A week after offering Javonte Smart, the Ohio State staff continued its attempts to build on the 2018 class.
Giir Ring, an Australian native now playing for Orlando Christian Prep, is the latest rising sophomore to receive a Buckeye offer. Ring only somewhat recently made his way over to the United States and is still raw, so there isn't a lot of information on him. Still, his performance in his first year with Team Texas Elite – the same program that produced Buckeye freshman Austin Grandstaff – was enough to earn offers from OSU, Florida State, Kansas State, Texas and Texas A&M.
The 6-foot-8-inch forward impressed scouts with his athleticism and all around smooth game. Coaches are fond of his basketball bloodlines as well:
Giir Ring 6'8" 2018 Team Texas Houston won't play Sunday but showed he will be a MAJOR FACTOR. Super Skilled, similar to cousin Luol Deng
— Coach DJ (@mongoslade9013) March 22, 2015
Matta Attends the Nike Global Challenge
Ohio State's head coach made the short trip to Chicago and scouted players at Nike's latest national AAU event.
Matta specifically monitored the U.S.A. Midwest squad, featuring OSU targets Xavier Simpson, Gary Trent Jr. and 2016 commit Derek Funderburk Jr. The U.S.A. South team also had two Buckeye targets on its roster – 2017 offeree Zach Brown and the aforementioned Javonte Smart.
U.S.A. South won the competition, although Smart didn't do much throughout the weekend. Brown, meanwhile, averaged 8.3 points, six rebounds and two blocks before sitting out much of the championship game with foul trouble.
As expected, Trent Jr. filled up the stat sheet by averaging 20 points per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range. Funderburk Jr. was a key contributor in the Midwest's third-place game victory, scoring 12 points on only seven shots and grabbing five boards.
Fultz's Breakout Year
Ohio State's 2016 class is full but Matta remains in pursuit of several highly-touted prospects. One of those is five-star guard Markelle Fultz (Hyattsville, Maryland), who has steadily risen up the recruiting rankings throughout 2015:
Biggest climber over the last 2 years: Jonathan Isaac or Markelle Fultz? Both have been simply amazing with their development.
— Justin Young (@JustinDYoung) July 20, 2015
Since March alone, Fultz earned offers from Kansas, Ohio State, Kentucky and North Carolina. Matta watched him twice within the past week, once at the Under Armour Association Finals in Atlanta and the second time, last night, at the Battle of the Borders in New Jersey.
Since embracing his inner-underdog mentality, Fultz's potential has skyrocketed. 247Sports' composite rankings now list Fultz as the No. 19 overall recruit in the 2016 class.
"When I got my chance, I was filled up with anger for everybody overlooking me," Fultz told USA Today. "I just took advantage—played very well, did very well against nationally ranked players."
Paulus Scouts Local Prospect
The Buckeyes started their 2018 freshman class with a commitment from Upper Arlington's Dane Goodwin. Could another Columbus-area kid follow?
Jerome Hunter (Columbus City Prep) is a four-star recruit, according to Future150.com. Although he hasn't received much hype yet, he's bound to blow up soon. 247Sports lists Kentucky, Maryland and Ohio State as schools interested in Hunter.
Last weekend, OSU assistant Greg Paulus watched him and Goodwin at the Adidas All-In Classic just outside the Cincinnati area:
Ohio State assistant coach Greg Paulus checking out Nova Village 2018 forward Jerome Hunter. The 6'7 wing is high on OSU's board
— Zach Fleer (@ZachFleerLGHL) July 18, 2015
