Welcome to the Full Court Press, your weekly destination for offseason Ohio State basketball recruiting updates.
With Ohio State's roster for the 2018-19 season filled out, the Buckeye coaching staff appears to be focusing its entire recruiting efforts on the upcoming 2019 and 2020 classes.
The Buckeyes currently sit 23rd in the 2018 recruiting rankings according to 247Sports, a cycle that does not include Wake Forest transfer guard Keyshawn Woods, who will be eligible to play immediately next season for Ohio State. While Chris Holtmann's staff is done adding players for next season, a handful of top-100 prospects remain uncommitted, including top-20 prospect Jordan Brown.
Top-10 2018 player Romeo Langford committed to Indiana on April 30, giving the Hoosiers their first big commitment of the Archie Miller era. Per 247Sports, Langford is the highest-rated player committed to a Big Ten school in the 2018 cycle and the highest-rated prospect to commit to a Big Ten program since Diamond Stone went to Maryland in 2015.
With the 2018 cycle all but put to bed, let's take a look at how the Buckeyes are doing on the recruiting trail.
Alonzo Gaffney Has Dominant Weekend
Ohio State received its biggest commitment of the Holtmann era on April 10 when Gaffney announced his pledge to the Buckeyes, and the five-star 2019 prospect is staying active in the summer circuits.
Playing with the All-Ohio Red squad this summer, Gaffney suffered an 0-4 weekend April 20-22 in the Nike EYBL event. He made up for it, however, the following weekend, collecting a 3-1 record in Indianapolis.
According to a report from 247Sports, Gaffney combined to score 41 points and pull down 18 rebounds in his first two games of the weekend, both victories. He is shooting close to 50 percent from the 3-point line during the Nike EYBL circuit.
In between trips to play sessions in the Nike EYBL, Gaffney is making sure to get in some offseason work in his home gym at Garfield Heights High School, near Cleveland.
Wow !!!! OHIO STATE RECRUIT @alonzo_gaffney and @SonnyJohnsonJr1 getting ready for Garfield Basketball Next Year. @NEO_Spotlight @AdamJardy @OhioStateHoops @fitzbits64 @mgoul @Corey_Albertson @NEOSportsInside pic.twitter.com/Kj5TL3rGzc
— Sonny Johnson (@sonnyjohnson32) May 3, 2018
Buckeyes Watch Top 2019 Prospect
Gaffney's only loss over the weekend in Indianapolis came to the Indy Heat, a team that features 2019 five-star prospect Trayce Jackson-Davis.
With a number of schools in attendance to watch, Jackson-Davis got the better of Gaffney, scoring 18 points and pulling down seven rebounds in a 78-69 victory over the All-Ohio Red. Gaffney scored just three points in the loss, but played just 10 minutes.
That performance, however, wasn't even Jackson-Davis' best of the weekend. The day before defeating Gaffney's squad, Jackson-Davis scored 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting, leading his team to an 81-79 victory over Mac Irvin Fire on April 28 in Indianapolis.
You can see some of his highlights from that performance below, courtesy of Courtside Films.
Jackson-Davis is the No. 23 rated player in his class, and is listed as a center, despite standing just 6-foot-8. A Greenwood, Ind. native, he is considered a heavy lean to Indiana, but holds offers from a plethora of premier schools including Purdue, Butler, Xavier and Ohio State.
New Offers in 2019
Ohio State offered a pair of 2019 prospects on Tuesday, including four-star shooting guard Samuell Williamson out of Rockwall, Texas.
The No. 105 rated player by 247Sports in his class, Williamson holds 21 offers and is considered a heavy lean towards Kansas. At 6-foot-6, he had tremendous size for a guard and could likely translate to a wing player if he added weight.
The other player offered by Holtmann's staff on Tuesday was three-star forward Zeke Nnaji, a native of Hopkins, Minn. Hopkins holds 15 offers and is considered a heavy lean towards Wisconsin at this time. At 6-foot-9, 195 pounds, he needs to gain weight for his position but is beginning to trend upwards in the recruiting ranks, as he has picked up seven offers in the last week.
