OSU used full-court press to get Branham
It wasn’t just that Ohio State was persistent in its recruitment of Malaki Branham. It wasn’t just that the Buckeyes had a better plan, better relationships or a better sales pitch than the other colleges recruiting him to play basketball.
In the end, it was the fact that Ohio State saw the four-star guard as someone other than a kid from its backyard and recruited him accordingly.
And Wednesday, when Branham posted a video to Twitter at exactly 2:22 p.m., it paid off for OSU coach Chris Holtmann and his staff with a commitment from the biggest target on their 2021 recruiting board.
“I chose them because they didn’t recruit me like an in-state kid,” Branham told The Dispatch. “They never stopped calling me and never got too comfortable.”
Branham grew up in Columbus and was in fifth grade when he started working out with Jason Dawson, a Worthington Christian product who played college basketball at Wofford and Gardner Webb. By the time Branham had reached seventh grade, Dawson said, it was clear something special was developing.
After playing for Ridgeview Middle School in northwest Columbus, Branham moved to Akron to live with his uncle, Lawrence, and attend basketball powerhouse St. Vincent-st. Mary High School.
There, Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon began recruiting him during the summer after his freshman season, leading to an eventual scholarship offer and a growing relationship with Holtmann as well as Pedon.
Throughout, they never took for granted the fact that Branham was a native Ohioan, if not a Buckeye.
“They did the legwork,” Lawrence Branham said. “It was major in that aspect because Malaki didn’t really grow up an Ohio State fan. I didn’t grow up an Ohio State fan, so it was important for them to understand that and not try to have this lure of being this hometown kid or this hometown hero because it’s more than that for Malaki.”
Branham is the top Ohioan in the class of 2021, the No. 27 recruit in the nation, according to the 247Sports. com composite rankings. He is the top-rated recruit to commit for Holtmann and the highest-rated Ohioan to pledge to OSU since Jared Sullinger, the No. 4 national recruit, in 2010.
Listed at 6 feet 5, 175 pounds, Branham chose the Buckeyes over Alabama, Baylor, Louisville, Missouri, Marquette and Xavier.
“It just seemed like the right time,” Malaki Branham said. “This pandemic has not been forgiving and with the offers that I held, I don’t think it would have been wise to wait any longer.”
Branham will have something in common with his primary trainer, too: Dawson’s two years at Gardner Webb came while Holtmann was the head coach.
“Coach Holtmann kind of ran the offense for me to come off of ball screens,” said Dawson, who was a team captain for the Bulldogs. “I can teach him what I know, but it’s all been about Malaki. If he didn’t like coach Holtmann, that would’ve been it.”
Branham joins an OSU class with two other top-100 Ohioans in Garfield Heights guard Meechie Johnson Jr. (No. 89) and Convoy Crestview forward Kalen Etzler (No. 90), giving the Buckeyes the three highest-rated Ohioans in the class. It also pushed the class to the No. 2 national ranking, behind Baylor.
“It’s a big deal because they got a good player,” said Brian Snow, basketball recruiting analyst for 247Sports. “You win by getting guys like Malaki Branham, guys who are going to stay two, three, four years, that grow in your program. That’s what Holtmann’s going to focus on.”
Branham’s commitment drew the attention of St. Vincent-st. Mary’s most famous alumnus: Lebron James tweeted his congratulations, adding, “OH-IO” and a nut emoji to the end. Both Etzler and Johnson expressed their excitement, with Johnson making a prediction.
“I will do whatever I have to do to win,” he said. “Malaki has the same mentality, so I think we’re going to make it to a Final Four our freshman year and we’re going to win a national championship.”
On Wednesday, with the announcement time set, Branham and his uncle headed to the Diamond Deli in downtown Akron, Malaki’s favorite sandwich place, and returned home around 1:30 to brace for the barrage of phone calls, texts and messages.
It was a celebration, but keeping to form, a somewhat quiet one. Now, with a decision made, the seniorto-be could look forward to the possibility of playing video games without the Ohio State coaching staff calling to check in.
“They were slightly annoying, in a good way,” Branham said. “Not annoying to the point where I didn’t want to talk, but sometimes I would be in a heated (NBA)2K matchup and they would call. But I appreciated the work they’ve done and continue to do.” ajardy@dispatch.com
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