Ohio State Buckeyes Looking To Lock Down Ohio In Years Ahead

With the 2016 recruiting wrapped up, Thad Matta and the Ohio State Buckeyes are looking ahead to their 2017 recruiting. After bringing in a haul of four freshman for the 2016-2017 season, the Buckeyes are one of the Big Ten's youngest teams and will not have many open roster spots moving forward. Senior forward Marc Loving is the only player guaranteed not to be on the 2016-2017 team, which could potentially leave Thad Matta handcuffed in recruiting.

For years, one of Thad Matta's biggest criticisms in recruiting has been his inability to land Ohio's top prospects. Prospects such as Caris LeVert, Luke Kennard, Kenny Kaminski and Carlton Bragg have all come up through the Ohio school systems and chosen to attend school outside the state.

Other Big Ten schools, such as Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin have had great success at stealing away in state players from the Buckeyes. After their 2016 recruiting class featured none of the state's top 10 prospects and only one player currently playing in Ohio, the Buckeyes are looking to turn that trend around and beef up their in state presence. Another D'angelo Russell has not walked through the Value City Arena doors just yet, but the Buckeyes staff is trying to find their next superstar right in their own backyard.

Buckeyes offer 2017 forward Young

Following his unofficial visit earlier this spring, class of 2017 forward Kyle Young received an offer from Ohio State. The four star big man is Ohio's top power forward and the 16th best power forward in the country according to Scout.

Young stands at 6-7, meaning he would likely fall more in the stretch forward role at the next level. Realistically, his versatility could allow him to play anywhere from the four or the three and possibly even seeing reps as a two guard.

Young's athleticism will be his biggest asset moving forward. He has a nose for the basketball and is able to get himself in great position to rebound. Young can stretch the floor but his inside game is still his strongest. While he has yet to demonstrate a plethora of post moves, he has shown he is able to cut to the basket and get open down low. He is very sneaky around the baseline and his unique combination of outside and inside scoring abilities leave defenders no choice but to play him straight up at all times.

Thad Matta joined the recruiting on Young a bit later than some other teams. Young currently has 12 offers and has gained interest from Big Ten rivals Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin while also garnering attention from Ohio schools such as Xavier, Toledo, Kent State and Miami (Ohio).

Young's offer from Ohio State adds to the long list of in state prospects offered by the Buckeyes. Young's AAU teammate Markell Johnson also received an offer from Ohio State and could potentially be heading to the Buckeyes in the future. Dwayne Cohill, Darius Bazley, Taylor Currie and Jerome Hunter are also in-state prospects that are being considered by the Buckeyes so Young may need to choose sooner rather than later if he will accept the Buckeyes offer. While Kyle Young says his recruiting is still wide open, he is very grateful for his offer.

With yet another offer to an in-state prospect, Ohio State has firmly turned its recruiting efforts back toward Ohio.