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Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State lands another commit, Greg Oden set to suit up

by:borrismart•07/10/18
kane-patterson-courtesy

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise! Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Ohio State football, recruiting, basketball and more. 

Kane Patterson commits to Ohio State

One day after landing a 4-star offensive guard in the Class of 2020, Ohio State shored up its 2019 class by landing 4-star inside linebacker Kane Patterson out of Nashville (Tenn.) CPA.

As is often the case, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer’s relentlessness on the recruiting trail helped make the difference fore the Buckeyes.

“[Meyer] was really important to me,” Patterson told Lettermen Row. “No one did what Urban did, with him and I talking every day. The way he pursued me and my family, it just feels like there’s no other place like it. It’s home, and that’s who I should be playing for.”

Kirk Herbstreit dishes out praise

Former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbsreit famously moved from Columbus to Nashville a few years back. While he’s no longer a few minutes from Ohio Stadium, he’s gotten to know Patterson in his new hometown and gave him a Twitter shoutout after his commitment.

Herbstreit is notoriously honest on Twitter, so getting that level of praise is no small feat.

Greg Oden back?

It’s been a minute since Greg Oden has suited up on the basketball court in anything other than a practice setting, but that might change soon.

Along with Jared Sullinger, Oden was added to Scarlet and Gray’s roster for The Basketball Tournament, a winner-take-all competition with a $2 million prize. Scarlet and Gray made the semifinals in 2017 without Oden, so the addition of the former No. 1 overall pick could end up paying big dividends for the team. However, that news comes with a caveat — Oden won’t be available for the first two rounds, which will be played in Columbus, because he’ll be out of town.

“I wasn’t ready to play (in 2017),” Oden said. “This year I’ve been running up and down with the guys, doing cardio with the team and lifting, trying to get my baby weight off. I just wasn’t ready. I tried, but it would have looked terrible. This year hopefully I can do some things.”

Greg Oden-Ohio State basketball-The Basketball Tournament-Scarlet and Gray

Greg Oden is set to play for Scarlet and Gray in The Basketball Tournament. (Ryan Ginn/Lettermen Row)

Oden hasn’t played professionally since the 2015-16 season, when he played in China for the Jiangsu Dragons. Since then, he’s served as a student manager for Ohio State basketball while going back to school to earn his degree. Though it’s been a couple years since he’s played in a meaningful game, he believes he’s ready to show what he can do.

“I feel good. I’ve lost a little bit of weight. I’ve been playing here and there. I think I can give them a good seven and a half minutes a half,” he said with a laugh. “I just wanted to play and run up and down a little bit. I’ve been scrimmaging against the guys and got a couple dunks in. They’ve asked me all these years and I kind of just gave in and said I guess I can do a little something.”

All he needs now is for his teammates to make sure Scarlet and Gray gets far enough for him to become available.

Ohio State basketball set to host 5-star

Bettendorf, Iowa, 5-star point guard DJ Carton announced a top three on Sunday of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State. Carton has already visited Michigan and Indiana, and the Buckeyes will now get their shot to host him. Bill Landis of Cleveland.com reported that Carton will take his official visit to Ohio State on Wednesday and Thursday.

The visit will offer the Buckeyes a chance to make inroads with Carton as they look to add to their 2019 class. Chris Holtmann currently has one player committed for 2019 — Cleveland Garfield Heights 4-star small forward Alonzo Gaffney, the No. 28 overall player in the class.

Counting down

  • Big Ten media days: 13 days
  • Ohio State season opener: 53 days
  • The Game: 137 days

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