Updated 2018 Ohio Rankings: Central Ohio
Within Ohio, there are five regions, largely cast around heavily populated metropolitan areas. Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton/Cincinnati, and Southeast Ohio, all have their own basketball identities. The game is played differently in each state region, and the prospects of which they produce are, in turn, unique.
While there are certainly statewide trends in Ohio’s 2018 class, there are also regional trends. Don’t believe me? Just watch.
Central Ohio
The Columbus area is extremely balanced as far levels of skills. Of the 171 prospects ranked in the 2018 class, 39 come from this region. Within that, 19 are in the top 75, while 20 go from 76-171. In the region, you’ll find multiple players that project at every level of college basketball.
Columbus is simply rich with talented basketball players. Naturally, there’s a lot of star-centric basketball being played as well. One of the most notable stock-risers in the class is Taevion Kinsey of Eastmoor Academy, who leap-frogged 23 people on his way to the #15 spot in the rankings. Kinsey established himself as a Division I prospect, verified by an offer from Stony Brook in late March. This rise is, not completely, but in some part because Eastmoor’s offense was largely focused on Kinsey creating. He did it all for the Warriors, and it was a mutually beneficial style for team and player.
Other than the breadth of talent and star power, Columbus is also separated from other regions because of their wing talent. Let’s just take a look at the perimeter players who are 6’4”-6’7” in the Columbus area:
#3 Jerome Hunter (6’7”)
#4 Dane Goodwin (6’5”)
#15 Taevion Kinsey (6’4”)
#17 Adrian Nelson (6’6”)
#22 Solomon Pierre-Louis (6’4”)
#29 Justin Curtis (6’4”)
#37 Isaiah Speelman (6’6”)
#41 Elijah McNamara (6’7”)
#45 Cameron Brooks-Harris (6’6”)
#58 Nate Ward (6’5”)
#63 Juan Elmore (6’4”)
#65 Jah Blevins (6’5”)
#69 DiShon Daniels (6’5”)
#71 Garrett Tipton (6’4”)
#78 Dondre Palmer (6’4”)
#86 Gabe Towns (6’7”)
#105 JT Shumate (6’6”)
#146 Tariq Brown (6’4”)
That’s 18 guys who fit the profile of 6’4”-6’7” prospects who could primarily play around the perimeter in college. For some context, there’s only 22 other juniors in the rankings you could put into this category. In one region alone, there’s nearly half of these wings! It’s staggering.
And look, as mentioned earlier, there’s versatility in this talent pool. First of all, one could make a compelling argument for Goodwin or Hunter as the best player in the 2018 class. We struggled with that discussion ourselves, as it seems there’s a new leader every month.
Then, the next seven are projected to be Division I or high Division-II players. After that, some of those guys could leap up into that range, as guys like Daniels and Ward have high ceilings.
So it’s the size on the perimeter, paired with athleticism, that Columbus teams and players have which is different.