With its season-opener looming, the Ohio State men’s basketball team got a boost for the future Wednesday afternoon.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to tip off their 2014-15 season on Friday against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, but in the meantime, coach Thad Matta had four new players sign national letters of intent on signing day.
The class consists of a pair of Texas natives, one Georgia product and one player from Dayton.
Guard Austin Grandstaff from Rockwell, Texas, forward Mickey Mitchell of Plano, Texas, center Daniel Giddens from Marietta, Ga., and Dayton Dunbar High School guard A.J. Harris all signed their letters of intent Wednesday, committing their collegiate future to Matta and the Buckeyes.
The four signings come a year after Matta brought on the same number of freshman ahead of this season.
According to ESPN, all four of the newest Buckeye basketball commits are four-star rated players. Grandstaff received the highest rating with an 87 out of 100 on ESPN’s recruiting website. He, Giddens and Harris are all part of the ESPN 100.
Giddens has played with the USA Basketball U16 National Team and averaged a double-double during his junior season at Wheeler High School. Harris was second team All-Ohio last season when he averaged 14.5 points and 6.1 assists. Grandstaff scored 27.1 points per game last season while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.
Mitchell initially made a verbal commitment to OSU before backing out, and then recommiting earlier this year. His older brother — Mike — was a member of the OSU football team last season as a linebacker before deciding to leave the school. On Wednesday, Matta said he was “elated” to have Mitchell sign on with the Buckeyes.
According to ESPN, the four players make up the No. 8 recruiting class nationally, and the best class in the Big Ten.
While they’ll have to wait until next season to see the new class in action, Matta and the Buckeyes are scheduled to tip off against UMass-Lowell at 7 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center on Friday.
