Coffman’s 6-10 Madsen will transfer to Ohio State
By Bob Baptist
The Columbus Dispatch
Thursday, June 8, 2006 12:55 AM
The Ohio State men's basketball team further enhanced its skyline with its third commitment in less than three weeks from a player 6 feet 9 or taller.
Kyle Madsen, a 6-10, 228-pound forward from Dublin Coffman, said last night that he will transfer to OSU from Vanderbilt. He chose Ohio State over Dayton after visiting each campus earlier this week.
“It's hard not to be a Buckeye,” he said. “Both of my parents went there,” as did two cousins who were student-athletes, baseball pitcher Mike Madsen and football receiver Darik Warnke.
Madsen redshirted as a freshman at Vanderbilt last season and will have three years of eligibility beginning with the 2007-08 season. Two other Ohio big men who will be freshmen that season, 7-1 Kosta Koufos of Canton GlenOak and 6-9 Dallas Lauderdale of Solon, also committed in the past three weeks.
Madsen adds another option at power forward, but it could be a crowded position when he becomes eligible. Koufos, Brayden Bell, Matt Terwilliger and junior-college transfer Othello Hunter could be competing for time at the spot.
“I saw that. I don't worry about it,” Madsen said. “I figure if I work hard, I'll be able to help the team somehow. If I get on the court, great. They wouldn't have offered me (a scholarship) if they didn't think I could play.”
Madsen becomes the sixth member of the recruiting class of 2006, which also includes Hunter and freshmen Mike Conley Jr., Daequan Cook, David Lighty and national player of the year Greg Oden. All are scheduled to begin classes at OSU on June 19 except Hunter, who is completing credits at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., before he can transfer.
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