Two weeks after signing the nation's No. 1 2010 class, Thad Matta has a commitment for 2011.
Thad Matta had to deal with the early defection of sophomore guard Walter Offutt from his program on Tuesday but the Ohio State head coach still has something for which to be thankful this week: He has his first commitment for the 2011 class.
Matta just received inked letters-of-intent from six well-rated players earlier this month at the outset of the early signing period, a group that many experts consider to be the best assemblage in the nation. However, the Buckeyes didn’t have anyone promised to enroll in 2011 – that is until Shannon Scott called Matta with the good news today.
A 6-2, 175-pound point guard from Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton, Scott is the son of former University of North Carolina point guard and NBA standout Charlie Scott and is considered an elite recruit.
“I just felt like it was the right place to be at,” Scott told Bucknuts.com soon after committing. “I knew even if I didn’t end up playing basketball I’d still want to be there. It’s a great school and really suits me, so playing basketball there will just be a bonus. I really like Coach Matta and the whole staff. It’s just a great place.”
Matta invited Scott and his parents to make an unofficial visit to campus in the fall and they accepted, driving north for OSU’s Sept. 26 Big Ten football opener with Illinois. Scott played well in pickup games with current players and other recruits and came home with Ohio State very high on his list. After showing interest in several other schools including nearby Georgia and Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Oregon State and Big Ten combatant Northwestern, he chose OSU over Clemson.
“It was really down to those two,” he said, “but Ohio State was the place to be. I’m very excited to get there.”
ESPN/Scouts, Inc. gives Scott an early grade of 92 but rates him below all of the other high-profile point guards in the class that Ohio State also was courting – players such as 6-2 Marquis Teague of Indianapolis Pike (who has a grade of 97), 6-1 Marquis Rankin of Charlotte Vance (96), 6-0 Quinn Cook of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha (96) and 6-0 Chasson Randle of Rock Island (Ill.) HS (95).
To link to ESPN Insider’s assessment of Scott, click here.
That service rates him as the No. 19 point guard in the class while others have him as high or higher as that figure nationally overall. In fact, Rivals rates Scott No. 12 overall in the class and considers him a five-star talent. Apparently so do the Buckeyes.
A source close to the program told Bucknuts.com that Scott is the burner the staff has tried to snare since Mike Conley Jr. left after the Big Ten championship and national championship runner-up season of 2006-07.
Scott plays for the Southern Kings of the King James Shooting Stars AAU program and also is a standout on a loaded prep team that also includes three well-regarded classmates – 6-3 guard Dai-Jon Parker, 6-7 forward Julian Royal and 6-7 power forward Alex Walton.
“I’m already talking to them,” Scott said. “I’m going to try to help out the Ohio State coaches and see who else we can bring in.”
Ohio State also is heavily recruiting another Georgia backcourt star, 6-3 Kentavious Caldwell of Greenville High School, who is considered the No. 2 shooting guard nationally in the 2011 class according to ESPN/Scouts, Inc.
