During a week in which college coaches can begin extensively contacting the 2017 class, Ohio State offered center Kaleb Wesson.
The Westerville South rising junior is a four-star recruit and among the top 20 at his position, according to ESPN.com. He is also a highly-ranked offensive lineman and generated interest from the Ohio State football staff, among others. At this point, he will not pursue a football scholarship.
As a basketball prospect, Wesson is generating a lot of interest lately. He also recently received offers from Iowa and Purdue. Schools are now seeing his talent blossom.
"I think Kaleb will be really solid at the next level. He reminds me a lot of North Carolina's Kennedy Meeks," said Prep Hoops Ohio's Zach Fleer. "He has great post skills, great hands, a reliable jump shot and a feel for the game that very few big men his age have. He's special."
ESPN.com lists Wesson – the son of former Buckeye center, Keith – at 6-feet, 9-inches tall and 260 pounds. As an ex-offensive lineman and swinging that weight around, he's obviously a powerful force on the block. ESPN's scouting report also says he needs to work on his conditioning.
"The more he improves his explosiveness, the more dangerous he will become," Fleer said. "That's his only glaring weakness right now."
Trent Jr. Leads USA to Gold
Wesson did not end up making the U.S. U16 Men's National Team, but fellow Buckeye target Gary Trent Jr. did.
As their age group typically does, the U16 squad rolled through the competition – this time in Argentina. The closest of their five wins was a 17-point win over Canada in the gold medal game, although Team USA trailed by two heading into the final quarter.
Trent Jr., who recently earned an offer from Duke, scored 19 second-half points against the Canadians and earned tournament MVP honors. Overall, he led his team by scoring 16.8 points per game and did so while shooting over 50 percent from the field.
"Being the (MVP) really just came with winning the gold medal," Trent Jr. told USA Today. "It was just all about buying in, my teammates finding me in the right spots and coach’s plays. So, it was all up to the entire program and everybody bought into it. It’s all about the team."
Prospects at OSU Team Camp
At this point in the year, the only way coaches can scout players in person is on their respective college campuses.
Ohio State hosted a camp, last weekend, and it featured many of Ohio's top young recruits. Many attendees will have to wait to receive their first scholarship offers. Still, there were a few prospects the Buckeye staff heavily observed.
One matchup in particular featured 2018 OSU commit Dane Goodwin and classmate Dwayne Cohill:
