It is no secret that Thad Matta loves big guards. Throughout his tenure with Ohio State, Matta has had great success with developing tall ball-handlers that have went on to do well at the next level. In the 2017 class, Ohio State has another big guard at the top of its list.
Troy Brown, a five-star point guard out of Las Vegas, took the first of his five official visits to Ohio State on Saturday for the Buckeyes' football opening drubbing of Bowling Green. And while the Silver Bullets putting up 77 points might have been the highlight of the day on campus, it was a successful visit with Brown that should excite Buckeye hoop fans.
"It was a great overall experience and a great way to start my first official visit," Brown told cleveland.com earlier this week.
While Brown still has four official visits remaining to Alabama, Oregon, Kansas and Georgetown, the visit to the OSU campus was a good one, as the 6-foot-6 wing guard left on good terms with the Buckeyes. Luckily for Ohio State, Brown has developed a relationship with 2017 commit Kaleb Wesson, as both players are apart of USA Basketball.
With an immediate need in the backcourt, Brown would be able to see the floor immediately, and have an instant impact on a team that will be stockpiled with veterans. Wesson is the lone commit in a 2017 class that is still taking shape at the moment. Backcourt help is at the forefront for the Buckeyes, as Brown is the staff's top target at the moment, while 3-star shooting guard Thomas Allen is not far behind.
Brown is likely to make a decision within the next few months, which will either tremendously boost the 2017 class for Ohio State, or leave the Buckeyes searching for answers.
Scout expands 2018 rankings to Top 100
Scout.com rolled out new 2018 rankings, expanding the class from Top 75 to Top 100. Featuring a new, sleek interface, the Scout rankings are very interactive, showing top offers for each prospect on the rankings page. Headlines from the rankings include:
- Parma Heights Holy Name guard Dwayne Cohill is the top-ranked player in Ohio's class, coming in at No. 56 overall.
- Cincinnati Princeton forward and Ohio State commit Darius Bazley comes in two spots behind at No. 58.
- Pittsburgh Mars Area guard and Ohio State target Robby Carmody is listed at No. 60. Carmody was offered the same day as current commit Justin Ahrens, who is unkranked, but listed as a three-star prospect.
- Pickerington North forward Jerome Hunter comes in at No. 77, his first time in any top ranking. Hunter, who is unranked by ESPN, is listed as a four-star prospect and No. 3 in the state of Ohio.
- Ohio State commit Dane Goodwin is unranked, despite coming in at No. 57 in ESPN's rankings. Goodwin is listed as a three-star according to Scout.
You can check out the rest of the rankings here.
News and Notes
- 2019 Pickerington Central point guard Jeremiah Francis took an unofficial visit to Ohio State last Saturday for the Bowling Green game. The top-ranked point guard in Ohio's 2019 class, Francis is a physical specimen at 6-foot-3 and is also the son of former Buckeye Jerry Francis. You can learn more about Francis in our feature on him earlier in the summer.
- All-Star Sunday at Coach Vic's Weekly Showcase tips off on Sunday at Reynoldsburg High School at 12 p.m. Free for the public, the event will include a dunk contest, skills challenge, King of the Court 1 on 1 tournament and 5 on 5 scrimmages. Wesson, Francis and Hunter are some of the top players in the event.
