V.J. King held an Ohio State offer before his sophomore season began, but Sunday marked the first time him and fellow classmates can receive recruiting materials and telephone calls from universities.
As of the June 15 following a recruit's sophomore year, coaches are free to contact those rising junior prospects. Currently, they are in a "quiet period," which limits in-person contact to campus visits, but does not affect a coach's ability to place phone calls to recruits or their guardians.
The talent in the 2016 class is particularly strong in Ohio, with Akron's King leading the way. The five-star wing and St. Edward's Derek Funderburk Jr. are Ohioans who received Buckeye offers, and OSU is potentially seeking out one more from Northeast Ohio.
Interest in Medina's Teske
When or if he received an offer, at this point, has not yet been confirmed by Eleven Warriors, but there is legitimate interest in 2016 center Jon Teske.
UMhoops.com listed OSU as one of Teske's offers, last week, and predicted the Wolverines could offer him, eventually (Michigan did, Sunday). Teske clearly impressed John Beilein and his staff during their practice camp.
Sunday, TripleDoubleProspects.com's Corey Albertson also reported a Buckeye offer for Teske.
The 6-foot-11-inch center – seen battling Ohio State freshman Dave Bell at the top of the page – also has an offer from Dayton. Teske averaged around 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks per game for the Division-I Medina Bees.
There isn't much Teske game film online, but – as the stats prove – he is a shot-blocking force and can hit some midrange jumpers:
NBPA Camp In Progress, Ahmad Trimming List Soon
As previously mentioned, Funderburk Jr. (no relation to Lawrence Funderburke) has an OSU offer, but should soon be in line for more.
The 6-foot-9-inch center is at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va., along with several other Buckeye targets. In addition to Ohio State, Funderburk Jr. has offers from Iowa, Penn State and Xavier. With a strong showing at the camp, he could add to that list.
Potential breakouts at the @Top100Camp include Kenny Williams, Tevin Mack, Jonathan Nwankwo, Derek Funderburk, Chris Clarke, & Steven Enoxh
— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) June 18, 2014
Also attending the NBPA Camp is Carlton Bragg, Esa Ahmad, Jalen Coleman, Dwayne Bacon, and Omari Spellman, among others.
Ahmad spoke to CSNBaltimore in Charlottesville and said he's planning on cutting his list to "six or seven" schools in July. Afterwards, he might make a decision in August.
He also said he has visits lined up to Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State. Ahmad took an unofficial visit to Ohio State in May and frequently travels Columbus, in case the lack of a forthcoming OSU visit scares you.
Spellman Transferring Out of State
Speaking of Spellman – whom Ohio State showed preliminary interest in when assistant coach Greg Paulus scouted one of his games – the former North Royalton big man is heading to Massachusetts.
As first reported by Cleveland.com's David Cassilo, Spellman is in the process of transferring to the MacDuffie School (Granby, Mass.). Had Spellman, who originally transferred to North Royalton from New York, stayed in Ohio, there was a chance he'd be ruled ineligible for his senior season. Apparently, Massachusetts has more lenient transfer rules than the OHSAA.
I wrote about Spellman in February, and his former head coach described him as a stretch-four and, in general, a dangerous offensive weapon.
"Everybody is looking for a big guy who can step out and shoot. He's a very good shooter for his size and his position," said North Royalton coach Tim Matus. "He's exactly what colleges are looking for, as far as a skill set to be able to do that."
Since Spellman plays AAU ball for Team SCAN in New York, his basketball ties to Ohio are now severed. Question now, is: will Ohio State continue to pursue Spellman?
