Welcome to the Full Court Press, your weekly destination for offseason Ohio State basketball recruiting updates.
Romeo Weems released his top-five schools on Saturday afternoon, a list that included Ohio State.
Final 5 Decision coming Tuesday May 22 pic.twitter.com/j4RhE7A4T9
— Romeo Weems (@romeo_weems_0) May 19, 2018
The Buckeyes were never considered a serious threat to land Weems – a four-star power forward – especially after the commitment of Alonzo Gaffney in the same class.
Weems was largely expected to land at Michigan State. Instead, Weems, the top player in the state of Michigan according to 247sports, announced Tuesday that he will attend DePaul in 2019, a decision that raised some eyebrows.
Weems told the Detroit Free Press that his decision came down to the coaching staff at DePaul, and how their pitch to him differed from other programs.
"I went to DePaul on my visit and I knew that was where I wanted to be. Coach (Dave Leitao) didn't tell me what I wanted to hear; he told me what I needed to do to get better," Weems told the Detroit Free Press. "Other coaches were telling me how good I was. They told me the truth at DePaul. Coach was the real deal."
The commitment is a big one to say the least for a DePaul program that hasn't put together a winning season in more than 10 years and hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2004.
OSU Commits, Targets Face Off
The final weekend of the Nike EYBL circuit is set to take place this weekend in Hampton, Va., and with it, brings plenty of great matchups.
The biggest one, at least for those with an Ohio State interest, comes Saturday morning as All-Ohio Red will take on Nike Team Florida in the first round of games for the weekend.
All-Ohio Red features Gaffney, Ohio State's lone commit in the 2019 class, while Nike Team Florida features a pair of Buckeye targets.
Kyle Sturdivant, a Norcross, Ga. native, leads Nike Team Florida in scoring averaging 17.2 points per game and is shooting the ball at a 40 percent clip from behind the three-point arc. A four-star point guard, Sturdivant was offered by Chris Holtmann's staff on Oct. 26, two days before he took an unofficial visit to Columbus for the Ohio State vs. Penn State football game.
Ohio State is considered one of the favorites to land Sturdivant, who picked up his latest offer from Mississippi State on May 21.
The other Ohio State target on Nike Team Florida's roster is Gahanna native Jordan Mitchell. A four-star small forward, Mitchell transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida for his final two seasons of high school. He has played in just three games for Nike Team Florida in the 2018 Nike EYBL, scoring just four points in limited action. Mitchell spent last season on All-Ohio Red's roster, playing in 16 games.
Through 12 games in this season's Nike EYBL, Gaffney is averaging 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the All-Ohio Red, which carry a 4-8 record into the final weekend of the circuit.
You can stream the matchups in the Nike EYBL here.
