After his dominating performance at #11 Florida yesterday, there’s been a lot of buzz about Buckeyes big man frosh Jared Sullinger, not to be confused with his older brother J.J. Sullinger who also played for tOSU.
And neither is to be confused with J.D. Salinger, author of “Catcher in the Rye,” although I have made that mistake on occasion. But as big as this year’s Ohio St. freshman class is, next year’s will be giant as well.
Thad Matta, head coach of fourth-ranked Ohio State, added a fifth member to the 2011 class of recruits with the submission of an NCAA National Letter of Intent Wednesday by Amir Williams, a 6-foot-10 inch, 220-pound center from Birmingham, Mich.
Williams’ addition to the class strengthens a group of high school seniors already rated by analysts as a Top 10 class nationally.
“We are thrilled to cap off our 2011 class by filling a major need at the center position,” Matta said. “He is a big man that can produce offensively and have a major presence defensively. Amir chose Ohio State for all the right reasons and I am confident he will be very successful as a Buckeye.”
Williams, rated No. 2 at his position nationally by ESPN, averaged 15.0 ppg., 10.2 rpg. and 4.8 bpg as a junior at Detroit Country Day in 2009-10. He was selected to the Max Preps 2010 Junior All-America third team and named an all-state selection after leading his team to the state championship a year ago.
With USA Basketball, Williams was a member of the 2010 USA U18 National Team that compiled a 5-0 record, captured the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship gold medal and qualified the U.S. for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship.
The rest of the class is filled out by:
Forward LaQuinton Ross (6-8, 195) from Jackson, Miss., point guard Shannon Scott (6-2, 165/Alpharetta, Ga), Chicago forward Sam Thompson (6-6, 190) and Trey McDonald, a 6-9, 230-pound center from Battle Creek (Mich.) High School make up Matta’s latest roster additions.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net , a Midwest webzine. He’s also a regular contributor to the Tribune’s Chicago Now network, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports.com
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