After opening up his recruitment in early February, 2015 guard Austin Grandstaff has received offers from various high-major schools.
The one-time Oklahoma State commit got an important phone call from Ohio State coach Thad Matta, Sunday, telling Grandstaff of his latest offer. He didn't just pop up on Matta's radar, either – assistant coach Dave Dickerson contacted his family last year, before he committed to Oklahoma State.
Likewise, Grandstaff is familiar with Ohio State basketball. His father, Wes, knows Todd Hensley (Deshaun Thomas' mentor from Fort Wayne, Ind.) and the family has been following Buckeye hoops for a while.
"Austin likes watching [Aaron] Craft play," Wes told Eleven Warriors. "They were at the LeBron James Camp together, this year, and we enjoyed watching him play over the last few years ... We really like Coach Matta's style of play, his players seem to play with quite a bit of freedom."
There are valuable lessons to learn from Craft, but Austin's game will not remind people of the Buckeyes point guard. The 6-foot-5-inch Texas native is more of a combo guard. Wes – also Austin's AAU coach – pointed out their Team Texas Elite has four-star, 2015 guard Jawun Evans, who does the majority of the ball handling.
"Austin can push it and make plays off the dribble or he can come off screens," Wes said. "He has a high basketball IQ, knows how to read defenses really well and good with the pick and roll."
Ohio State has offers out to several junior wings like Austin, but they're also more highly rated. That includes five-stars Luke Kennard, Montaque Gill-Caesar and Isaiah Briscoe. Still, as this year's Buckeye squad has shown, you can never have enough shooters on one roster.
"I think that's the reason why they have interest in Austin," Wes said. "He can stroke it from three, his midrange is really good off the dribble. So, he's just a really versatile scorer and shooter."
With only one home game remaining – plus planned visits to Oklahoma and Florida –it's unlikely the Grandstaff family will get a chance to visit Columbus before the end of the regular season. Wes hopes they'll get a chance to take in the pageantry of Ohio Stadium in the fall, assuming Austin hasn't made a decision before then.
Here is Austin displaying his all-around game in a recent 51 point effort for his Rockwall High School squad (via @BradBallisLife):
coaches play host and travel to New jersey, Georgia
In the past week, Ohio State's staff scoured the eastern seaboard for future Buckeyes, while three recruits traveled to Columbus for the Minnesota game.
Matta continued his pursuit of 2015 big man Daniel Giddens, who tweeted about the OSU coach's presence at a Tuesday night game. 247Sports.com's composite rankings lists the 6-foot-10-inch Giddens as a five-star recruit and a top-five center in his class. By virtue of seeing Giddens, Matta also checked in on five-star forward Jaylen Brown, Giddens' teammate.
His work continued in the Peach State, as Matta stayed in the gym to watch another Georgia high school playoff game. Luella took on Newnan (R.I.P. Harold Ramis), which meant Matta could also watch Luella's Doral Moore. According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Moore is a five-star talent, the No. 6 center, as well as the No. 3 overall 2015 recruit in Georgia, behind Brown and Giddens.
Meanwhile, the staff extended its grasp to New Jersey thanks to Greg Paulus. The Ohio State assistant watched 2016 guard Tyus Battle, Monday night, alongside Paulus' former school, Duke. The 6-foot-5-inch sophomore is a composite four-star and the top player in his state. SNY.tv spoke with Battle's father, Gary.
"Paulus thought Tyus was much improved since his last visit," Gary told SNY.tv. "He loves him.”
It was a busy week on the home front, as well. For Saturday's Minnesota game, the staff welcomed three players on visits, all of which varied in age. Thomas Bryant and Miles Bridges, a junior and sophomore, respectively, were on campus, Saturday, according to Huntington Prep head coach Rob Fulford. Indianapolis native and 2017 point guard Justin Roberts was also behind the Ohio State bench. Of the three, only Bryant currently has a Buckeye offer.
Turner to visit texas A&M, kansas, duke
Myles Turner's college decision won't come until the spring, giving him plenty of time to make his final round of visits.
According to ESPN's Paul Biancardi, Turner will be on Texas A&M's campus for an unofficial visit, Saturday. The Aggies are a long shot but the school is close to his Dallas-area home. Biancardi also reported Turner will take an official visit to Duke for their game against North Carolina, March 8. He has previously expressed an interest in playing alongside Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor.
Kansas, which missed out on an earlier Turner visit due to a schedule conflict, will finally get their shot to woo the five-star big man. According to Scout.com's Evan Daniels, Turner will be at "Phog" Allen Fieldhouse, March 8.
Turner, the top uncommitted player in the 2014 class, has already made official visits to Ohio State (during the Iowa football game) and Oklahoma State (Feb. 1). He might also take an official visit to Texas, although he's already unofficially visited the school. His other unofficial was to SMU.
Bah gawd mickey mitchell!
Despite his brother's impeding transfer, 2015 Buckeye pledge Mickey Mitchell has not indicated any plans to decommit from Ohio State.
So, for now, we can relish in his high-quality facial on low-quality film from Tuesday night:
