Ohio State Basketball: Chris Holtmann Must Recruit These States Hard
- Kosta Koufos Canton, Ohio
- Evan Turner Westchester, Illinois
- John Diebler Upper Sandusky, Ohio
- Dallas Lauderdale Solon, Ohio
- Eric Wallace Chatham, Virginia
Four out of five players again from the “Big Three”. This group had big shoes to fill from the beginning with Ohio State losing three players to the NBA and David Lighty injured their freshmen season.
After a slow start, the class picked up steam with Kosta Koufos and Evan Turner becoming key contributors late in the season. Although Ohio State didn’t make the NCAA tournament, they did win the NIT with Koufos leading the way.
The center opted for the NBA after the season but three players hung around to have terrific careers for the Buckeyes.
Two years later, Turner was the College Player of the Year. Jon Diebler went on to become the best three-point shooter in Ohio State history. And Dallas Lauderdale became that player who would do the dirty work on defense and on the boards every team needs.
The 2007 class finished their Buckeye careers with two consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances in the NCAA Tournament.