Four-star forward commits to Ohio State men

Not even a week prior, Ohio State’s 2020 recruiting class for men’s basketball remained stuck at zero.

Sunday, it surpassed maximum capacity. In a ceremony at his high school, four-star power forward Zed Key from Glen Head (New York) Long Island Lutheran committed to the Buckeyes. His announcement came six days after four-star wing Eugene Brown III committed to Ohio State, giving coach Chris Holtmann a two-man 2020 class that — for now — puts the Buckeyes at 14 projected scholarship players for the 2020-21 season.

For the 6-foot-7, 215-pound Key, the decision was a simple one after he took his official visit to Ohio State during the weekend of Sept. 6.

“I loved the campus and I loved the coaching staff,” he told The Dispatch. “I loved being around the players and it felt like home there. That was my first official (visit). I got that feeling that this is the right place for me so I want to be here.”

Immediately after the visit, the plan remained for Key to take other visits, with Marquette scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 20 and Florida the following weekend. Instead, Key announced Wednesday that he would be committing Sunday afternoon, and he took no other official visits.

It also meant that a planned official visit for four-star center Zach Loveday, a Gallipolis native who is playing for Huntington (West Virginia) Prep, for this weekend never took place. The Buckeyes are now done with their 2020 class, pending possible spring developments for the late signing period.

Key’s commitment puts the Buckeyes one above the scholarship limit. However, with junior center Kaleb Wesson increasingly being viewed as likely to enter the NBA, the Buckeyes identified a need for another post player should Wesson leave.

Without Wesson, the 2020-21 Buckeyes would have second-year players E.J. Liddell and Ibrahima Diallo as the candidates to play center.

Key, the No. 115 national prospect and the No. 24 power forward in the country according to Rivals.com, would be in the running for significant early playing time.

“That really wasn’t a main focus of mine,” he said. “I wanted just to go somewhere where I know I can develop my game and get better as a person and a player. Those were the big factors, because I know I’m going to work every day and get better every day and work hard.”