In case you’re blissfully unaware, this upcoming weekend is fairly important. Huge for Eleven Warriors, Bradley-Roby-inspired alcohol consumption and the future of Ohio State basketball .
Russell is scheduled to visit, along with six othersIt’s not just about football, Saturday. By our count, seven high school basketball recruits will visit campus, four of which will be “official” visits. On official visits are two highly touted big men, either of which would be considered the missing piece to Thad Matta's 2014 class.
In the past week, the Buckeyes extended a scholarship offer to one of the top perimeter prospects in 2016.
An OSU target, who is one of 2015’s top wings, cut his list of schools to 10. Plus, a member of the coaching staff visited with two elite prospects from the 2015 and 2016 classes.
Buckeye Hoops Taking Advantage of Wisconsin Weekend
There’s no better time to showcase the Ohio State campus than on a football Saturday. Adding in the elements of a primetime game and the in-conference significance of the matchup, it’s clear that this is an ideal recruiting tool – not exclusively for Urban Meyer.
Three members of the Buckeyes’ 2014 class – in other words, everyone except Dave Bell – will visit this weekend. The staff is hoping to fill out that class with one of the two big men who will also visit Columbus for the Wisconsin game.
Commits Keita Bates-Diop and D’Angelo Russell will take their official visits this weekend, while Pickerington native Jae’Sean Tate will make the short trip to the Horseshoe. They’ll join coveted big men Goodluck Okonoboh and Elbert Robinson, both on official visits.
The 6-foot-9-inch Okonoboh is one of the top shot-blockers in his class and a high level athlete. Ohio State will mark his second official visit, after he stopped by Indiana two weeks ago. He’ll also visit UNLV, Sunday.
Robinson is a powerful force on the block and a tough rebounder NBC Sports.com’s Rob Dauster likes his post game.
“[Robinson’s] massive. 7-feet, pushing 275 pounds, 7-5 wingspan,” he told Eleven Warriors, in July. “He moves fairly well for someone his size and his age, too. I've liked his ability to get position in the post, and I think he embraces his size.”
Two members of the 2015 class will also visit Columbus, in an unofficial capacity. Point guard commit A.J. Harris has been looking forward to attending the game all week:
I'm ready for the weekend already, college football gone be crazy Ohio St. Vs Wisconsin, #GoBucks
— Famous_Amos12 (@FAMOUS_AMOS12) September 24, 2013
Fellow Southwest Ohioan and AAU teammate Luke Kennard is also scheduled to be in attendance. Matta checked out the five-star basketball recruit while Kennard played quarterback for Franklin High School.
You can find Eleven Warriors full list of fall visitors here.
Ohio State offers Battle
Last week’s game against Florida A&M was comparatively insignificant, but New Jersey native Tyus Battle visited anyway. He left Columbus with a scholarship offer, the fifth member of the 2016 class to receive one from Ohio State.
Battle is a five-star recruit, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. ESPN.com highlights his defensive abilities, despite his slender frame.
The 6-foot-5-inch, 185-pound wing also lists offers from Connecticut, Indiana and Syracuse, among others. According to this YouTube video, he has also earned the Kobe Bryant-inspired nickname “Kid Mamba:”
Matthews Cuts List
Blessed to be deciding my school. Considering these 10 schools: Duke Illinois Kansas Kentucky Marquette MSU OSU SMU Stanford Wisconsin
— Charles Matthews (@CMATTHEWS_1) September 21, 2013
Considering his affinity for long, versatile wings from Chicago, it’s no surprise Matta is after Charles Matthews.
The 6-foot-6-inch wing has the potential to become a matchup nightmare for opposing teams, based purely on his wingspan and defensive IQ. Offensively, Matthews aggressively uses his size to finish in traffic.
He is scheduled to take an unofficial visit Kansas next week, while he has already been to Kentucky and Michigan State in the last month.
Checking In On Other Prospects
Ohio State Assoc Head Coach Dave Dickerson is n Columbia visiting Seventh Woods & PJ Dozier. .Dickerson is a SC native hailing from Denmark
— Carey Rich (@TheCaptain560) September 24, 2013
The Buckeyes offered 2015 guard P.J. Dozier back in June, while the Seventh Woods news gives us a chance to post a mixtape that even Mickey Mitchell is jealous of (8.5 million views!):
