On the first possession of Upper Arlington's district semifinal Wednesday night against perennial power Columbus Northland, sophomore guard — and 2018 Ohio State commit — Dane Goodwin made a back cut along the baseline, received a nice bounce pass from teammate Onno Steger, and rose up for a two-handed slam.
The play, which can be seen below via the fine folks at 270Hoops, somewhat foreshadowed the rest of the game for both Goodwin and the Golden Bears. It was constant attack mode from the jump.
Upper Arlington opened the game with this throw down from #OhioState commit @danegoodwin23 on their first possession pic.twitter.com/sgClY2BWnt
— Jason Morrow (@JasonMorrow270) March 3, 2016
Goodwin scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Upper Arlington’s 42-37 victory, which advanced it to Saturday’s district final. It was a mild upset over a Northland squad ranked seventh in the state led by senior star Seth Towns — a Harvard signee.
“Northland played well, but we had a good attack on them, we knew what we had to do,” Goodwin said after the game. “I think we really got the momentum starting out and had a good first quarter and just kept it rolling from there and played well.”
Goodwin, a 6-foot-4 guard, is currently ranked as the nation’s 88th overall prospect in the 2018 class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. With a big spring and summer ahead of him — Goodwin said he will play AAU for the prestigious All-Ohio Red this year — Goodwin has plenty of time to improve his stock.
Goodwin committed to Ohio State before ever playing a high school game. His freshman year was a bit up-and-down, but this year as a sophomore he is blossoming into one of the state’s best players.
On Wednesday night against Towns — one of the top seniors in the state — it showed. Goodwin was poised as he continuously attacked the basket and did not settle for jump shots.
“That’s one of the best things about his game: He can score around the basket, he’s crafty, he gets fouled, he can drive you a little bit,” Upper Arlington coach Tim Casey said. “I thought he had a really good game. I actually wish we would have taken advantage of him a little bit more.”
The calmness with which Goodwin played was pretty apparent. And it’s especially difficult to have it against a team like Northland, which consistently pressures opposing teams. A lot of times that pressure is too much to handle.
“I try not to get overwhelmed in situations,” Goodwin said. “I know if I get too nervous or something it’s going to affect me probably in a negative way. I know what I have to do and I just try and go out and do it.”
Goodwin said he talks with Ohio State assistant coach Jeff Boals frequently — Boals was his main recruiter — and with Upper Arlington being right outside Columbus, he is able to get over to campus and watch his future team play whenever he can. Goodwin was at Value City Arena when the Buckeyes knocked off Michigan on Feb. 16.
“It’s really fun to go down there, meet up with the guys and talk to the coaches,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin said it’s possible he still grows another “two or three inches” and could wind up somewhere in the 6-5 to 6-7 range by the time he graduates high school. But while he’s still growing physically, he’s growing on the basketball floor, as well.
“Last year I’d get too into it and wouldn’t know what to do exactly,” Goodwin said. “This year I’m just trying to go with the flow, play the game and just let it come to me.”
And as Upper Arlington looks to continue its tournament run, the Golden Bears will go as far as their super sophomore takes them. That seems to be something Goodwin doesn’t mind, however, as he’s been in dealing with a lot of hype as an Ohio State commit for over a year now.
“It’s a lot of pressure being where he’s at,” Casey said. “All that pressure of being an early [commit] as an eighth-grader pretty much, hadn’t played one varsity game. I think that’s really tough, but I think he’s really maturing, growing up, growing physically.
“He’s got a lot of growth and maturity left in him and I think he’s got a chance to be really special before it’s all said and done.”
