Welcome to the Full Court Press, your weekly destination for offseason Ohio State basketball recruiting updates.
DJ Carton remains one of the top targets on Ohio State's recruiting board, and the four-star point guard out of Iowa is starting to schedule his official visits.
He listed the Buckeyes as one of his top six schools on May 10, however Ohio State is not one of the first two schools to bring him on campus for an official. Those designations go to Michigan (June 27-28) and Indiana (June 30-July 1), according to a report from the Matthew Bain of the Des Moines Register.
Chris Holtmann recently watched Carton and a handful of other players compete in the USA Basketball Men's U18 tryouts, for which Carton missed the cut. The No. 26 overall prospect in the country, according to 247Sports, took an unofficial visit to Columbus on April 12, the weekend of Ohio State's football spring game.
Alonzo Gaffney Impresses at NBPA Top 100
Like Carton, Alonzo Gaffney was invited to the NBPA Top 100 in Charlottesville, Va. and reportedly had an impressive day on Wednesday.
From Corey Evans of Rivals.com:
The talent level and upside with Alonzo Gaffney is undeniable. There aren’t many with the length, fluidity, versatility and athleticism of the Ohio State bound forward. He does have to bring greater consistency to the floor but on Wednesday, it was all there. He was vocal on both ends, defended three positions, knocked down catch and shoot jumpers and finished with authority in the lane. Keita Bates-Diop is out the door this spring and while it will be a one year hiatus in Columbus from someone in his mold, Gaffney could be the ideal replacement a year from now as Chris Holtmann has a good one coming his way.
Gaffney, of course, committed to Ohio State on April 10 and is still the lone commit for Holtmann's 2019 class.
Already considered the top player in the state, Gaffney earned that title again this week, this time from Prep Hoops Ohio. No. 2 on the list is North Carolina commit Jeremiah Francis, who missed most of his junior season due to injury.
Summer rankings update! 2020s coming Thursday & 2021 Watch List next week.
— Prep Hoops Ohio (@PrepHoopsOH) June 11, 2018
2019 Top Five
1@alonzo_gaffney
2@JFrancis30_
3@samari41_
4@Amari937
5@jdc_00
Read: https://t.co/eeJve7uXrh
Full Rankings: https://t.co/tIHnPWsCLZ pic.twitter.com/7TIULVvz6N
OSU Recruiting Canada Prospect Hard
Ohio State has multiple players on its board for the 2019 season, but perhaps a dark horse on that list is Canadian Emanuel Miller, a three-star prospect at the forward spot.
Miller is currently playing for the Canadian Men's U18 FIBA team and is a top-10 scorer in the tournament. He is averaging 18 points per game, good for sixth among all players, and is also making plays on the defensive end.
.@EmanMiller5! @CanBball #FIBAU18Americas
— FIBA #Basketball (@FIBA) June 13, 2018
https://t.co/7VvZmQ3Z1P
https://t.co/YKf0o3pBqV pic.twitter.com/rfSYG7X5xz
According to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times, Ohio State and Oklahoma are recruiting Miller the hardest right now. At 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, Miller could serve as a small forward for the Buckeyes, and could compliment the play of Gaffney well with his athleticism.
