Welcome to the Full Court Press, your weekly destination for offseason Ohio State basketball recruiting updates.
The Buckeyes have been busy on the recruiting trail in recent weeks, offering a number of high-profile prospects as well as reaching out to future 2020 athletes.
One day after our last Full Court Press, Ohio State offered 2020 forward Jaemyn Brakefield, a five-star prospect out of Huntington Preparatory in Huntington, W.V.
The offer came one day after the opening for college coaches to begin calling 2020 recruits, so Ohio State did not waste any time making an offer to Brakefield, who is considered an early favorite to land at Kentucky. Brakefield is rated as the No. 15 overall player in his class and the No. 3 overall power forward by 247Sports.
Blessed to receive a offer from The Ohio State Univeristy! pic.twitter.com/eT4cPo5tAc
— Jaemyn Brakefield (@Jaemyn1) June 17, 2018
Brakefield was not the only 2020 prospect Ohio State was in contact when the window opened to call recruits. According to The Columbus Dispatch, the Buckeyes were in contact with nearly 50 athletes within days of the official window opening. Some names on that list include five-star Jabri Abdur-Rahim out of New Jersey, Brandon Boston out of Georgia, and others.
John Hughley, a 6-foot-8 center from Brush High School near Cleveland, was the lone Ohio prospect listed in the Dispatch report. Hughley is unranked by 247Sports, but has drawn interest from a number of surrounding area schools including Dayton, Cincinnati and Xavier.
Buckeyes Offer 2019 Forward Omar Payne
Late Monday night, four-star forward Omar Payne announced via his Twitter account that he had been offered by Chris Holtmann's staff.
Blessed to receive an offer from Ohio state #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/fgxqvzyP8N
— Omar Payne (@Ogomarpayne) June 26, 2018
According to 247Sports, Ohio State's offer put him up to 19 scholarship opportunities. The Florida native is rated as the No. 44 prospect in the 2019 cycle and the No. 9 power forward.
At 6-foot-9, Payne has an incredible wingspan and is an elite shot blocker at his position. Ohio State's continuous offers to power forwards in the 2019 class lends to the idea that the Buckeyes think Alonzo Gaffney, their lone commit in the cycle, could play more on the perimeter as a small forward at the college level. 247Sports seems to think so as well, as the recruiting service now lists Gaffney as a small forward after initially categorizing him as a power forward when he committed to Ohio State.
OSU Hosts Samuell Williamson on Unofficial Visit
While the summer time can be a slow time for visits, that did not stop four-star small forward Samuell Williamson from taking a trip to Columbus on June 26.
Great visit at Ohio State
— Samuell Williamson (@S_Williamson35) June 26, 2018
Williamson also visited Baylor a day earlier and traveled south to visit Louisville a day after his Ohio State visit.
A Rockwall, Texas native, Williamson is rated as the No. 59 overall prospect in the 2019 class and the No. 16 small forward. For reference, Gaffney is rated as the No. 7 small forward.
Ohio State has targeted Texas aggressively since Holtmann arrived, landing Jaedon LeDee in the 2018 cycle while offering Williamson and Drew Timme in May.
While Williamson is listed as a small forward by 247Sports, he has demonstrated good ball-handling skills and an above-average pull-up jumper, which could translate to him playing more of a shooting guard position at the next level. You can see a sample of his highlights below.
