who as recently as yesterday was being compared to Antawn Jamison by scouts and it's obvious that the '08 class could be just as good as the two before it.
Anybody in addition to the kids I've mentioned that we have a shot at sneaking into one of these classes (Mayo, Gates, Jackson, Buford, Frease) and that is just an abundance of riches. What a great time to be a Buckeye football AND basketball fan!
The funny thing is that the one school who could compete with those kinds of classes the next two years that you wouldn't expect, until Huggy got there, is KSU. Obviously UNC put together an unreal class last year and is shaping up to do the same in '07. That doesn't surprise anybody. But in the update from the NBA camp I thought it was interesting that Kansas State is said to really be turning up the heat on Alex Legion and Herb Pope. If they are able to land Mayo and Walker, Legion and Pope would definitely have to think about it. They are also pursuing a 5-star 6-8 PF from Oak Hill named Michael Beasley and a 4-star 6-7 PF from Pittsburgh named DeJuan Blair. KSU has also already offered a kid that might be the top swingman in the '08 class, Terrelle Pryor (also from the Pittsburgh area), who is a 6-6 scorer who likes to play in the lane and is an AAU teammate of Blair's. Last year KSU brought in a 4-star SG (6-1 Blake Young) and C (7-2 Jason Bennett) and a 3-star PF (6-10 Luis Colon). Just looking at the '06 and '07 classes and comparing the two (uncommitted players in italics):
'06 OSU
PG - Conley
SG - Cook
SF - Lighty
PF - Hunter
C - Oden
'06 KSU
PG -
SG - Blake Young
SF -
PF - Luis Colon
C - Jason Bennett
'07 OSU
PG -
SG - Diebler
SF - Tyus
PF - Kofous
C - Lauderdale
'07 KSU
PG - Mayo
SG - Legion
SF - Walker
PF - Pope/Blair
C -
Now there is zero question that I would take our '06 and our potential '07 class over KSU's '06 class or potential '07 class, individually or collectively. But Huggins certainly could have things headed in an entirely different direction in Manhattan in a short period of time...
