5* forward from 2014 class moved to 2013. 247 has OSU listed as one of 7 warm schools and he himself said OSU, IU, and UNC are recruiting him the hardest. It's a long shot, but would love to reel in this kid.
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That makes two OSU targets who have done this recently. Vonleh and Wayne Selden have both done this, both are consensus top 50 players nationally, and both have OSU on their short lists. Would love to see the Buckeyes land at least one.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
i am greedy, i want both of them to play for tosu.
C'mon Thad work that magic!
I know there's a game saturday, and my ass will be there.
With Loving and Williams in, 2013 might be a top 5 class.
It's good to be home.
How does a high school student do that ? Taking more classes to graduate early ?
While I don't fully understand it, many kids seem to be doing this recently. And generally it has to do with attending prep-schools to specifically work on basketball.
Here's an article on this:
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/basketball/mens/story/_/id/8420550/blue-chip-forward-noah-vonleh-reclassify-class-2013
I hope he comes to OSU, but this is just one more reason to hate basketball recruiting and hope that football recruiting doesn't become the same thing.
While it would be awesome to land this kid, don't get your hopes up. I have a feeling with this news of his reclassification, the Kentucky's and Duke's and etc. will be coming after him.
What I would really love to see is Matta pull off landing a kid who has offers from the top usual suspects. So far that hasn't happened. I know he's had a lot of success in his tenure at OSU, but reeling in a top prospect that everyone is after would go a long way in showing how solid the program is nationally.
Yeah, no one was interested in Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Daequan Cook, BJ Mullens, Kosta Koufos, Will Buford, Jared Sullinger, Deshaun Thomas ... do I need to keep going? Those were all 5 star guys, not even including 4 stars like Evan Turner and Jon Diebler.
The armchair coaching criticism of Matta's near-perennial top 10 teams is not enough, now you suggest he hasn't landed any big time recruits? Please just relax and enjoy the Thad Matta era, as he continues to thrive despite entitled fans calling in to his radio show asking him to play more freshmen off the bench (as if he doesn't know whether they are prepared to play).
Easy buddy. I'm a huge Matta fan. I'm not criticizing him. I didn't say no one was interested in the players he has brought in. And I didn't say he hasn't landed any big time recruits. If you follow basketball recruiting, which I do, Matta has certainly landed many top recruits during his time @ OSU. But are you aware of the other offers the guys you mentioned had when they committed to OSU? Also, can you name the last recruit he brougt in that he won a battle against other major programs?
It is somewhat irrelevant considering if Greg Oden (or practically any of those guys) says "I like the way they do things at Duke" in 2005, he would've got a call from Coach K 5 minutes later. But glancing at rivals archives you can see that Oden, Laquinton Ross, Buford, Conley all had a Kentucky/UNC type offer. I suppose he has benefited from some big time players coming out of Ohio but he wouldn't have locked those guys up so easily if he didn't have the early success from landing Oden/Conley. Deshaun Thomas, Laquinton Ross, Amir Williams, Shannon Scott, Aaron Craft, Sam Thompson are all non-Ohio guys that Matta nabbed the last few years.
Sure he can't just name the kids he wants like Calipari apparently can, but he has consistently brought in top talent from in and out of Ohio. We actually are lacking Ohio-born players in this year's roster thanks to Buford and Sully leaving, the Weatherspoon and Sibert transfers and the heavy non-Ohio 2010 class.
@D5K
I agree with everything you are saying, but Aaron Craft is in fact an Ohio guy.
Ohio basketball has been down overall the last couple years in regards to big-time recruits. Hopefully that is turning back around with some of the current crop of players in the state.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
craft was first committed to bruce pearl... matta didnt steal him meyeresque...with that being said matta is an excellent coach and we are lucky to have him at osu
mark may wins douchebag of the year... again
I really do not see a top recruit anymore wanting to come to tOSU for the sole reason of playing time ... Matta is stuck in his 6-7 man rotation and that hurts us in the recruit chase
If a top recruit wanted playing time, the big men should be flocking towards us! We don't have a proven center on our roster, which is why I'm really crossing my fingers on BeeJay Anya
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Thad Matta greatest thing to happen to ohio state bsketball in my lifetime. Meyer and Matta best coaching combo in america
O'Deez330
stark county football
AMEN to the above!!!
shortbus20
Kentucky played a 6-7 man rotation and they seemed to have no problem recruiting the last 4 years. And if you are a top player you should assume you can break the 7 man rotation...
Not to mention this is flawed. He played 7 guys out of necessity in 2010 since there literally weren't that many guys on scholarship. Since then the bench guys he hasn't played have been freshmen who likely did not prove themselves reliable enough to play extended minutes. This year he will likely play 8 guys because della valle is unlikely to develop enough to break the rotation etc.
In the Oden-Conley year I believe he played all 5 of the incoming guys (Lighty limited minutes but still got in there) plus the veterans. He was playing 9-10 guys that year. I don't blame him for trusting Buford (4 year starter) over freshmen, particularly one who missed all of camp (Ross). The sophomores who didn't play just transferred, likely because they weren't good enough to break the rotation going forward. We don't get the benefit of watching practice. I'm guessing the freshmen who didn't play just didn't pick up the defensive concepts well enough to use them in big games.
Rotation this year will look something like this (guessing):
PG-Craft: 35-40 min
SG-Smith Jr: 28-32 min
SF-Ross: 25-30 min
PF/SF2-Thomas: 35-40 min
C-Williams: 30-35 min (barring foul trouble)
Bench 1-Scott: 10-15 min
Bench 2-Ravenel: 15-20 min (also dependent on Amir's foul trouble)
Bench 3-Thompson: 18-22 min
Bench 4-Della Valle: 2-7 min
So it looks like Matta has at least 8 guys that will be rotated, with the possibility of 9 if Della Valle proves himself.
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Mostly agree. Wouldn't be shocked if Ravenel starts a lot of games with Ross and/or Williams coming off the bench for big minutes similar to what happened with Dallas Lauderdale. It is a versatile rotation where you can play small or big at a lot of positions with wing guard/forward guys like Smith, Thomas, Ross and Thompson. Craft and Thomas are the only firmly set guys where they will likely get 35-40 mins and the rest is fluid.
gee, take a team to the final four and have top recruiting classes as recently as 2 years ago, Matta isn't keeping up with the best? Seriously?
The only real reason this past recruiting class lacked was due to the full boat of schollies he had on the bench and few players leaving due to being seniors. We all expected Sully to leave after last year but there was no gaurantee that he would, so matta couldn't recruit knowing that. Throw in the defection of Weatherspoon and Sibert and those actually were unknown. Matta couldn't recruit because all year he thought he might have a full scholarship count. It has very little to do with not competing for recruits. Losing Parker to UCLA was a loss but there was something fishy going on there and we have already heard some whispers of recruiting violations.
Matta will fill up the team again with top talent, I am not concerned! Matta has proven to me that even without a bunch of 5*, he can win. Before the class of Sully, Matta was actually down in recruiting but they still won, mostly thanks to turner, but he doesn't need a Calipari type recruiting class to compete. It would help win a championship but name a coach out there that is doing what Calipari is doing? It just doesn't happen like that.
It's amazing how people can latch onto perceived flaws (not playing bench players, too much cushion by cornerbacks) when they really don't understand the concepts or reasons behind the decisions. And they continue to grasp onto those "flaws" despite the contradictory success of our coaches. We have the best FB and BB coach combination in the country but still there's more and more armchair criticism despite vast amounts of success. You could argue Matta has been the most successful coach in the country relative to where the program was when he started in terms of win%, conference titles and the 2 final four appearances. Apparently getting close to championship level and losing is worse in terms of fan upheaval than being mediocre with no expectations for championships.
@D5K
Unfortunatley, your last sentence is correct. A lot of people would rather see their team not even come close to a title than get there and lose it. Who was the chargers coach a few years back that went something like 13-3 but lost in the second round of the playoffs? Was it Marty Schottenheimer (sp)? Anyway, you get my point. I compeltely agree with the statement that we have possibly the best football/basketball coach combo in America. Funny how that title seems to travel with Urban (Meyer/Donovan).
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
@TRIV agree that people tend to get tired of coaches that produce winning results, but not championships. but in college there's more than one championship that matters. division championship and final fours are great accomplishments for a cbb team. winning a national championship is just kind of a fluke thing that a team stumbles into. except last years kentucky team and a few other teams. but you get the point. i feel like most fans are pleased with matta's job
@Tenn
Some of the bigger names on those lists had committed to Ohio State very very early on. Some of Thad's biggest recruits coming out of HS were committed to OSU as freshmen in HS. Others did, in fact, have the big boys coming after them as well. I get your point to an extent though, that he hasn't really gone toe to toe with Coach K or Roy Williams or that schmuck at UK and come out on top. A lot of the big name guys he's brought in, while having offers from virtually everyone just weren't really seriously considering those other programs...or were committed to OSU extremely early in the process. But he has most definitely brought in guys that would've been coveted at any school in the country and were offered by virtually everyone.
Let me be clear, I was not dogging Matta. I am a huge fan and I have a ton of respect for the guy. I wouldn't trade him as our coach for anyone. I am not one who questions how he runs his team or how many guys he plays or any of that crap. I appreciate everything he has done for the program. And I'm not questioning him as a recruiter. He has proven he can get guys to come to Columbus and play for him. Recruiting has changed a bit since the Oden and Conley days though. Indiana and Kentucky are both stronger now than they were then. I would just like to see Matta go toe to toe with a UNC, UK, and etc. and land a top recruit. That's all I meant.
Definitely not saying you're dogging Matta, just saying Matta most definitely has gotten plenty of recruits that have been offered by virtually everyone. I conceded that he hasn't really had to go head to head much with those Duke, UK, UNC coaches and when he has it hasn't worked out. He's brought in players that just simply weren't interested in those schools for whatever reason though which is technically a victory against those other guys. Other recruits most definitely would've been at the top of those teams' lists they just didn't have a chance to really be recruited hard as they were solid OSU commits very very early on.
I do get super defensive when people dog Matta but I didn't take what you were saying as that.
If you put other coaches under the spotlight you would see how they all miss out on many kids they recruit. It's just the nature of recruiting. Carpfish at the UK is the only one who has been able to pick who he wants but that will eventually end as he will get punked out from time to time.
I sometimes wonder if Matta's health problems have been affecting his recruiting and now that he is doing much better we will see him return to his old form.
On a side note, I would rather get a bunch of 4 stars who are 3-4 year players like Turner/Lighty/Diebler/Craft in general than one-and-dones. You obviously take a 5 star if you can get one, but we had a few down years after Oden/Conley when our scholarship count and depth were killed by early exits. Not sure the Kentucky formula is ideal for OSU but the high profile guys do create a chain reaction in future years' recruiting. Deshaun Thomas probably watched the Oden/Conley team go to the final four, then early lottery picks to the NBA etc.
I don't feel sorry one bit for Bill Self or Roy Williams but I actually heard Gary Parish from CBS Sports talking about how Bill Self, Roy Williams and other big time program coahces have complained and/or whined about how recruiting for them has changed since Calipari has come to Kentucky. They used to be able to go after kids, build relationships with them and feel good about things and even get kids to commit early to their schools. But now a lot of the top kids are waiting later to commit. With the situation being what it is at Kentucky, where from year to year they aren't sure how many scholarship spots will be available, Calipari is telling kids if they are interested in Kentucky to wait before committing anywhere to see how many spots they will have open. So these kids are waiting on Kentucky and using these other schools as Plan B's, and Self and Williams are left waiting.
A nice group of 4* guys who will stick around a few years is nice but to be a complete championship caliber team I believe getting that blue chip 5* player is necessary to be the leader and dominant player to go with the nice group of solid guys. A few years ago the Buckeyes choked against Kentucky and that team was a great example having 5* Sullinger dominate the blocks and a group of very good 4* wings to fill the holes and knock down shots. The team didn't win it all but the makeup of that team was close to perfect and one bad game ruined the season.
A side note for this season is according to Sporting News the Buckeyes are preseason #3 in their poll and Deshaun Thomas is a 1st team All American! I'm not sure either of those will be true but it's nice to see. I actually figure tOSU will be ranked in the 10-15 range preseason.
IU like Indiana?
You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing. - Gordon Gee