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Ohio State kicked off the weekend with some good news on the recruiting front with highly touted recruit DJ Carton committing to the Buckeyes.
B U C K E Y E N A T I O N⚪️ pic.twitter.com/A8T26fA7W1
— DJ Carton (@DJCarton) July 14, 2018
DJ Carton, an Iowa native, is currently ranked as the 21st best recruit in the 2019 class and the second best point guard per 247Sports Composite rankings. The site also lists Carton as a five star prospect who had offers from a long list of marquee programs, including Michigan and Indiana.
The 6’1” point guard is the second commit for the Buckeyes in 2019, joining four-star forward Alonzo Gaffney. While it’s early, the addition of Carton puts Ohio State’s 2019 class first in the Big Ten and fourth nationally per 247Sports.
Carton just narrowed his list down to three schools about a week ago and announced his commitment to Ohio State a day after visiting the program. Carton had visited Michigan and Indiana previously and there was some chatter that the Wolverines were the favorite for the guard prior to his Ohio State visit. The guard averaged 26.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game as a junior.
The addition of Carton is a big get for the Buckeyes, not only because he’s one of the highest recruits to commit to the program recently, but also because it shows Ohio State’s coach Chris Holtmann is making some serious progress on the recruiting trail. With two top 30 prospects committed for 2019 and space for at least one more recruit (most likely a forward or wing), the Buckeyes seem to be rolling after what could have been a rough transition from Thad Matta to Holtmann.
While he still has another year at the high school level, it’s widely believed that Carton will be able to immediately step in and play for the Buckeyes. He’s shown the ability to distribute the ball and run the point effectively, but he’s also a proven scorer that can get to the rim and hit from deep.
Ohio State is coming off of a second place finish in the Big Ten last season and it looks like Holtmann is set to keep the program at the top of the conference.