Welcome to the Full Court Press, your weekly destination for offseason Ohio State basketball recruiting updates.
Compared to recent weeks, this week was a slow recruiting weekend for Ohio State, as the coaching staff took some time to enjoy each others company, while Chris Holtmann went to Chicago to watch his former superstar workout at the NBA Combine.
Beautiful day for some in Columbus! No better way for the staff to enjoy the weather than with the @CLBClippers!#ClipShow #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/VF4hdNgACr
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) May 17, 2018
Great seeing our guy KBD here in Chicago at the NBA Combine! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/n3k20wAZcY
— Chris Holtmann (@ChrisHoltmann) May 17, 2018
That being said, Ohio State was still active on the recruiting trail, offering an in-state point guard in the 2020 class. We will get to that shortly. First though, one of the top recruits in the 2019 class, Trayce Jackson-Davis, took some time to discuss his recruitment with Eleven Warriors.
Jackson-Davis took an unofficial visit to Ohio State on Oct. 28, the same day the Buckeye football team defeated Penn State on the gridiron. Jackson-Davis was able to experience the football game as well as watch Ohio State's open basketball practice that day, and said his experience was unlike anything he had ever seen.
"OSU fans are insane, the football game was the biggest that I've ever been to," he told Eleven Warriors. "They have a nice campus, but I haven't really gotten a chance to tour all of campus."
Jackson-Davis was offered by Ohio State the same day as his visit, the fifth school to offer him a scholarship behind Butler, Xavier, Indiana and Michigan State.
A 6-foot-9 center, Jackson-Davis said Ohio State's pitch to him has been their desire to help him reach his maximum potential, which is also one of the biggest things Jackson-Davis is looking for in a program.
"Coach Holtmann is a great coach, their pitch to me is that they want to help work on all my skills and develop me into the best player possible," Jackson-Davis said. "The most important thing is the fit, who they are recruiting at my position, and the coaches' development of players."
Currently, Ohio State has just one player committed for the 2019 class in Alonzo Gaffney, a top-30 prospect from Garfield Heights, Ohio. Jackson-Davis competed against Gaffney on April 29 in the Nike EYBL circuit in Indianapolis, as his Indy Heat team defeated Gaffney's All-Ohio Red squad, 78-65.
In that game, Gaffney fouled out and scored just three points, but Jackson-Davis said the OSU commit has tremendous skill. Jackson-Davis added that he and Gaffney haven't talked much during the recruiting process.
"Alonzo is a great player, he gave us some trouble when we played them, we got lucky and got him in foul trouble," he said. "(Gaffney) hasn't reached out that much."
Moving forward, Jackson-Davis said his plan is to cut his list of schools down near the end of summer when his AAU season is over. He currently holds 15 offers and was just recently offered by Georgia and Memphis.
"I've been debating whether to commit before the season, but right now I don't know if that's going to happen," he said. "I will commit when I know 100 percent where I want to go."
Gaffney Drops In Latest 247Sports 2019 Rankings
As is customary in the recruiting world, player rankings change over time, and 247Sports released their latest update on Thursday, which saw Ohio State's lone 2019 commit drop a few spots.
When Gaffney committed to Ohio State, he was rated as a five-star prospect and the No. 18 overall player in the 2019 class. On Thursday, however, 247Sports dropped Gaffney to a four-star prospect and the No. 29 overall player in his class.
This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as players in both basketball and football tend to drop in the rankings once they have committed to a school. Of the top-30 players in the latest rankings, Gaffney is just one of four to have already committed to a school.
Jackson-Davis jumped three spots in the rankings from No. 23 to No. 20 after earning a pair of offers on Wednesday.
You can see the updated 247Sports player rankings for the 2019 class here.
Buckeyes Offer 2020 Point Guard
Ohio State has been adding guards to the roster feverishly since Holtmann arrived in Columbus, adding grad transfers Andrew Dakich, Keyshawn Woods to go along with Florida State transfer CJ Walker for the 2019 season. However, Holtmann has yet to land a true point guard high school commit at Ohio State (Duane Washington being a combo guard and Luther Muhammad being a true shooting guard).
The search continues for Holtmann, and on May 12, the Buckeyes offered 2020 point guard Zeb Jackson out of Maumee, Ohio, near Toledo.
Blessed to receive an offer from Coach Holtmann and The Ohio State University! #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/chyoNtDgIZ
— Zeb Jackson (@iamzebjackson) May 12, 2018
The Buckeyes are the sixth school to offer Jackson behind Akron, Cincinnati, Dayton, Duquesne and Providence.
Ohio State's offer to Jackson is interesting because the Buckeyes figure to be the favorite to land fellow 2020 point guard Dominiq Penn, the son of Ohio State legend and Director of Player Development, Scoonie Penn.
It is a possibility that Ohio State could take both in the 2020 class, however the offer of Jackson makes the point guard situation for the future more interesting.
OSU Football Offers 2020 5-star Guard
Jalen Suggs is one of the more intriguing high school athletes in the country.
Suggs is a dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class on the football field, and a three-star prospect. On the basketball court, however, Suggs is rated as the No. 2 overall prospect in his class and a five-star combo guard.
Urban Meyer's staff offered Suggs, a Minnesota native, on Thursday. Holtmann's staff has not offered Suggs a basketball scholarship.
Blessed beyond measures to receive a scholarship from THE Ohio State University pic.twitter.com/SQvQCvvDV9
— Jalen Suggs (@JalenSuggs2020) May 18, 2018
For more on Suggs and his recruitment in both sports, make sure to read Andrew Lind's Hurry Up this evening.
