Chris Holtmann

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

The 5 Recruits Chris Holtmann Must Land in 2018 – Land of 10/Ohio State – June 10, 2017

Justin Ahrens (3 Stars): 6-foot-5, 181-pound Ahrens ranks as the No. 38 small forward and No. 6 overall player in the state of Ohio in the 2018 class.

Jerome Hunter (4 Stars): 6-foot-5 Hunter ranks as Ohio’s No. 5 overall player and the 25th-ranked small forward in the 2018 class.

Dwayne Cohill (4 Stars): 6-foot-2, 170 pound Cohill ranks as the nation’s No. 3 combo guard and No. 57 overall player.

Pete Nance (4 Stars): 6-foot-8, 180 pound Nance ranks as the nation’s No. 9 small forward and No. 34 overall player.

Darius Bazley
Ever since Ohio State’s 2016-17 season came to an end, there’s been no shortage of instability. The biggest sign there were issues in the Buckeyes’ program, however, may have been the de-commitment of 4-star forward Darius Bazley.

The state of Ohio’s second-ranked player, Bazley had been viewed as one of the cornerstones of Ohio State’s 2018 class. But his de-commitment sent shockwaves through the program, as did his comments when speaking to the Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy.

“Ohio State, they didn’t make the NCAA Tournament this year,” Bazley said. “They didn’t even make the NIT, which is unfortunate, but I looked into the recruits they have coming into next year, they didn’t look too good for the future. So I felt like when my class came in, yeah, we would’ve been OK, but good enough to make the tournament? I don’t know.”

But with the dawning of a new era of Buckeyes basketball, perhaps Holtmann could convince the 6-foot-9, 200-pound small forward Ohio State is back on track. And if he can, the Buckeyes likely won’t have to worry about missing the NIT for a very long time.

On June 29, 2017 Pete Nance committed to Northwestern.

On July 3, 2017 Darius Bazley committed to Syracuse.

On July 17, 2017 Jerome Hunter committed to Indiana.

On September 8, 2017 Justin Ahrens made an official visit to Michigan, and is scheduled for an official visit to Ohio State on September 22nd.
247 Sports (updated September 11, 2017) shows 8 of 8 Crystal Balls for Michigan.

On September 11, 2017 Dwayne Cohill committed to Dayton.

Michigan, Ohio State Set to Battle for Justin Ahrens – SB Nation/Big Ten – September 11, 2017

Ohio State Buckeyes Recruiting News and 7-Year Basketball Recruiting Scholarship Chart - VerbalCommits.com – updated September 12, 2017

[BEXU]

I don't get too excited until the loi's start rolling off the fax machine, and then it doesn't seem to be a done deal anymore.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Ohio State Buckeyes Recruiting News and 7-Year Basketball Recruiting Scholarship Chart - VerbalCommits.com – updated September 14, 2017

HS Class of 2018
Commits: 0
Spots Left: 6
Open Offers: 25

Indiana Hoosiers Recruiting News and 7-Year Basketball Recruiting Scholarship Chart - VerbalCommits.com – updated September 14, 2017

HS Class of 2018
Commits: 4
Spots Left: 1
Open Offers: 10

Indiana 2018 Basketball Commits (4) - 247 Sports – updated September 14, 2017

National Rank: 3, Big Ten Rank: 1

Jerome Hunter (4-Star) - Pickerington North (Pickerington, OH) - PF, 6'-7", 195 lbs.

Damezi Anderson (4-Star) - Riley (South Bend, IN) - SF, 6'-6", 175 lbs.

Robert Phinisee (4-Star) - Mccutcheon (Lafayette, IN) - PG, 5'-11", 160 lbs.

Jake Forrester (3-Star) - Westtown School (Norristown, PA) - PF, 6'-8", 215 lbs.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

If Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith had fired Thad Matta after the Buckeyes' last game in March and offered the position to Archie Miller, Archie would have accepted the job in a heartbeat and not looked back.

But while Gene Smith spent months dithering over Thad Matta's future at OSU, Indiana hired Archie Miller, who is off to a very good start in his recruiting.

From what I have read, most of the recruiting time and effort spent by Chris Holtmann and his staff to date has been on prospects who have committed elsewhere, meaning that they are now having to spend all of their time recruiting players they have shown little interest in during the previous few months - a huge disadvantage when you are trying to land highly-touted prospects that have been actively recruited by other P6-conference schools for years.

It will be interesting to see who Ohio State's HS Class of 2018 recruits will be. Best of luck to Chris Holtmann - he's gonna need it.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Key weekend visitors, Sept. 15-17 - Corey Evans, Basketball Analyst, Rivals.com – September 14, 2017 (free article)

BIG TEN: OHIO STATE

Ohio State football fell flat on its face last week, but the basketball program continues to draw some of the best 2018 talent to its campus. This basketball recruiting weekend will be no different, as four key targets visit Columbus.

Andrew Nembhard, the highest-rated visitor, will begin his official visit tour. Joining him will be a classmate at Montverde, though in the prep program, Morris Udeze. Then there will be Duane Washington Jr., a savvy combo guard most valued for his scoring. The nephew of Derek Fisher, Washington Jr. recently relocated to the West Coast for his senior year, though his family remains in the Detroit area.

Finally, Eric Hunter, a 6-foot-3 lead guard from Indianapolis, will take in the Big Ten program this weekend. Hunter is a Rivals150 guard who will visit Minnesota by the end of the month and is coming off his first official visit to Purdue.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Chris Holtmann got his first 2018 commitment today:

Ohio State 2018 Basketball Targets - 247 Sports

[JohnW22]

It's terms of Bazley there was some "interesting" things going on in his recruiting to say the least from what I've heard.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Chris Holtmann got his second 2018 commitment today.

[Omaha1]

FF- I sort of get your infatuation with the Big East but I am more confused than ever as to your obsession with Ohio St.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Omaha1, I wouldn’t call it an obsession, but there are three reasons for my recent posts about Ohio State basketball on this thread:

(1) Chris Holtmann is a class act, and a coach for whom I have great respect. I wish him well, but I don’t like Ohio State basketball (a paradox for sure).
(2) Xavier, Ohio State, and Dayton all recruit some of Ohio’s best HS prospects. Many fans of these three programs keep tabs on the other teams' recruiting.
(3) I recently posted that Archie Miller already has four 2018 recruits but Chris Holtmann had none, so I thought the updates would be fair and appropriate.

In any event, your point is well-received and it is very unlikely that I will be posting any further information about Chris Holtmann or Ohio State.

[EMT]

Omaha1, I wouldn’t call it an obsession, but there are three reasons for my recent posts about Ohio State basketball on this thread:

(1) Chris Holtmann is a class act, and a coach for whom I have great respect. I wish him well, but I don’t like Ohio State basketball (a paradox for sure).
(2) Xavier, Ohio State, and Dayton all recruit some of Ohio’s best HS prospects. Many fans of these three programs keep tabs on the other teams' recruiting.
(3) I recently posted that Archie Miller already has four 2018 recruits but Chris Holtmann had none, so I thought the updates would be fair and appropriate.

In any event, your point is well-received and it is very unlikely that I will be posting any further information about Chris Holtmann or Ohio State.

There is a God