It's not Thad Matta's most highly-rated recruiting class, but Ohio State's coach raved about the collective character of his 2015 group, perhaps more than he has about any other class.
Obviously, having the composite No. 7 overall class means they're not void of talent. Judging by rankings alone, though, they did not receive a commitment from the top three players in the state – A.J. Harris, the lone Ohio commit, is ranked No. 4. Still, Matta is proud of the class him and his staff assembled.
"I love who we got, and we did recruit some other guys, but the day Daniel Giddens told us he was coming in June, we were done," he said, during a media session, Wednesday. "That's who we wanted, in terms of the positions that we felt like we had to fill."
Matta spoke in depth about each recruit, with the expectation all four can contribute when they arrive in Columbus.
"All these guys have a body where I think they can come in here and not be shell-shocked, in terms of the pace or physicality that's played at this level," Matta said. "The other thing is, all four guys have won at a very high level. There's an art to winning and, I think, with these guys we got that."
Daniel Giddens (Marietta, Georgia)
While Matta feels like Giddens has the championship pedigree – he recently played for E1T1, one of the top AAU programs in the country – Giddens still wanted to elevate his game before the massive leap to a Big Ten program.
So, Giddens transferred to the renowned Oak Hill Academy for his senior season. Matta referred to it as a "basketball decision," with the Georgia native in strong enough academic standing to make such a move.
"I still remember when Daniel came up for his visit, last summer, with the family. They asked questions with more non-basketball issues and that's always refreshing as a coach, in terms of they're seeing the big picture," Matta said. "They wanted to know academic opportunities. As Daniel even said, 'in case this doesn't work out, here's what I want to major in,' which is really refreshing in today's day in age."
On the court, Giddens' athleticism and rim-protecting prowess will earn him immediate minutes.
"You're looking at a tremendous athlete with great toughness," Matta said. "I've seen him dominate basketball games with his defense, his rebounding and his shot blocking."
Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall, Texas)
At the time he committed, Grandstaff was the third member of the 2015 class. In the end, he helped hold it all together.
Grandstaff pledged to Ohio State in May, about three months after decommitting from Oklahoma State. He fully embraced the Buckeyes, making it clear he was not going to do the same to a different OSU.
The sharpshooting guard pursued several recruits at various summer camps, including Giddens. When Mickey Mitchell briefly decommitted, Grandstaff accompanied him on an official visit, which cemented Mitchell's belief in becoming a Buckeye.
"I think that those guys talk, and Austin did a good job at the camps. The one thing we always tell kids, though, is I don't want to tag-team recruit . . . it usually backfires on us," Matta said. "We knew we wanted Austin, let's go get the other guys. Did he help solidify Daniel and Mickey? I know they were talking, but, by the same token, I wanted Mickey and Daniel to come for the right reasons for them and their families."
The main reason Ohio State was heavily interested in Grandstaff – Matta admitted he wanted him before he even decommitted from Oklahoma State – is his pure shooting ability. While prompted to do so because of a question posed by the media, Matta still favorably compared him to Jon Diebler.
"I know Jon's over in Turkey and he's not going to see this, but I've told Jon this: Austin is a better shooter than Jon was in high school," Matta said. "Jon was a great scorer and he made himself a shooter. Jon made himself the best shooter in college basketball and, with that said, I think Austin shoots it better, today, than he does. Athletically, Austin's probably a bit better, in terms of his bounce. If Austin has a career like Jon Diebler did, I'm going to be a happy guy."
A.J. Harris (Dayton, Ohio)
For a five-foot-nine-inch point guard to, figuratively, stand out to high-major programs, he needs to show a little bit more than the typical recruit.
The Buckeyes scouted him for a while and, eventually, Harris became the first member of the 2015 class. It all began with a simple display of his passion for the sport.
"I'll never forget this," Matta said. "I watched him play in an AAU game a couple summers ago and he missed a crucial free throw. I walked outside, afterwards, to make a phone call and he was sitting on a bench by himself, had his head in his hands.
"I couldn't talk to him because of NCAA rules but I'm looking at him and saying [to myself] 'here's a kid who cares. This is AAU basketball in July and he's distraught over missing a free throw.' As crazy as it sounds, that went into my thinking of offering him a scholarship."
Harris will bring more tangible aspects of play into the program, such as his ability to break defenders down and get into the lane. For Dunbar High School, he averaged 14.5 points and 6.1 assists per game in his junior season.
"He's one of the best I've seen in getting inside the paint and making guys around him better. He's so quick, he's so strong, he gets in there and is a very good decision maker," Matta said. "He's going to be able to come in and run a basketball team. He's accustomed to winning. He is tough. He can get up, he can crawl under guys, and he's going to do the things he has to do to win."
Mickey Mitchell (Plano, Texas)
The crazy twists in Mitchell's recruitment finally came to an end, Wednesday, as he signed with the rest of his classmates.
Rumors of a potential decommitment began when his brother, Mike, announced he was transferring – Mike is now at Texas Tech. Despite this, Mickey held firm in his pledge to the Buckeyes.
"Every recruitment is unique. There's no cookie-cutter approach to recruiting," Matta said. "Dating back to when Mike left, we asked him, point-blank, 'Is this going to affect you? Be honest, we understand if it does.' He said 'it has no bearing, whatsoever, on me.'"
A few months passed, Mickey returned to the floor after recovering from a torn ACL and his commitment remained steady. Then, suddenly, he decommitted in August, almost exactly a year after he originally announced his commitment to Ohio State.
Mickey and his family rarely spoke to the media, so the reasons surrounding his decommitment were purely speculative. Buckeye coaches just wanted some clarity one way or the other.
"He went through a little bit of a tough stretch. I remember getting a phone call and saying 'I'm cool with it, I just want what's best for you,'" Matta said. "The best place for Mickey is at Ohio State. That's what he felt and we're elated to have him here."
Mickey participated in AAU ball over the summer, playing through back pain. According to Matta, he also also had bone spurs in his foot, which required surgery.
The ability to recover from all of his injuries and still play at a high level is what continues to excite Matta. Plus, Mitchell can help point guard depth, especially if OSU loses D'Angelo Russell to the NBA before next season.
"I've loved his game from the first time I saw him. He's probably – maybe – the best passer I've seen in a long time, in terms of his vision and in terms of making guys better," Matta said. "You look at Mickey Mitchell and say 'what position is he?' In our system, he can play four positions easily."
