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Ohio State Basketball: Players honored and Buckeye ties

By Charlie Lockhart

TULSA, OKLAHOMA - MARCH 22: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half in the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BOK Center on March 22, 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
TULSA, OKLAHOMA - MARCH 22: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half in the first round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BOK Center on March 22, 2019 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Two players in the 2019 Ohio State recruiting class earned All-State honors, a new assistant and a hot prospect have Buckeye connections.

Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann is hitting on all cylinders. Two of his incoming players were named All-State and a new assistant and a hot prospect have ties to the Buckeyes.

First a look at two players in this year’s recruiting class.

Per Eleven Warriors guard D.J. Carlton was named to the Des Moines Register All-Iowa team and forward E.J. Liddell was named Illinois Player of the Year by USA Today. Both are top 50 recruits in the 2019 class.

Now for the new assistant coach.

247Sports reported Jake Diebler will become coach Holtmann’s assistant. Does that last name sound familiar?

Jake is Jon’s older brother and all Buckeye fans remember that sharp-shooter. The elder Diebler played his college basketball at Valparaiso, was an assistant there and at Vanderbilt as well. He also was a video coordinator for Ohio State under Thad Matta.

Now for the hot prospect with strong Buckeye ties.

More from Ohio State Basketball

In a terrific article by Colin Hass-Hill of Eleven Warriors he reported Chris Holtmann got a pleasant surprise when courting a top prospect in the 2020 class from California. The Buckeye head coach found out Jalen Clark’s mother went to Ohio State for six years, earning her masters degree, and is a die-hard Buckeye fan. He also found out he has visited Columbus from time to time and is familiar with the surroundings.

Will Jalen’s mother now be the lead recruiter for the No. 57 player in the 2020 class?. A mom can have a ton of influence on a young boy, like not giving him dessert, taking the cell phone away and driving privileges as well until he commits to her favorite team. Just a thought.

Things are trending up for the Ohio State basketball team aren’t they? Coach Holtmann took over a thin roster, made the NCAA Tournament twice, and with an outstanding recruiting class and a new assistant with experience the future looks very bright.

Next. Impact of Matthew Baldwin's transfer. dark

And of course finding out a top recruit from California whose mother bleeds Scarlet and Gray certainly doesn’t hurt things either.

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