The Ohio State basketball program is trying to get back to being an elite program once again. When Thad Matta was coaching, the Buckeyes were constantly in the mix for winning the Big Ten Championship. He also had the team make two Final Fours and a National Championship Game.
Jake Diebler is doing his best to get five-star talent back in Columbus. Matta was constantly able to recruit the best players in the Midwest. He has brought in two five-star recruits for the 2026 class, and this should be the most talented team that Diebler has had.
At the very least, Diebler has shown an ability to recruit. Despite not winning any NCAA Tournament games yet, Diebler is hoping this is the team to do that. He is still doing well on the recruiting trail and now has another five-star recruit heavily considering the Buckeyes.
5-star recruit DeMarcus Henry has Ohio State in his final eight
Five-star recruit DeMarcus Henry has put the Ohio State Buckeyes in his final eight. Henry also has Arkansas, BYU, UConn, Louisville, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Kansas. He announced it on his family's podcast, Henry Legacy. Henry is rated as the fifth-best recruit in the country in the 2027 recruiting class and the top small forward.
If his name sounds familiar, it should. He is the son of former NFL player Chris Henry. He is also the brother of Chris Henry Jr., who is a member of the Ohio State football team. Henry Jr. might actually be the second-best receiver on the roster as a freshman, as he, too, was a five-star recruit.
Having Henry Jr. on the football team should give the Buckeyes an advantage in landing his basketball brother. Henry stands at 6'7 and 190 pounds. He would be a great player to add to the roster to help the team with athleticism, which Diebler is trying to accumulate more of.
Ohio State basketball is slowly building towards being a contender again
Fans were initially frustrated when Ross Bjork decided to hire Diebler instead of Dusty May once the team fired Chris Holtmann. Diebler was a first-time head coach, and he has taken the last couple of years to learn on the job. May did win a national title, and now it's time for Diebler to get his team to actually have some postseason success.
LJ Smith and Anthony Thompson are two five-star freshmen who should really help this team increase its ceiling. The goal is for this team to actually have some postseason success, which would help them land even more talent down the line. Henry is certainly going to be watching that.
Of course, as with any recruitment these days, NIL is going to play a big factor. The Buckeyes are not afraid to use NIL in basketball. However, it still must not be the primary factor for a recruit. You can bet that Diebler will be having conversations with his brother on the football team to try to convince him to be a Buckeye.
There is no timetable for this announcement from Henry.
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