Barnes Jr. delivers big showing in Ohio state playoffs
One doesn’t need to be a basketball savant to know about St. Vincent St. Mary’s high school basketball program.
The Akron powerhouse has won 11 state championships and produced numerous hardwood legends, with the most notable being LeBron James.
While the Irish were viewed by some to defend their 2022 OHSAA Division II state title this winter, one Pitt commit had other plans.
Marlon Barnes Jr. helped lead Brush High School to a 42-37 victory in the Ohio state playoffs on Wednesday evening.
The 6-foot-6, 3-star small forward scored 17 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks to help his team advance a step closer to making the state regionals for the first time in program history.
If Barnes’ big effort isn’t enough to get Pitt fans excited, perhaps a recent post to social media will. The future Panther was seen working out last weekend at his high school with Pitt big man John Hugley IV, a fellow Brush graduate. Barnes will join the Panthers next season after graduating high school.
Howerton coming back
One of Pitt football’s top offensive line targets in the Class of 2024 is making another trip to Oakland. Ryan Howerton, a 6-foot-5, 305 pound three-star offensive tackle prospect from St. Vincent Pallotti in Laurel, Md., announced this week that he will be making another unofficial visit to Pitt on March 25.
The Panthers offered Howerton on Oct. 14, 2022. Less than a month later, the youngster was in attendance at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 5, when Pitt defeated Syracuse.
Howerton returned to Oakland on Jan. 21 for Pitt’s junior day festivities.
His third visit will be during a spring ball workout.
Howerton has five other Division I offers: Akron, Boston College, Maryland, Toledo, West Virginia and Penn State.
According to Rivals, Pitt is the only program he’s unofficially visited.
Top 12 for Clarke
Three- star cornerback prospect Joshua Clark narrowed down his list of 35 Division I offers to his top 12 teams of interest earlier this week, in which Pitt made the cut. Clarke, a 6-foot-1, 175 pound prospect out of Flint High School in Oakton, Va., received an offer from the Panthers on Feb. 9.
The young cornerback is being recruited by Pitt running backs and special teams coach Andre Powell. Clarke has yet to make an unofficial visit to Oakland.