Depending on the state, high school basketball season is over or the playoffs are about to begin.
Ohio readers may be familiar with the OHSAA tournament structure – it begins in mid to late February and ends a month later. This year's brackets have been revealed and Buckeye signee point guard A.J. Harris has a chance to avenge last season's loss in the regional semi-finals. His Dayton Dunbar squad is the No. 2 seed in the Kettering region and their first game will be against Eaton at UD Arena, Feb. 28.
According to MaxPreps.com, Dunbar is now 15-5 with two more regular season games remaining. The site also lists Harris' per-game averages – 19.3 points, 5.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals.
Meanwhile, future backcourt mate Austin Grandstaff has played his final game as a high schooler. His Rockwall squad needed a win over Garland Lakeview, Tuesday, in order to clinch a playoff berth. It wasn't for a lack of effort by Grandstaff, as he poured in 30 points – he averages 29 per game on the season. Unfortunately for him, Rockwall lost in overtime, 70-69, and finished the season with a 12-17 overall record.
His next game sporting his school colors will be in Columbus. He wasn't thinking that far ahead after the game, though, sending a few reflective tweets on his time with Rockwall:
lost in double OT, last game of high school on free throws at the buzzer, we fought as hard as we could, love this team #JFND
— Austin Grandstaff (@AustinGstaff1) February 18, 2015
can't believe it's over, thank you Rockwall. wouldn't want to play for any other school.
— Austin Grandstaff (@AustinGstaff1) February 18, 2015
Fellow Texan Mickey Mitchell made the state playoffs, however. His Plano West squad finished the season 26-2, went undefeated in their district and is No. 19 in the USA Today Super 25. Their next game will be Feb. 24 against Timber Creek. Individually, Mitchell doesn't take a ton of shots on a loaded offensive squad but is averaging 8.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.
The final two Buckeye signees are not participating in their state playoffs. It would be morbidly unfair to the other schools if Oak Hill Academy participated in the Virginia high school tournament.
Daniel Giddens is on Oak Hill, the nation's No. 1 team in the USA Today Super 25 and the MaxPreps Xcellent 25. The Warriors are currently 41-0 and have six more games remaining. If they avoid a six-game losing streak, they'll assuredly return to the Dick's National Tournament as favorites to win the whole thing.
Last season, as a member of Huntington Prep, Ohio State commit JaQuan Lyle was on the Dick's National Tournament All-Tournament team. This year, Lyle plays for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. They're a bit non-traditional compared to the aforementioned schools, but Lyle is a part of a program that will make him more prepared than most of his eventual classmates.
Bucks After Five-Star Tatum
Ohio State continues to chase consensus top-five 2016 recruit Jayson Tatum, along with Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and every high-major program you can think of.
The Buckeyes don't play until Sunday so the coaching staff has a chance to scout players across the country. Although Tuesday night's game was canceled, OSU had staff members in St. Louis to watch Tatum, according to Scout.com's Evan Daniels. He also reported Tatum will take his first official visit to Duke, Feb. 27.
Since it was the NBA All-Star break, Chaminade alum and Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal stopped by his former high school to check out Tatum. Chaminade Student News caught up with Beal, who dealt praise and constructive criticism for the junior wing.
"He may be better than I was. He’s a great player and he’s going to continue to get better and better," Beal said. "He needs to work on getting stronger. He needs to have that mentality that he needs to be aggressive on both ends of the court."
Newman Drops OSU, More 2016 Updates
- Considering the wing depth on next year's squad and the recent addition of JaQuan Lyle, 2015 five-star guard Malik Newman dropped the Buckeyes from his list. Newman canceled a planned visit to Columbus in late January.
- Scout.com reports Thad Matta will be in attendance for Tyus Battle's (Edison, New Jersey) game tonight.
- Ohio State and Duke are interested in 2016 three-star center Micah Potter (Mentor, Ohio), according to Cleveland.com's David Cassilo. Potter currently has offers from West Virginia and several MAC schools.
- Five-star 2016 point guard Dennis Smith Jr. (Fayetteville, North Carolina) tells ESPN.com he's considering the Buckeyes. Smith Jr. and OSU target Harry Giles are close friends who might play together at the college level.
