Ohio State's basketball staff made it's first official foray into recruiting the 2019 class via an offer to a Columbus-area prospect.
As the notebook detailed last week, Gahanna Lincoln's Jordan Mitchell made the short trip to campus as an unofficial visitor for the Michigan game. He revealed an offer from Thad Matta three days after his visit:
God is GREAT!! Blessed to receive my first full ride offer from The Ohio State University pic.twitter.com/xT72O0YJT4
— Jordan Mitchell (@jay_mitch23) February 19, 2016
The Buckeyes have a pretty good idea of Mitchell's progress through his first varsity season. He visited in the fall and assistant Greg Paulus scouted him in person in January.
To those outside of Columbus, Mitchell is a bit of an unknown. Most major recruiting services do not rank high school freshmen and he does not have many recent highlight reels. Future150.com is the only reputable service ranking him amongst the top 2019 recruits. The site considers him a five-star and the No. 23 overall prospect in his class.
Mitchell's game will continue to evolve as he hits the AAU circuit this summer, possibly continuing his work with the King James Shooting Stars coaches. Future150 lists his mid-range shooting and rebounding as his strengths. The scouting report also said he needs to continue to work on his athleticism.
From this NextUpRecruits video, he appears to be fairly athletic. These Hudl.com highlights give us a good indication of what he's capable of on both ends of the floor, showcasing his length and mid-range shooting:
State Tournament Update
Mitchell's Gahanna Lincoln squad advanced to the district semifinals where they'll play Pickerington North or Westerville North. The No. 1 seeded Lions beat Hamilton Township by 50 and Whetstone by 32 in their opening games.
The two Ohio State commits playing in the Columbus region are still in the playoffs; it would've been a major upset if either Kaleb Wesson or Dane Goodwin's teams lost. Goodwin's Upper Arlington team advanced to the district semis where the Bears will likely play Northland.
Westerville South has to beat Franklin Heights, Friday, if they want to play in the district semis against Thomas Worthington. Kaleb sat out the last seven games of the regular season with an ankle injury before returning for their first playoff matchup against Licking Heights. The Wildcats won, 91-40, and Kaleb had 22 points.
Meanwhile, Kaleb's brother, Andre, took another visit to campus as he watched the Buckeyes lose to Michigan State.
Other Recruiting Notes
- Westerville North's Jeremiah Keene also attended the Michigan State game.
- Scout.com's Brian Snow got a chance to watch signee Micah Potter and Montverde recently. "He's someone who Ohio State doesn't have on their roster right now," Snow said. "Some people say he's a 'stretch four,' but I don't think he can guard on the perimeter. I think he'll be a center on what is a very crowded depth chart."
- Ohio State scouted Cincinnati-area wing Darius Bazley last week, via Corey Albertson. The 6-foot-7-inch Bazley is a sophomore at Finneytown and plays point guard. The Cincinnati Enquirer listed Butler, Cincinnati, Penn State, Purdue, West Virginia and Xavier among the other schools interested in him.
- Buckeye offeree Markell Johnson took an official visit to Virginia Tech, according to Corey Evans. He also threw down this crazy, between-the-legs windmill dunk on a fast break.
