While there were more pressing Buckeye-related matters to attend to in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex this week, let's not forget about the health of Rockwall-native Austin Grandstaff.
The Buckeye signee is currently sidelined by a strained MCL, according to the Dallas Morning News. Grandstaff is not expected to miss a significant amount of time, having already sat out multiple games in the last two weeks. According to his father, Grandstaff could return on Tuesday.
Despite his knee injury, Grandstaff scored 27 points in a win over Sachse. He then missed games against Rowlett, Friday, and Lee, Tuesday. In that span, Rockwall is 0-2.
Prior to the injury, Grandstaff set some nylon on fire at the In-N-Out Burger Allen Holiday Invitational. In four tournament games, he dropped 35, 41, 40 and 53 points. It was enough to be named – and I swear I'm not making any of this up – to the Raising Cane's Chicken Bracket All-Tournament Team.
Considering he's such a vital piece on a state championship contender, and it's his final season with Rockwall, Grandstaff is disappointed he can't compete:
you don't realize how much the game means to you until you get injured an have to watch your team go to war without you. worst feeling
— Austin Grandstaff (@AustinGstaff1) January 14, 2015
Four Nominated for All-American Game
The list of nominees is exhaustive and the selection process far from perfect, but the biggest honor in high school basketball remains the McDonald's All-American Game. It's why, four years later, Amir Williams' high school All-American status is still used insultingly.
According to the official website, the list will be trimmed to 48 on Jan. 28. Those voting will have a few future Buckeyes to choose from.
In addition to Grandstaff, Daniel Giddens (Oak Hill Academy), A.J. Harris (Dayton Dunbar) and Mickey Mitchell (Plano West) are among the nominees – although you might miss Mitchell because he's listed under "Tennessee" instead of "Texas" on the official list.
Newman Plans Visit, OSU interested in Lyle
Ohio State isn't done with their 2015 class, so long as a talent such as Malik Newman or former Oregon signee Jaquan Lyle is willing to join.
It's not contradicting what head coach Thad Matta said during the early-signing period, but Matta was certainly satisfied with his class at the time.
"All four guys have won and they've won at a high level," Matta said, in November. "It was kind of in the plan of we knew had to get these spots filled. These were four guys we targeted and said if we get them, we’re gonna be happy. As I said, I’m elated today.”
The scholarship numbers are tight – assuming they want to roll one over to 2016 – but freshman D'Angelo Russell might leave. After all, DraftExpress.com currently ranks him as the fourth best prospect for this year's NBA Draft.
So, if he does depart, Buckeye fans and coaches would be ecstatic if they replace him with Newman or Lyle. Ohio State coaches recently watched Lyle, causing Matta to gush about the four-star guard:
Ohio State coach Thad Matta told IMG coach John Mahoney @keegan4gym that @JMamba5 is 'special.'
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) January 15, 2015
Kentucky and Kansas are also after Newman, a five-star guard who is listed as the third overall prospect in 247Sports' Composite Rankings.
Newman, a Callaway, Mississippi native, recently broke some news about a visit to Columbus in his USA Today blog.
"Right now I’m taking a visit to Ohio State on January 24-26. That’s the only visit that has a date attached to it, but I’ll also be visiting N.C. State, Kentucky and Kansas," Newman wrote. "I don’t know about the dates right now on those. I haven’t cut my list or anything and that doesn’t mean those schools are my top four or anything like that; they’re just the schools that I’m going to visit for now."
According to SNY.tv, Newman still has all five official visits left, so there's a possibility his trip to Ohio State may be his first. There is no current timetable on his decision.
If you're unfamiliar with Newman's game, check out these highlights from last weekend's Mustang Madness Tournament in Kentucky:
