Things got interesting today in regards to the 2020 and 2021 Ohio State recruiting classes, and for that matter, the 2022 class as well.
Buckeye commit Meechie Johnson announced this afternoon that he plans to reclassify from the 2021 class to the 2020 class and play for the Buckeyes this season.
"Like I said, this wasn't an easy decision, I had a lot of thoughts going on through my head, but with that being said, I will be foregoing my senior year and reclassifying to the 2020 class and starting freshman year playing college basketball at The Ohio State University this December," Johnson said in an Instagram live video.
He is expected to be eligible as soon as the fall semester ends.
Duane Washington and CJ Walker will see the majority of the guard duties for the Buckeyes this season, however Johnson has a legitimate chance to contribute in some ways this season, as he can play off the ball as a combo guard as well. He seems to be stronger and faster coming off of an ACL tear in early 2019 and is simply a high IQ player who knows how to find time in the rotation.
Johnson played a decent amount of AAU ball this summer, however, did not play at all last high school season in order to rehab his injury fully. He was expected to return to Garfield Heights high school in northeast Ohio this year after spending a prep school year at the International Sports Academy at Andrews Osborne in Willoughby (Ohio).
In terms of how this affects the Buckeyes recruiting wise, it may open up the window to pursue 2022 guards more aggressively, as Ohio State has only offered one so far despite having their eyes on several prospects, especially a few in-state kids.
Johnson gaining an extra year of experience may remove the doubts of several of these prospects who believe they might not see the time that they deserve early on at the lead guard spot.
Milton (GA) five-star point Bruce Thornton included the Buckeyes in his top five last week and while they have a chance at him, I believe will most likely see him head to a school in the SEC such as Alabama or Georgia, so it is important to continue to pursue other options.
Gahanna Lincoln (Ohio) junior Sean Jones has been in contact with the Buckeyes for an extremely long period of time and I have been told that the staff simply want to see him go up against other high-major guards before they offer him, which is why the AAU season somewhat hurt him. Jones holds 16 offers, most notably from Pittsburgh, Kansas State and Mississippi State.
Ohio State also likes in-state guard Paul McMillan out of Woodward in Cincinnati (Ohio). McMillan is an absolute scoring machine who surpassed 1000 career high school points midway through his sophomore year and holds seven offers from programs such as Purdue, Dayton and Cincinnati. McMillan has a very strong relationship with the Boilermaker staff.
It will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds in terms of both team play and recruiting, however, it was some great news to end the weekend with.
