SANDUSKY – The second scholastic live period of the college basketball recruiting calendar is this weekend and the Ohio State coaching staff is spread all across the country seeing prospects.
Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler and assistant coaches Jamall Walker were at the OHSBCA Midwest Live event in Sandusky, Ohio on Saturday and saw several targets. Lettermen Row was also in Sandusky on Saturday and kept track of who the Ohio State coaching staff watched.
Let’s get into our observations from the event.
– Four-star Cleveland (Ohio) Garfield Heights point guard and 2026 Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson had a strong performance in his first game of the day against Westerville (Ohio) South. The 6-foot-2 guard did a good job of attacking the rim and shot the ball well. Johnson struggled some against with the length of 2025 Westerville South guard Kruz McClure, who holds mid-major offers, but he also won his fair share of those matchups.
Johnson was also first prospect that the Ohio State coaching staff watched on Saturday. Head coach Jake Diebler and assistant coach Jamall Walker were baseline for Garfield Heights‘ 9 a.m. tip.
– Once Garfield Heights started to pull away, Jamall Walker made his way over to court ten to watch 2027 Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic guard Isaiah Mack-Russell. He is considered one of the top 2027 prospects in Ohio and has an impressive frame for high school sophomore.
– Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer three-star shooting guard Antione West drew a crowd of college coaches for his 10 a.m. game against Detroit (Mich.) Renaissance. Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler, Purdue head coach Matt Painter, Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg, DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann and dozens of assistants were all in attendance to watch West and he did not disappoint. West had serval impressive finishes at the rim and shot the ball as well as I have ever seen him shoot it.
– Upper Arlington (Ohio) played their first game of the day at 10 a.m. as welland Jamall Walker watched 2026 forward Alex Smith for some of that game. Ohio State offered the 6-foot-9 Smith earlier this month. He is an excellent finisher around the rim and has good court vision for his position which led to several impressive assists.
– Another game that had a host of college coaches was Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s vs. Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius. St. Mary’s is led by 2025 five-star guard Trey McKenney while St. Ignatius features 2025 three-star forward Damon Friery. Ohio State has offered McKenney but Michigan State is seen as the team go beat in that recruitment.
The more interesting prospect for Ohio State is Friery. He had a good showing at Ohio State’s team camp this month and his communication with the coaching staff has picked up since. Ohio State is not planning to sign a large class in 2025 but if the Buckeyes miss some big targets, Friery could be a interesting prospect to pivot to. The 6-foot-9 forward shoots the ball at a high clip and would be a good fit in Ohio State’s offense.
– Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler watched Marcus Johnson and Garfield Heights again during the 12 p.m. window. Garfield Heights played Johnson off the ball often this weekend and he excelled at it. He moves well without the ball and had a few wide open threes as a result.
– Assistant coach Jamall Walker was on the baseline of courts five and six during the 12 p.m. window. He split his time watching Isaiah Mack-Russell on court six and 2027 Lima (Ohio) Senior guard Shawn Foster, who is another top 2027 prospect in Ohio, on court five. Foster also impressed the Ohio State coaching staff at team camp this month.
– During the 1 p.m window Jamall Walker watched 2026 Upper Arlington (Ohio) forward Alex Smith for the second time on Saturday. While Jake Diebler took turns watching Smith and Antione West who was playing his second game of the day on a neighboring court.
– After taking a break to eat during the 2 p.m. window, Jake Diebler and Jamall Walker watched two top targets during the 3 p.m. window. Diebler stood on the baseline between courts two and three. He watched 2026 four-star Cleveland (Ohio) Lutheran East forward TJ Crumble on court two ans four-star Cleveland (Ohio) Richmond Heights guard Dorian Jones on court three. Meanwhile Walker stood on the baseline between courts one and two for the first half of the 3 p.m. games. He too watched TJ Crumble on court two but also watched 2027 West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West guard Bryce Curry on court one for a half. Curry is another top 2027 prospect in Ohio.
– In the second half of the 3 p.m. games Jamall Walker made his way over to court seven to watch 2028 Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods guard Kameron Mercer. He is one of the top in-coming freshman high school basketball players in the country. Walker also caught a few minutes of 2027 Youngstown (Ohio) Ursuline guard Jaylen Gunther on court eight.
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