Departures Offer Flexibility For Thad Matta, Ohio State

As the dust settles from a rather tumultuous week for Thad Matta and the Ohio State program, sites can be set towards what is to come for a basketball program that is entering a critical offseason. Just a couple days ago, Matta was looking at a severe numbers crunch on scholarship availability. Now, with three sophomores-to-be from last year’s class leaving the program, he is now in a position where he can afford to, and will need to add fresh faces.

It starts with the two commitments in the 2016 class. Matta has pledges from two big bodies, both hailing from the Buckeye state. Derek Funderburk (no, there is no relation) is a 6’9″ forward from the Cleveland area. He committed to Matta and the Buckeyes in April of this past year. He is more of a stretch forward than a traditional post presence. Funderburk is still developing his range, but he possesses good athleticism. He can be a factor on defense, altering and blocking shots much like Daniel Giddens did to make an impact. Fortunately for Funderburk, his offensive game is further along than Giddens’ was.

With Giddens and Mickey Mitchell both on the out, Funderburk will have the chance to come in and compete for minutes immediately. Jae’Sean Tate returns, and Trevor Thompson will be back in all probability, but the depth behind those two is now down to seldom used center David Bell.

Funderburk was also being recruited by Indiana and Iowa.

Joining Funderburk in the 2016 class is Micah Potter, another big man from the state of Ohio. Potter checks in at 6’10” and can play both center and power forward. Potter transferred this past year from Mentor to national powerhouse Montverde Academy in Orlando, Florida.

Montverde has some recent ties to the Buckeye program as they also sent D’Angelo Russell to Columbus. Among some of the other names that have come from that storied program are some guys you may have heard of: Kyrie Irving, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Joel Embid. Those 4 players were all taken in the top-5 of the NBA draft.

Ben Simmons, a player of the year candidate this year, will also be a top-5 pick, giving Montverde 5 top-5 picks in the past 6 years. Needless to say, Potter made a power move in transferring ahead of his senior year. With a program that does nothing but develop division one stars, Potter’s talent was clearly evident to Kevin Boyle, head coach at Montverde Academy.

Matta also has a commitment in the 2017 class from Kaleb Wesson, a local product from Westerville.

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Wesson is a 6’8″ center who has a similar game to former Buckeye great Jared Sullinger. Trevor Thompson will be out of eligibility after next season, meaning that Wesson will come to Ohio State as one of only two true centers on the roster.

His brother and teammate, Andre, just received the Ohio State offer he coveted earlier this month. Andre’s recruitment has been a late-blooming ordeal, but that won’t matter anymore as he has the one offer that he wanted more than anything. While he has not yet announced his commitment, it should only be a matter of time before he does so.

Andre would be the third commitment in the 2016 class, and offer a much need perimeter presence. While not much of a ball handler, he is a good outside shooter. At 6’5″ he also has great length, which he

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has used to become a very good defender.

Before the surprising exodus of the majority of the 2015 class, Andre Wesson’s offer likely would have ended recruitment for Thad Matta for the 2016 and 2017 classes. Wesson’s potential commitment would have locked up the final available scholarship.

That would have meant that Markell Johnson would have been left out. Johnson is the second ranked player in the state of Ohio for the 2017 class and a four star recruit. Hailing from Cleveland, he has long been high on the Buckeyes.

A.J. Harris leaving has now left a void at the point guard position as the Buckeyes don’t have a true point man on the roster. JaQuan Lyle played it all of last year, but there were plenty of times that he didn’t look comfortable in doing so. He will be forced to do so again next season, and maybe he will grow into the role. If he doesn’t, help could be on the way in Johnson.

His twitter reactions following the news of the transfers make it hard to believe he won’t be a Buckeye very soon. Louisville appears to be the only true competition for his signature.

Those are the known options for Thad Matta, but even if all of those go according to plan, he now has a couple of extra scholarships to play around with. Any additions in the 2016 class would be very surprising, so you can expect that the newly found flexibility will factor in with the 2017 season.

A name that could very well be back into the fold is Gary Trent Jr., a five star shooting guard from Minnesota. He is the number one ranked shooting guard in the entire country. He holds offers from the “who’s who” of college basketball, including the likes of Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and Arizona.

The Buckeyes were once in a very good position with Trent, but the scholarship issues were likely to make it impossible for the two to come together. Trent’s father, Gary, was a college teammate of assistant coach Jeff Boals. The two remain close to this day, and needless to say, Boals has been the lead man on Trent’s recruitment. Those relationships, along with the opened up scholarships, could make for a big commitment for the Ohio State program.

Trent has stated that he would like to be a package deal with five star power forward Wendell Carter Jr., from Georgia. If that were to be the case, the Buckeyes were certainly going to miss out on Trent as they had not offered Carter, nor did they have the scholarship to do so. It will be interesting to see if Matta offers Carter soon.

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While it is definitely concerning to see so many players leaving the program at once, Matta has the chance to turn those misfortunes into a blessing in disguise for the Ohio State program. There is some serious talent that is high on the Buckeyes, and now there is room to make it happen.

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