Of all the aspects involved in the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, few are as contentious as when someone crosses the border to go to the other school.
Inarguably, Michigan thrives on Ohio recruits. This is true in both football and hoops. The resulting discussion among Buckeye fans – if the recruit is successful – centers around whether OSU wasn't diligent enough in recruiting him or how much of a traitor he is.
Like Trey Burke (Columbus Northland) or Caris LeVert (Pickerington Central) before them, the Wolverines' 2016 recruiting class will be open to the same debate. Jon Teske (Medina), Ibi Watson (Pickerington Central) and, as of yesterday, Xavier Simpson (Lima Senior) are committed to John Beilein.
Ohio State showed interest in all three, to varying degrees. The Buckeyes offered Teske around the same time as Michigan did. He committed to the Wolverines before OSU took in Derek Funderburk Jr. and Micah Potter. So, there was sincere interest on Thad Matta's part. Teske just had a better relationship with UM's staff and his skill set will, probably, be a better fit in Belein's offense.
Watson could be considered a bit of a "late bloomer" and the Buckeyes checked in on him in July. That was almost two weeks before he committed to Michigan. By that point, Ohio State faced their current limited-scholarship dilemma and continued to focus their efforts elsewhere.
The Wolverines and Simpson weren't mutually interested until recently, while OSU scouted him over a year ago before moving on without offering a scholarship. Beilein only realized what kind of prospect he might lose – likely to another Big Ten school – after Simpson's father called assistant Bacari Alexander.
"When I reached out to him, I didn't even tell my own son I reached out to those guys. Because I knew he wouldn't have wanted me to because it was so late throughout the process," Quincy Simpson told The Detroit Free Press. "But when things got heavy, he understood the magnitude of recruiting. Some things happen late. At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason. It happened late but it was a great fit."
So, while there's always handwringing over recruits from Ohio who attend Michigan – as recently as Jake Butt's week one performance against Utah – it's important to remember that timing is as important as anything, particularly in basketball.
Simmons' Upcoming Visit
Five-star guard Kobi Simmons recently completed visits to Kentucky and UNLV. His next stop is Columbus, this weekend.
He originally intended on announcing his commitment shortly after his trip to Ohio State but will be pushing back his decision date, according to Cats Illustrated. This gives all schools involved in his recruitment – Georgia, in addition to UK, OSU and UNLV – more time to woo Simmons.
Those following the Kentucky program indicate it's a positive thing for the Wildcats, however. John Calipari is also after point guard De'Aaron Fox and looking for ways to fit both on his roster, although Fox is apparently the No. 1 priority. Fox isn't planning on announcing for a few months, which means Simmons might have to pick another school or hold off even longer on his announcement. Either way, he runs into an issue of limited class space at Ohio State or Kentucky.
All these high-major powers have reason to try and fit him into their 2016 class. After all, just look at his potential:
