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Posted On: 03/29/18 8:17 AM
The “By the Numbers” look at the class of 2018 will slice the class up by AAU program, high school, and future college.
The first two measure grassroots and high school basketball programs by the same superlatives, including deepest program and most high-end talent.
In the look-ahead to the next level, our college article recognizes college programs bringing in two or more Ohio prospects. Trends will be based on both quality and quantity.
Although there’s still a lot of players still yet to commit, here’s a snapshot of who’s going where as of March 28.
Fifty-four programs have one player coming to their school, while 18 have multiple Ohio prospects coming in.
The schools with multiple? They are Ashland, Cedarville, Duquesne, Fairmont State, Hanover, Heidelberg, Indiana Wesleyan, John Carroll, Lake Erie, Marietta, Mount St. Joseph, Mount Union, Ohio Christian, Ohio Northern, Ohio Wesleyan Taylor, West Liberty, and Youngstown State.
Going forward, we’ll focus our attention on these 18 schools by briefly assessing the Ohio talent several of them are set to bring in.
Ashland received commitments by three tough players. Mclouglin and Beaugard won’t need the ball in their hands to be effective, as both are defensive-oriented. Meanwhile it’ll be interesting to follow how Burge’s physical slashing style translates to the college level. All these kids make winnings plays.
Two of the five highest rated post players are off to Duquesne. The Dukes are graduating a ton of size this offseason. Therefore, they needed to bring in two Ohio centers and a near-seven-footer from Indiana in order to acquire frontcourt depth.
Likely the best D-II recruiting class of Ohio prospects as it stands right now. All players have noteworthy strengths that should translate to the next level. Bonner can defend. Sunahara is an athletic freakshow on the boards. Finally, Cox is a pure scorer as the two-guard. It appears as though the new staff at FSU will recruit Ohio heavily.
We like the possibility of them playing in the backcourt together at some point. Ball puts pressure on the defense with his speed and he can push the tempo. Meanwhile, Jacobs is one of the highest-rated shooting specialists that projected as a D-III recruit. Forcing a defense to shut down driving lanes for Ball while accounting for Jacobs’ range sounds like a headache.
Looking for complimentary players who are going to bring toughness and defense? Here’s a nice class. IWU just won the NAIA National Championship and will return plenty of scorers. Therefore, these two will simply provide a punch on defense and keep the offense moving.
For the most part, Mount Union landed Northeast Ohio prospects from their backyard. They took advantage of being smack-dab in the middle of recruiting hotbed. Gurley is a player we projected to land at an NAIA or low-D-II program, so he’s a steal in our eyes.
Two of the three players could’ve maybe played above the D-III level. In their free-flowing offensive style, we expect all three of these players to thrive. Stanislawski might be the best pure point guard signed to a D-III program in the class currently. He just keeps getting better, so OWU could reap the benefits of his continual hard work.
They could possibly play these two together at the forward spots in a year or two. Both are capable of playing the 3 or 4. Penha is a more skilled offensive threat with length on defense. Meanwhile, Hubbard is an unusually gifted rebounder at 6’4”-6’5″ with major athleticism. Interesting duo of recruits who took major strides as seniors.
West Lib is bringing in a pair of Ohio prospects that fit into their team concept. Carry thrived in the open floor with decision-making and scoring this season, carrying Solon to the D-I State Championship. Meanwhile, Alessandro is capable of defending 3-5 on most nights and can score inside and out. He’s attacks the rim on straight-line drives with athleticism and fearlessness.
One of two D-I programs bringing in multiple Ohio prospects. It’s the coaching staff’s first full recruiting class since moving to Youngstown since Fairmont State. They made a good impression on Ohio by landing two seniors that played extremely well as seniors. Both have upside as athletes and can get up-and-down, which is how they want to play.