Ohio State is no longer without a commitment in its 2023 recruiting class.
Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes landed a top-50 overall prospect in the country Wednesday when George Washington III, a four-star combo guard, announced that he has committed to the Columbus program.
Committed! @OhioStateHoops #GoBuckeyes @CenturionsMBB @JL3Elite @FreeKeyThree pic.twitter.com/eEJL3eUsTf
— George Washington lll (@3dubbshoop) November 3, 2021
A 6-foot-2, 165-pound prospect out of the Christian Academy of Louisville in Kentucky, Washington also had offers from Louisville, Tennessee, Auburn and Liberty, among other schools. Washington took more than one unofficial visit to Ohio State in the past few months before taking an official visit this past weekend.
The Washington File
- Class: 2023
- Size: 6-foot-2, 165 pounds
- Pos: CG
- School: Christian Academy of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: #50 overall, #9 combo guard
“He’s told me he loves the campus, he loves the environment there, he’s had great conversations with coach Holt and coach (Ryan) Pedon, and he really has a great relationship that’s been built with coach Pedon,” Washington's high school coach, Aaron Hill, told Eleven Warriors in September. “They were the first one to offer him, and that speaks volumes to a kid and a player that’s in high school. They bought in and believed in him first, and I think that’s important to him. So they’re gonna continue to build off of that.
“I think the style of play fits him very well, and I think they love the fact that he can play point for them, but he can also move to the two a little bit if they have another point to come in. They think he can probably get in there and play early and contribute early, and I think that’s very appealing to him.”
The Buckeyes first offered Washington on June 15, and the player that Hill compares to NBA guards like Jamal Murray and Devin Booker has now committed to Ohio State.
Hill said a previous connection with Pedon helped give the Buckeyes an early look at Washington not long after the talented prospect moved to Louisville in the summer of 2020. Hill recognized that Washington's talent could warrant the attention of Division I programs, and reached out to Pedon, with whom he met at a wedding through mutual friends.
“I reached out to him very early on whenever George showed up on campus here last year, and I just said, ‘Hey man, I know you’re at Ohio State now and you’re in coaching, I think this kid can be very special and he’s just different. You guys should take a look at him,’” Hill said. “It took maybe a couple of films and next thing you know he’s calling me and they started recruiting him right away.”
Washington is the son of a former Texas women’s basketball assistant coach, and Hill said his star player is a high-character kid with a 4.1 GPA. On the court, Hill said Washington has the ability to shoot the ball “probably better than just about anybody in the country."
With Washington committed, Holtmann has now landed commitments from three top-50 guards since the 2021 class, with Buckeye freshman Malaki Branham and four-star 2022 commit Bruce Thornton preceding the Kentucky prospect.
