Ohio State added a pair of Class of 2018 recruits in Versailles wing Justin Ahrens and Cincinnati Princeton forward Darius Bazley who committed as a package.
“We’ve been talking about it for a while, but it really got serious when they decided to offer me,” Ahrens told 247Sports.com. “We put the two of us and Coach [Thad] Matta in a group chat and we asked when we could make it over there for a visit. Today was that day.”
The two had planned on a package to make it unique.
“Darius and I called (assistant Chris) Jent and told him we were committing, but we told him not to tell Coach Matta,” Ahrens told 247Sports.com. “We asked him if he could get Coach Matta out of his office and add some humor to it. We went to a store beforehand and got an Ohio State shirt and hat.
“They got Coach Matta out of his office and we snuck in. He walked back in and it was kind of like, ‘Surprise,’ and we put our hat on and our shirt and told him we were committing.
“He was pretty excited.”
Blessed to announce I will be attending The Ohio State University!! #GOBUCKS ????⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Q8ipDA3ouU
— Justin Ahrens (@ahrensjustin12) August 27, 2016
WILKES SETS VISITS
After previously cutting his list to five schools, 6-foot-7 small forward Kris Wilkes of Indianapolis (IN) North Central announced visit dates.
Wilkes will visit Illinois (Sept. 8), UCLA (Sept. 22), Indiana (Sept. 30), UConn (Nov. 4), and Xavier (TBD), according to the Indianapolis Star.
“I definitely feel good about those five schools,” he previously told The Star. “I feel like I have a good relationship with all five of them.”
UCONN HOSTS RECRUITS
UConn this weekend hosted two recruits.
Kevin Ollie and company hosted Paul Scruggs, a 6-4 point guard Indianapolis (IN) Southport), and Josh Carlton, a 6-10 center from DeMatha (MD) Catholic.
Scruggs is also considering Michigan, Indiana and Xavier, while Carlton is considering Arizona State, Miami and Michigan State.
Southport (IN) 2017 four-star Paul Scruggs with Kevin Ollie during his official visit. Photo via @Indyhoosiersbba. pic.twitter.com/OUkLbn1YW3
— Chip Miller (@BLUEChip_Miller) August 27, 2016
JAHVON QUINERLY GETS KANSAS OFFER
After a strong performance last week at the Under Armour Elite 24 Game, Jahvon Quinerly added an offer from Kansas this past week.
“I’m super excited, especially since I wasn’t expecting it,” the 6-1 Class of 2018 Hudson Catholic point guard said.
The Kansas offer (and others like them) may may it increasingly hard for a local school like Seton Hall or Rutgers to land the Fab Five of Quinerly, Naz Reid, Louis King, Atiba Taylor and Luther Muhammad.
ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla spoke highly of Quinerly at the Elite 24 and then communicated with Kansas assistant Norm Roberts.
“I told Jahvon that he sticks out like a sore thumb because for the first day of practice with everybody racing at 90 miles an hour, he plays with such a calm composed style,” Fraschilla told SNY.tv. “He’s going to be your consummate college point guard. He’s going to have a chance to play at the highest level because he has such a high understanding of the game.”
He added: “He’s a great floor general. He has deceptive speed because he knows how to turn it on and off. And if he can hit perimeter jumpers, he’s going to have a fabulous college career. I don’t know where he’s ranked, but I can’t think of many point guards I’d rather have running my team than him.”
SYRACUSE HOLDS ELITE CAMP
Syracuse is hosting several high-profile players at its Elite Camp this week, including PSA Cardinals Class of 2017 stars Mohamed Bamba and Quade Green, and Class of 2018 Sports U big man Naz Reid.
The 7-foot Bamba and the 6-foot Green have yet to cut their lists and are being courted by Kentucky and Duke, among many others.
The 6-10 Reid has been targeted by Syracuse, Kentucky, Rutgers, St. John’s and many others.
FREE THROWS
Dayton added a pledge from Dutch Fork (SC) Class of 2017 shooting guard Jordan Davis, via Scout.com…Lee High (AL) Class of 2019 four-star wing Kobe Brown is currently on an unofficial to Oklahoma, via Northwood Academy coach Brandon Willie…Class of 2019 stars Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis of the Ranney (N.J.) School and TEam Rio, were invited to a USA Basketball junior national mini camp Oct. 7-10 in Colorado Springs.
