Ohio State basketball signing day profile: Malaki Branham

We continue to profile all of the signees for the 2021 class for the Ohio State basketball team. We now move to Malaki Branham out of Akron.

Ohio State basketball starts in one week. While this year’s version of the team is set, next year’s roster is still up in the air. We do know that they will be adding two additional players. One of them is Malaki Branham, who is a 6’4 shooting guard from Akron.

Branham is a four-star recruit out of St. Vincent St. Mary in Akron, famously the high school of Lebron James. Branham is the best player in the state of Ohio and the 28th best player in the country, including the 5th best shooting guard in the country.

Branham is more of a slashing two-guard who can get to the rim with relative ease. He is athletic and uses that to his advantage when getting to the rim. He also has good size as a shooting guard which also helps on the defensive end of the ball.

While he is a shooting guard his shooting is something that needs to be improved a bit. At the end of last season, he showed more consistency in hitting threes. This is something that continues to be important in basketball and something that Chris Holtmann seems to be emphasizing.

Branham can also handle the ball well, again something that Holtmann wants to add to his program. Having combo-guard properties makes him more valuable to the Buckeyes. He shouldn’t be the primary ball-handler on the roster though, even though he can create a bit for his teammates.

The Buckeyes are excited to have Branham come in. Holtmann said that Branham is someone who can contribute immediately next season. That’s something that is good to hear for Buckeye fans.