While many Ohio State fans had their week ruined on Wednesday when it was announced that the Buckeyes game against Maryland this Saturday is cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the Maryland campus, it has still been an excellent week for basketball recruiting.
It started on Sunday afternoon when Meechie Johnson reclassified to the 2020 class and announced that he will play for the Buckeyes this season and it ended on Friday night when four-star 2022 wing guard Roddy Gayle Jr. announced his commitment to Ohio State over Syracuse, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette and Connecticut.
“Ohio State, I like their style of play. I’ve been to a game already so I understand how they plan on attacking the defense and how they play defense plus the atmosphere that they have is great. I also have built a great relationship with the staff members,” Gayle told The Front Office in an interview Friday morning.
The Buckeyes offered Gayle back on June 15th, clearly prioritizing him by extending him a scholarship on the first day that Division I coaches were permitted to initiate contact with 2022 prospects.
Gayle always had interest in the Buckeyes, however, it was never expected that he was going to speed up his recruitment process as fast as he did, as the junior announced his top six on Monday and made a pledge to Chris Holtmann and Ohio State on Friday.
At 6-foot-5, the junior offers a true three level scoring ability on the offensive end as well as an advanced passing game. He is a versatile defender who can lockdown on the wing as well as step up and defend opposing point guards. Check out some of his junior year highlights below courtesy of Stand Still Media.
I see a lot of Malaki Branham in Gayle’s game, as he can score in every way and is always looking to make the right play that will help his team win. Luckily for the Buckeyes, Gayle and Branham can certainly coexist on the floor as they have the potential to give Ohio State one of the deadliest wing duos in the Big Ten in a couple of years.
Joining Princeton HS (Ohio) wing Bowen Hardman as one of the Buckeyes two commitments in the class of 2022, Gayle’s pledge should certainly boost the Buckeyes in the 2022 Rivals team recruiting rankings.
Ohio State still has three scholarships left in the 2022 class following the commitment of Gayle and it is likely that they will seek to ensure that at least two of those are filled come signing day for this class, as the Buckeyes have a chance to pull together another excellent haul of recruits if they can land a point guard and a big man.
2022 guards to keep an eye on moving forward: Bruce Thornton, Sean Jones, Paul McMillan
2022 big men to keep an eye on moving forward: Shawn Phillips, Joe Hurlburt
2022 forwards to keep an eye on moving forward: Josiah Harris, Camden Heide, Isaac Traudt, Jaden Schutt, Ty Rodgers, Chris Livingston
Ohio State still has plenty of options in this class in terms of what types of prospects they want to recruit moving forward, so keep an eye on the moves Holtmann and his staff continue to make on the 2022 recruiting trail.
