Point guard still a need for incoming class
Last Monday night, Ohio State men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann told fans at an annual Agonis Club fundraiser that they will like the four recruits verbally committed for next year.
He can’t comment on them by name until they officially sign, which figures to happen when the early signing period opens on Nov. 8. Less than two weeks away, it’s unlikely the Buckeyes will add to their quartet for the class of 2018 anytime soon — or perhaps at all.
That’s likely fine for the coaching staff, which as it currently stands will have seven freshmen or sophomores next season and just one recruited scholarship guard who is an upperclassman, senior C.J. Jackson. The desire to add another player is there, but it’s possible Ohio State might go the graduatetransfer route this spring instead to give the roster some balance.
The primary position of need remains point guard. Jackson will be backed up by Jae’Sean Tate and Andrew Dakich this season, but both are in their final seasons of eligibility. Shooting guard Kam Williams, who spent the offseason working on his ball-handling in case he is called upon to help there, is a fifth-year senior.
“We’re going to add the right fit, the right person (if we add anyone),” Holtmann said Oct. 19 at Big Ten media day. “It could be a playmaking guard, because in reality we have some flexibility with the guys we have committed. Those guys can play multiple positions, but what’s hard for people to understand is we have one returning guard next year in C.J. We probably need to add one more.”
Two guards with Ohio State offers committed elsewhere last week: Elijah Weaver of Oldsmar Christian in Florida picked USC and Bryce Hamilton of Pasadena, California, picked UNLV. 247Sports.com ranks Weaver as the No. 9 point guard in the country and Hamilton as the No. 25 shooting guard. Both are fourstar prospects.
However, the Buckeyes are back in with a recruit who has returned to the market: Courtney Ramey, a four-star point guard from Webster Groves, Missouri, had initially committed to Louisville but reopened his recruitment after coach Rick Pitino was fired amid the ongoing FBI probe into college basketball.
In a list of the top remaining point guards available for the class of 2018, Rivals.com lists Texas, Missouri and Ohio State as the favorites to land Ramey, who is unlikely to sign until the spring.
As of late October the Buckeyes have also offered Tyler Sturdivant, a point guard in the class of 2019 from Norcross, Georgia.
Holtmann was asked Monday if the FBI investigation would open up new recruits for the Buckeyes.
“It might,” he said. “We’ll have to vet those situations appropriately for obvious reasons. Listen, it can be, at times, an interesting world, recruiting. We’ll have to vet all those situations to make sure they’re the right fits for us. We definitely are doing that, yes we are.”
Whoever does sign will be expected to come in and contribute right away. It has been a selling point on the recruiting trail and one Holtmann has tried to use against the negativity he said has been used by other programs pointing out challenges he faced when he took the job in June.
“I feel very good about having us getting the job in June and having a four-member class right now that we feel good about, that are guys who can come in and contribute and be a part of that,” he said. “That doesn’t always happen in this compressed period. We try to sell opportunity and be who we are, and it’s not for everybody.”