Don't let Ohio State's bye week get you down – basketball season is back. The NBA tipped off Tuesday and, in less than two weeks, the Buckeyes will take the court for their annual exhibition against Walsh.
Within the next month, high school teams across the country will begin practicing in full and open their seasons. Expect to hear from Kobi Simmons regarding his college decision in this timeframe. Of course, there are never any assurances in recruiting.
Simmons trimmed his list of schools down to three in September – Kentucky, Ohio State and UNLV all made the cut. Prior to this, he also considered Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Xavier.
The news that one of schools jumped back into his recruitment didn't exactly come out of nowhere:
#Arizona is now firmly in the mix for Simmons, according to dad. Simmons has been adamant that he's not in a rush to decide prior to this.
— Justin Young (@JustinDYoung) October 26, 2015
Arizona did not end up visiting Simmons, as it turns out. UNLV did, however. This might go against the notion UK and OSU are the odds-on favorites to land him.
Simmons took official visits to Columbus, Lexington and Las Vegas. He still has two more at his disposal. So, if he ends up taking an official to Tucson, we'll have a better idea of if the Wildcats are true players in his recruitment.
Commit Already on the Hardwood
One future Buckeye big man impressed many in attendance for his debut.
In his first game with Hargrave Military Academy, Derek Funderburk finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Their season hasn't officially started yet – it was only an exhibition game against Oak Hill – but we now have an indication of how he'll fare against high-quality prep competition.
Funderburk might have matched up against five-star and top-ranked power forward Harry Giles if not for Giles' injured hand. Since it's Oak Hill, there's no shortage of talent ready to step in. The 2016 Buckeye commit battled four-star and Virginia Tech commit Khadim Sy down low instead.
"The lengthy power forward was active on both ends of the court and protected the rim extremely well. Funderburk plays with a high motor and had a knack for securing 50/50 balls," according to Phenom Hoop Report's Rick Lewis. "He was always around the ball. He has great anticipation and his full throttle approach to the game was impressive."
Wesson Injured, Carter STays Home
- At first it appeared 2017 OSU commit Kaleb Wesson would miss the first two weeks of the season due to a broken finger. As it turns out, his finger does not require surgery and he will be ready for Westerville South's season opener, although he will be limited in practice until it's fully healed. Credit to Zach Fleer for first reporting the news.
- Two weeks ago, four-star 2016 guard Tyson Carter canceled his visit to Ohio State. He did not reschedule and ended up committing to Mississippi State, Tuesday.
