OSU Men's Basketball Recruiting/Projections/General Discussions

[UnderTheRadar]

I've said it in Craft's thread, and I'll say it again here. There is one scholarship left in this class. Yes, I realize Turner could go pro. Yes, I realize Lighty might be back. Yes, I realize some of you actually think Bufford could be gone after next season. The key point that I made that absolutely no one has an answer for and conveniently ignores is that the early signing period is in early November! None of the above moves will be made by the early signing period. The vast majority of good D1 players sign in November. For the scenarios being hypothesized here (including getting Craft, Payne, 'Spoon) to come to life, it means that two of these very good players will have to trust OSU enough to forego other scholarship opprotunities and hope that the above people leave. Maybe they will, maybe they won't.

I sure as heck wouldn't do that, and I don't see it happening.

 

[LitlBuck]

Not really sure what you're getting at with regards to football recruiting. As far as I know there is no difference between oversigning in basketball or football. You can sign more players than you have scholarships available but you must be down to the alotted number by the time those scholarships take effect. Players do not count against the number at the time the letter is signed. For instance most of this years basketball class will sign their letters in the fall of '09 but they will not count against the limit until they enroll and begin receiving aid. Matta could sign an extra player or two as long as there is an open spot for them by Fall of 2010.

I was referring to the fact that I think guys like grad and wadc know quite a bit about how coaches work scholarship limits when it comes to recruiting than any of us. At least, I thought so until you replied.

I guess my question to you is that I know that they can over sign guys in the early signing period but what would happen if the player that was supposed to leave at the end of the season did not and so you might have a guys signed to a LOI with no available scholarship. I guess the coach better be pretty damn sure he will have an available scholarship at the end of the season if in fact he does over sign. I guess another scenario that might come up let's say that Turner tells Matta then he is going to go professional at the end of the season but during the season suffers an injury that sidelines him for the majority of the season and thus is draft stock might drop dramatically and he might want to stay another year. There would go that one open scholarship that was going to be available. What happens then

I think it is much easier to over sign in football then in basketball just because of the number of scholarships. There is a big difference between 85 and 13.

 

[stxbuck]

Not really sure what you're getting at with regards to football recruiting. As far as I know there is no difference between oversigning in basketball or football. You can sign more players than you have scholarships available but you must be down to the alotted number by the time those scholarships take effect. Players do not count against the number at the time the letter is signed. For instance most of this years basketball class will sign their letters in the fall of '09 but they will not count against the limit until they enroll and begin receiving aid. Matta could sign an extra player or two as long as there is an open spot for them by Fall of 2010.

This is exactly right-a letter of intent is just that-a letter of intent, not the actual school scholarship papers. SEC teams oversign like crazy on signing day for football, they know that a some of those kids will be gone by fall. Actually, I think a school can sign a kid to a scholarship-putting the kid on the allotment allowed by the NCAA, w/out signing an actual LOI-like the football players who enroll every year for winter quarter-they might just bypass the LOI and go straight to the financial aid papers.

 

[stxbuck]

I was referring to the fact that I think guys like grad and wadc know quite a bit about how coaches work scholarship limits when it comes to recruiting than any of us. At least, I thought so until you replied.

I guess my question to you is that I know that they can over sign guys in the early signing period but what would happen if the player that was supposed to leave at the end of the season did not and so you might have a guys signed to a LOI with no available scholarship. I guess the coach better be pretty damn sure he will have an available scholarship at the end of the season if in fact he does over sign. I guess another scenario that might come up let's say that Turner tells Matta then he is going to go professional at the end of the season but during the season suffers an injury that sidelines him for the majority of the season and thus is draft stock might drop dramatically and he might want to stay another year. There would go that one open scholarship that was going to be available. What happens then

I think it is much easier to over sign in football then in basketball just because of the number of scholarships. There is a big difference between 85 and 13.

Scholarships are year to year. It depends on how ruthless the coach is......either the coach would yank a scholarship, or the school would release the recruit from the LOI, and he would sign w/ another school.

 

[LitlBuck]

Scholarships are year to year. It depends on how ruthless the coach is......either the coach would yank a scholarship, or the school would release the recruit from the LOI, and he would sign w/ another school.

Thanks. This post and your prior one clarified things for me. I knew that scholarships ran from year-to-year but I guess that I never really understood that a letter of intent was different than the actual scholarship papers so a basketball coach could really sign 14-15 players as long as he knew that one or two players would be leaving after the next season.

I now understand how we can get a verbal from JD Weatherspoon and Payne, hopefully, even with the addition of Craft and have them sign letters of intent in the early signing period.

 

[LitlBuck]

Lighty will be back for his 5th year...Turner will be gone after next year...

we have the max # 13 for 2010...

Craft will hopefully be in that #...

Did not want to have the Craft thread get too messy with what might follow.

I guess according to your scenario, which I do respect, if JD Weatherspoon and Payne would like to come to Ohio State we will not have any scholarships for them or are there different irons in the fire that you would not want to talk about. I really can't see any extent for the possibility of a transfer but I have no idea.

 

[itownbuckeye]

Originally Posted by crazybuckfan40
Lighty will be back for his 5th year...Turner will be gone after next year...

we have the max # 13 for 2010...

Craft will hopefully be in that #...

Did not want to have the Craft thread get too messy with what might follow.

I guess according to your scenario, which I do respect, if JD Weatherspoon and Payne would like to come to Ohio State we will not have any scholarships for them or are there different irons in the fire that you would not want to talk about. I really can't see any extent for the possibility of a transfer but I have no idea.

Here would be the '10-'11 roster in that scenario:

1. Lighty - Sr
2. Diebler - Sr
3. Lauderdale - Sr
4. Z - Jr
5. Buford - Jr
6. Offutt - Jr
7. Kecman - Sr/Jr - not sure
8. Sullinger - Fr
9. Thomas - Fr
10. Sibert - Fr
11. Smith - Fr
12. Craft - Fr
13.

Turner's hypothetical departure opened up spot #13. Another potential opening could be created if Buford were to leave after the upcoming season.

 

[LitlBuck]

The above breakdown by classcan be found here

http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/basketball-recruiting/22549-projected-scholarship-breakdown.html

I guess I was still counting the commitment of Wright when I was counting to 13. I believe that Kecman is only a junior in eligibility.
​

I guess that does leave a spot open for J. D. or Payne but I just can't see Matta turning one of those guys down.

 

[Buckskin86]

Payne or 'Spoon, but not both?
I had the opportunity to sit down with Thad Matta last week to talk about a number of subjects heading into the summer, one of which will be particularly interesting to those of you whose hobby (or life) is following recruiting.

Because everyone else is doing it and it was hampering coaches, the Big Ten has lifted its prohibition on them taking more commitments or signing more players than they have room for.

That's timely for Matta, because point guard Aaron Craft's commitment last week puts the Buckeyes at their limit of 13 scholarships for the 2010-11 season -- provided all underclassmen next season return.

But because Matta has to protect himself against someone leaving early next spring -- Evan Turner or William Buford, or both -- he needs to be able to sign more players than he has room for ahead of time. Knowing that he has offered two other Ohio players, forward/center Adreian Payne of Dayton Jefferson and forward J.D. Weatherspoon of Northland, I asked him if he would sign two more in the class of 2010.

"I wouldn?t oversign by two," Matta said. "I don?t think we can. I think (the Big Ten limit is) one."

Payne or 'Spoon, but not both? (Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog)

 

[LitlBuck]

Payne or 'Spoon, but not both? (Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog)

Interesting that Matta states in that article that he wishes he knew what players would be leaving early next spring so that he could recruit accordingly. It is interesting because all of us think that he knows who's leaving early. I guess that shows how smart we are

 

[Buckskin86]

Ohio State's highest-rated men's basketball recruits in the class of 2010 could go up against each other Jan. 23 in Value City Arena.

Northland, led by Ohio Mr. Basketball Jared Sullinger, has signed to play in the Scholastic Play by Play Classic. So has Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., which features DeShaun Thomas, who has a chance to become Indiana's career high school scoring leader.

Northland and Luers are defending state champions. The event promoter has not announced the matchups for the teams involved but is expected to pit the two against each other. ESPN could televise the game.

Sullinger and Thomas are ranked among the top 10 recruits nationally in 2010 by ESPN.com and Scout.com.

The Columbus Dispatch : Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings

 

[Buckskin86]

Roster turnover keeps Matta on recruiting trail
Sunday, July 5, 2009
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The 13 scholarships the Ohio State men's basketball team has available for the 2010-11 season are spoken for. Eight players are enrolled. Five, including Jared Sullinger of Northland, have committed to join them next summer.

But that doesn't mean the coaching staff won't keep pursuing 2010 recruits when the annual July evaluation period begins Monday.

The Big Ten, according to Buckeyes coach Thad Matta, has reversed a policy that prevented programs from taking commitments from, or signing, more players than they had room for in a given class. The change was made in reaction to holes left on rosters by players leaving early to play pro ball.

So while the Buckeyes roster is full now, it might not be next spring if junior Evan Turner and/or sophomore William Buford enter the NBA draft, or another player leaves for more playing time elsewhere.

"I wish you could have sat in this recruiting meeting we had today," Matta said recently. "This is really, really hard from the standpoint of not knowing (who will leave early) and trying to piece together a team. What do we need to recruit? It's mind-boggling."

The 10-day recruiting periods this month, when coaches can be on the road for camps and AAU tournaments, are July 6-15 and 22-31.

Matta said he would take only one more commitment to the 2010 class before spring, when the intentions of the current players are known. The five recruits already committed -- Sullinger, Aaron Craft of Findlay Liberty-Benton, Jordan Sibert of Cincinnati Princeton, Lenzelle Smith of Zion, Ill., and DeShaun Thomas of Fort Wayne, Ind. -- are expected to sign in November.

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Roster turnover keeps Matta on recruiting trail

Prospects worth watching
Sunday, July 5, 2009

Prospects in upcoming recruiting classes that Ohio State men's basketball coaches are expected to evaluate closely this month:

PG: Point guard > PF: Power forward W: Wing C: Center

2010
PG Cory Joseph, 6 feet 3, Ajax, Ontario
PG Joe Jackson, 5-11, White Station, Tenn.
PF James Johnson, 6-8, San Diego
PF Adreian Payne, 6-9, Dayton Jefferson
W J.D. Weatherspoon, 6-6, Northland

2011
PG Quinn Cook, 6-0, Hyattsville, Md.
W Jeremiah Davis, 6-2, Muncie, Ind.
W Markus Crider, 6-5, Huber Heights Wayne
PF Percy Gibson, 6-7, Detroit
W Brandon Kearney, 6-3, Detroit
C Zach Price, 6-10, Lakewood St. Edward
PG Chasson Randle, 6-1, Rock Island, Ill.
W Jakarr Sampson, 6-8, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary
PG Marquis Teague, 6-2, Indianapolis
PF Amir Williams, 6-10, Detroit

2012
C A.J. Hammons, 6-10, Carmel, Ind.
W Kenny Kaminski, 6-6, Medina
PF Malik London, 6-8, Chillicothe
PF Elijah Macon, 6-8, Marion-Franklin
W DeJuan Marrero, 6-4, Gary, Ind.
PG Kyle Molock, 6-1, Dublin Coffman
W Ron Patterson, 6-3, Indianapolis
PF Jalen Robinson, 6-6, Northland
W DeVauntes Smith-Rivera, 6-3, Indianapolis

2013
PF Demonte Flannigan, 6-6, Richmond Heights
W Mark Loving, 6-4, Toledo St. John's
W Mark Williams, 6-7, Cleveland Benedictine
W Dontonio Wingfield Jr., 6-4, Cincinnati Walnut Hills

The Columbus Dispatch : Prospects worth watching

 

[LitlBuck]

BuckeyeXtra - The Columbus Dispatch : Roster turnover keeps Matta on recruiting trail


The Columbus Dispatch : Prospects worth watching

I wonder if they are still looking at the following player but he seems to have completely fallen off the radar of even existing.
http://www.buckeyeplanet.com/forum/basketball-recruiting/611928-10-nc-c-david-nyarsuk.html

 

[CHU]

Contact with Josh Selby. Long shot.

Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - Whispers: Schools move in on Selby

Selby, the No. 7 prospect in the class, recently decommitted from Tennessee. He is wide open with regard to his recruitment and is waiting to see what schools contact his family. At this point, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State and Texas have made contact, said Selby's mother, Maeshon Witherspoon.

The plan is for Selby to formulate an official school list after the Nike Global Games, which will be played the weekend of Aug. 8.

 

[Buckskin86]

10 things I learned in July
by Jeff Goodman
July 31, 2009

Usually, I put together a list of 10 Things I've Learned after my trips to four college games in five days. However, I figured that I'd come up with something after spending 14 days on the road watching kids, schmoozing with coaches and, yes, even hitting a few casinos in Las Vegas.

10 Things I Learned

1. There isn't a clear-cut No. 1 player in the country. You can certainly make a valid case for Harrison Barnes, but big man Jared Sullinger has to be in the discussion. The consensus top guard, Brandon Knight, barely played in the summer before suffering a foot injury.

6. There's a reason why Ohio State coach Thad Matta had a smile on his face most of July. The Buckeyes locked up two of the nation's top big men in Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas and also have three other legitimate Top 100 kids ? guards Jordan Sibert, Lenzelle Smith and Aaron Craft.

10 things I learned in July - CBK News - FOX Sports on MSN