The next time Ohio State loses a five-star prospect, remember just how early it is in that player's development. At the same time, history dictates he would've made a significant impact on the program.
Throughout his decade at Ohio State, Thad Matta secured commitments from nine five-star recruits. It's fair to say a few of them didn't live up to expectations, but they can still be used as recruiting tools. If they weren't drafted or haven't played in the NBA, they still had productive college careers.
In another sense, recruiting services were correct in their ratings for those five-star recruits. One doesn't develop a keen scouting eye from evaluating the best players on the court, however. The talent is in finding the underrated players and, for coaches, developing that talent.
Below is a comprehensive list of every rated recruit Matta brought into the Ohio State basketball program. Using 247 Sports' composite ratings to determine the star values for each recruit and the position rankings from Rivals, Scout, 247 and ESPN, hindsight can be the judge of how these recruits developed, as well as how these recruiting services evaluated each recruit.
Five-Stars
| Name | Position | Year | Rivals | Scout | 247 Composite | ESPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Conley | PG | 2006 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Daequan Cook | SG | 2006 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Greg Oden | C | 2006 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Kosta Koufos | C | 2007 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| B.J. Mullens | C | 2008 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| William Buford | SG | 2008 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Jared Sullinger | C | 2010 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Deshaun Thomas | PF | 2010 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| D'Angelo Russell | SG | 2014 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
As we all know, 2006 was a monster year for Matta and the Buckeyes. Three five-star recruits led Ohio State to the national title game.
Out of high school, Conley – the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft – was ranked fourth at his position by Scout. Ty Lawson, No. 1 in his class, panned out, but the other two are not quite at Conley's level. Javaris Crittenton played a few years in the league but is currently facing murder and drug charges in Atlanta, while Sherron Collins had a solid college career at Kansas and is playing in the NBA D-League.
Koufos and Mullens had uninspiring freshmen seasons but played in the NBA last year. Buford is the only one on that list to neither be drafted by an NBA team nor play in the league. Still, as the third-highest scorer in Ohio State basketball history, he is far from a bust.
Overall, Matta did his job by helping those five-star recruits achieve dreams of playing in professional leagues, and, for the most part, maximized the years he had with them. If anything, this list is a good omen for D'Angelo Russell's fledgling career.
Four-stars
| Name | Position | Year | Rivals | Scout | 247 Composite | ESPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamar Butler | PG | 2004 | 14 | 20 | 3 | |
| Matt Terwilliger | PF | 2004 | 27 | 22 | 6 | |
| Sylvester Mayes | SG | 2005 | 33 | |||
| Othello Hunter | PF | 2006 | 2 (JUCO) | |||
| David Lighty | SF | 2006 | 6 | 8 | ||
| Jon Diebler | SG | 2007 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| Dallas Lauderdale | C | 2007 | 11 | 18 | 8 | 13 |
| Evan Turner | SF | 2007 | 13 | 16 | 11 | 7 |
| Anthony Crater | PG | 2008 | 21 | 15 | 13 | |
| Walter Offut | SG | 2008 | 24 | 29 | 20 | 40 |
| Aaron Craft | PG | 2010 | 28 | 19 | 19 | 26 |
| Jordan Sibert | SG | 2010 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 25 |
| Lenzelle Smith Jr. | SG | 2010 | 36 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| J.D. Weatherspoon | PF | 2010 | 28 | 37 | 23 (SF) | 30 (SF) |
| LaQuinton Ross | SF | 2011 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 16 |
| Shannon Scott | PG | 2011 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Sam Thompson | SF | 2011 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 13 |
| Amir Williams | C | 2011 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Marc Loving | PF | 2013 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 |
| Kam Williams | SG | 2013 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 13 |
| Keita Bates-Diop | SF | 2014 | 7 | 8 | 6 | |
| Jae'Sean Tate | SF | 2014 | 13 | 14 | 8 | |
| Daniel Giddens* | C | 2015 | 13 | 8 | 12 | |
| Austin Grandstaff* | SG | 2015 | 13 | 11 | 13 | |
| A.J. Harris* | PG | 2015 | 8 | 13 | 12 | |
| Mickey Mitchell* | PF | 2015 | 20 | 16 | 26 |
He's not John Calipari at the recruiting-behemoth Kentucky program, nor has he landed many non-Ohio natives who are also five-star recruits. So, Matta stakes his reputation on the next wave – four-star yet still highly ranked prospects.
This group includes several key role players in Final Four runs – Butler, Hunter, Lighty and Smith Jr. Two of Matta's best four-star recruits – Turner and Diebler – did not make it that far but still left legacies at the university.
Obviously, Turner was a multiple National Player of the Year award winner in 2010 and went on to become the second overall pick in that year's draft. Recruits ranked ahead of him include Kyle Singler, Bill Walker, Chris Wright, Robbie Hummel and Dar Tucker. Diebler was, at one point, the best three-point marksman in the country but ranked behind James Harden, E'Twaun Moore, Chris Allen and Senario Hillman out of high school.
Craft leaves a somewhat complicated legacy as a college player, imperfect yet the embodiment of what Matta wants on the defensive end. For that, he is a fringe NBA prospect and was the focal point for multiple, deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.
This list also includes several transfers – Crater, Offut, Sibert and Weatherspoon – and one notable, non-impact player in Mayes. Otherwise, the rest are or still have the chance to be valuable contributors at the college level.
Three-stars
| Name | Position | Year | Rivals | Scout | 247 Composite | ESPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Je'Kel Foster | SG | 2004 | 48 | |||
| Jermyl Jackson-Wilson | PF | 2004 | 51 | |||
| Brayden Bell | PF | 2005 | 33 | |||
| Eric Wallace | SF | 2007 | 32 | 29 | 28 | |
| Trey McDonald | PF | 2011 | 18 | 46 | 14 | |
| Amadeo Della Valle | PG | 2012 | 28 (SG) | 38 | 43 (SG) | |
| Dave Bell | C | 2014 | 43 | 37 |
The current level of success within the OSU program makes three-star commits relatively rare, at least compared to Matta's first few years in Columbus.
Still, there are a few, with Foster being the most prominent member of Matta's early years. He scored 12.2 points per game and shot over 40-percent from three in the Buckeyes' first Big Ten title-winner under Matta.
Jackson-Wilson ended up at Colorado, Bell transferred to Utah State and Wallace went to two other universities. Della Valle also exited the program, becoming a professional player in his native Italy.
We don't yet have a grasp on what McDonald can contribute in his final season at Ohio State, but his summer performance leaves some promise. This group hasn't produced much, but hasn't really been asked to do so.
Unranked:
- P.J. Hill (2007, JUCO)
- Jeremie Simmons (2008, JUCO)
* Denotes current commitments
The previous two seasons lacked a multitude of scorers, which explained some inconsistent offensive performances. Last year was particularly troublesome in that area, but the program appears to have improved on offense with the incoming crop of recruits.
Overall, Matta has proven his ability to both recruit and develop, be it college role players or NBA-worthy talent.
