OSU looks for frontcourt help in recruiting class

It’s the perpetual question in college basketball recruiting, no matter how big the latest news might be: What’s next?

That’s where Ohio State finds itself after last week’s commitment from Malaki Branham, the top in-state recruit in the class of 2021. With a commitment from the Akron St. Vincent-st. Mary standout, the Buckeyes have a three-man class currently ranked No. 2 nationally, according to the 247Sports. com composite rankings.

Branham, a combination guard, will join point guard Meechie Johnson Jr. and forward Kalen Etzler, giving the Buckeyes an all-ohio class as currently constructed.

But Ohio State is hoping to add one more piece. The Buckeyes have a need for an inside presence — be it a center, a power forward or a hybrid — and that figures to be the remaining priority for the class of 2021.

The top in-state candidate already has committed elsewhere. The Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to Logan Duncomb, a three-star recruit from Cincinnati Moeller, but he committed to Indiana in April.

With Duncomb off the board, a trio of five-star players are in the mix, and each visited OSU’S campus before the nationwide recruiting shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. Last fall, the Buckeyes hosted Chet Holmgren and Efton Reid on official visits and Charles Bediako on an unofficial visit.

All three are rated among the top 21 recruits nationally.

Holmgren, a 7-foot, 190-pound center from Minneapolis, is the No. 2 overall recruit. He has cut his list to seven schools: Minnesota, Michigan, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Georgetown, Memphis and North Carolina.

Gonzaga also hosted him on an official visit, and nearby Minnesota has had him on campus on numerous unofficial trips.

“You get him, we’ve got everything we need to be a national championship team,” Johnson said. “We’ve already got what we need, but you can’t go wrong with the No. 1 player in the country, with a top-20 player.

“We’re looking to keep building, and whoever can help us win a national championship, that’s who we want.”

Bediako, a 6-11, 215-pound Canadian, has transferred to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, after having played at the Osborne Academy in Willoughby, near Cleveland. Bediako is the No. 3 center prospect in the nation and the No. 20 overall recruit. On July 3, he posted a list of his top 10 schools: Alabama, Baylor, Duke, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas and Southern California.

One spot behind Bediako in the national rankings is Reid, a 6-11, 225-pound native of Richmond, Virginia, who will join Bediako at IMG Academy for his senior season. He took an official visit to Ohio State during the same weekend as Branham last fall, and also has taken official visits to Virginia and Louisville.

Johnson said he knows both Bediako and Reid and would be happy to add any of them.

“I’ve got a great relationship with Efton, and I talk to him a lot, and I’ve got a great relationship with Charles,” he said. “It has to be the right fit for whichever one wants to come, but we can’t go wrong with either. We want a great freshman class coming in.”

If the Buckeyes do add a fourth member to the class of 2021, it likely won’t be until the late signing period. ajardy@dispatch.com

@Adamjardy