At this point one year ago, Myles Stute had a few offers from Atlantic-10 schools. This summer, he added some high-major offers – Penn State, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall and Georgetown – and has a bunch of other programs circling him.
Ohio State is one of the schools keeping tabs on the four-star 2020 small forward.
Assistant coach Ryan Pedon first noticed Stute when he watched the 6-foot-7, 225-pound wing take part in an AAU game in Orlando in July. He followed Stute on Twitter and soon thereafter got in contact with him. On Oct. 17, Pedon headed to Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. to watch Stute and his high school teammate, fellow four-star 2020 forward Terrance Williams, participate in a workout.
“He's been kind of giving me their visions to me and how they see me fitting into the program and what they like about my game, what they like about me, how I could do a couple things better and whatnot,” Stute said on Thursday. “It's always good to talk to him.”
Stute is just beginning to reach what he called the middle of his recruitment. Stute said he won't cut his list of schools down until going through the AAU season again. He opted to take his first official visit to Pennsylvania this weekend, but doesn’t anticipate taking any other visits any time soon, since he’s beginning the high school basketball season soon.
Pedon and Stute have discussed a potential future visit “a little bit,” though nothing has been set. A trip to Columbus, if it did happen, wouldn’t take place for a while given the impending high school season.
“I think, for me, it's a little too early for me to say anything about any schools standing out in particular or anything like that,” Stute said. “But I definitely am intrigued by Ohio State and I love the vibe I've been given so far.”
Stute doesn’t have any connections to Ohio, but he lived in Minneapolis until eighth grade, so he’s familiar with the midwest. Plus, Stute said he watched the Buckeyes “a lot,” especially during D’Angelo Russell’s year under Thad Matta, whom he said he “really liked.”
“I definitely like Ohio State and what I've seen so far about the university,” Stute said. “I think it's a really good mix of that home feel of Minnesota and basketball and academics, and the team's trending upward, which is what I really like to see.”
Though Stute does not have a scholarship offer from Ohio State, he fits the type of prospect the program has targeted in the 2020 recruiting cycle.
Stute, the No. 96 overall prospect in his class, fancies himself as a versatile wing. He said he models his games after Kawhi Leonard and Jayson Tatum and “combines that with kind of a mamba mentality.” He said he feels comfortable playing all five positions and can score from the post, on the drive and beyond the 3-point line.
Stute said Pedon has discussed his versatility as one of his qualities that intrigues Ohio State.
“It's really been more so just me being on the wing, playing my natural game, catching the ball and just making a play happen, whether it's myself or making an open lane for a teammate,” Stute said. “Just really bringing the toughness and excitement I bring to the game. That's what we've been talking about a lot.”
Offers out
Ohio State has not offered Stute a scholarship, but it has sent offers to a few other 2020 forwards in the past couple weeks.
Four-star forward Che Evans, who is from Lutherville Timonium, Maryland, took an unofficial visit to Ohio State after including the team in his top 10 and picked up an offer while in Columbus.
The 6-foot-6, 195-pound wing is the No. 142 overall prospect in the country and has offers from schools throughout the nation. His top 10 includes, Florida, UCLA, Texas Tech, Rutgers, Boise State, Boston College, Long Beach State, Georgetown, TCU and Ohio State.
The Buckeyes did not get involved in Evans’ recruitment until recently. Assistant coach Mike Schrage visited him on Oct. 11 before he checked out Columbus.
“They have come on really strong as of late,” Evans told Rivals two weeks ago. “Since they were able to make contact, they stayed consistent and recently visited me at my high school. After seeing me up close, and my ability to score, they are making me a priority wing for 2020 class.”
Blessed To Receive An Offer From Ohio State University! #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/mJXkgJoqIR
— Ig: cevans10 (@CevansJr10) October 27, 2018
A week ago, Ohio State also offered four-star power forward Dawson Garcia, who fits the mold of 2019 commits E.J. Liddell and Alonzo Gaffney.
The 6-foot-10, 200-pound Prior Lake, Minnesota, native is the No. 29 overall prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle. Garcia is the sixth-best power forward in his class. He already has offers from schools throughout the country, including Texas, Xavier, Wisconsin, Purdue and Baylor.
Grateful and honored to receive an offer from Ohio State University pic.twitter.com/DE1sygkRyE
— Dawson (@Dawson23lee) October 23, 2018
Four-star Cam’Ron Fletcher, the No. 41 overall player in his class, added an Ohio State offer two weeks ago. The Saint Louis native is the 11th-best small forward in 2020.
blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State University #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/xGNsE3TH7T
— 21 (@CamRonFletcher1) October 15, 2018
Other 2020 names to know
Chris Holtmann headed down to Georgia to see five-star center Walker Kessler in person this week.
Kessler, the No. 17 overall prospect in the 2020 class, is the third-best center. He’s 6-foot-10, 200 pounds and has generated a bunch of interest lately. He has offers from most non-Kentucky schools in the SEC.
Ebenezer Dowuona, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound center from Newnan, Georgia, isn’t ranked by any major recruiting outlets yet, but he has multiple high-major schools interested in him. The Buckeyes haven’t offered him a scholarship, but Holtmann saw him play on Wednesday.
With Duke still heavily involved in Brandon Boston’s recruitment, it’s hard to view him as anything but a longshot for Ohio State. But he’s worth staying in until the end. Boston, the No. 11 prospect in the country, got a visit from an Ohio State coach on Oct. 17. He reportedly is figuring out a date to take a visit to Columbus.
Jermontae Hill, a four-star small forward from Atlanta, was visited by an Ohio State coach on Oct. 17. He’s the No. 154 overall prospect in the country.
Ohio State visited four-star shooting guard Dimingus Stevens on Oct. 17, as well. The No. 59 overall prospect reportedly picked up an offer from the Buckeyes two days later. He attends Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C.
