Thad Matta and his staff have been hard at work gathering recruits for the 2014 class and appear to be on a roll. This week they have landed two of the top 50 prospects in national recruiting circles.

Keita Bates-Diop: 6′-7″ 190lbs SF/PF from University High School in Illinois (near Chicago). Scout.com ranks him as the nation 7th best power forward and awards him 4 stars in their recruiting analysis.He is listed in the top 30 overall collectively on all the major recruiting sites. He chose Ohio State over TTUN, Purdue, Louisville, Wisconsin and Illinois amongst others.

Jae’Sean Tate: 6′-5″ 190lbs SF from Pickerington Central High School. Scout.com ranks him as the nations 14th best small forward and awards him 4 stars in their recruiting analysis. He is listed in the top 50 overall collectively on all the major recruiting sites and is considered by most to be the number 1 junior in all of Ohio. He selected Ohio State over offers from TTUN, Purdue, West Virginia and Xavier.

As Hate Week rolls on, don’t forget the men’s hoops team will be back in action Friday at 6:00 against UMKC. The Ohio State senior football players and Urban Meyer will be recognized at halftime.

Go Bucks!!

Tags: 2014 Recruiting, Jae'Sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop, Thad Matta
Categories: Basketball Recruiting, College Basketball, Ohio State Basketball

This week, there’s only one song that will suffice for Buckeye Nation. Enjoy!

Shiny

Buckeye 411

• “One time”-  Monday was the reveal of the fourth edition of Nike’s “special” uniforms, and the third time it’s been unleashed for The Game. This year’s a bit different than the past- the jersey won’t be made available to the public, but a number of other “rivalry” shirts and accoutrements are out there for public consumption- be sure to check out The Buckeye Room, where they’ve informed us that they’re also getting in a limited number of the gloves that will get your favorite player flagged on Saturday. Woot!

The “reveal” was a part of the Beat Blue rally in the Student Union on Monday night, and saw former Ohio State running back Raymont Harris taking the catwalk at the party.  The biggest question is about the Buckeye leafs awards on the helmet- the jersey will have seven of them to commemorate the seven national titles, but it’s unlikely that the awards the players have won this season will make the helmet. That being said, the official Nike blog has a Buckeye sticker on the helmet, so there may be something in the works.

My take: I like these the most of the ones we’ve seen, although I wish they’d stop screwing around with the gear for Mich1gAAn week. But, the students like them, as do all of the recruits who will be in attendance... and that’s the target demographic.

• Meyer’s Musings- In this week’s B1G Conference Call, Coach Meyer talked anew about how growing up in Ohio makes him understand The Game as the most important thing that matters.

“You’re taught at a very young age who the enemy is, but you have a lot respect for the enemy.”

He spoke fondly about this year’s senior class, and how he’s been impressed that they stuck around once the bowl ban was announced.  He talked about the need to be ready for both Denard and Devin at quarterback on Saturday, and that there was more than likely a chance for something “interesting” to happen. On his own quarterback, Coach Meyer talks to him daily and reminds him that the goal is to be a QB that can run rather than a running back who throws the ball. “It’s a big week in Columbus Ohio”

• Oh, Davey!!-  Braxton is one of three finalists for the Davey O’Brian Award this year, and there’s a chance for fans to vote as well. Personally, I hope that the fan votes are taken with a huge grain of salt- NCAA accolades should not be like an American Idol competition, plus Texas A&M fans are notorious for their online balloting prowess.
• That Coach Up North- was also on the B1G conference call, and clarified his position on calling OSU “Ohio”, saying that he didn’t mean it to be disrespectful, but that it was something he’d done since he was a kid.  He also talked about Braxton, and said his decision making has improved greatly from last year and throughout the season… something they will be focusing on.
• Show Urb The Money- While I still don’t give a flying fig for the AP rankings until AFTER the season is over, Coach Meyer has at least a nominal reason to pay a little more attention to where his team ends up- his contract was reworked to reward him for a high AP position this year, in lieu of the BCS ban the Buckeyes are facing.
• Might As Well Jump! Huge thanks to our own Janelle for this great photo of this year’s Mirror Lake Jump!

• Past And Future- Wanna’ know more about The Game? The Plain Dealer has got you covered… forever.  Oh, and there’ll be a little history created on Saturday as well… Awesome!

Read More

Tags: Brady Hoke, Braxton Miller, Davey O'Brien Award, Gene Smith, Jae'Sean Tate, Jeff Tedford, Keita Bates-Diop, LSUFreek, Maryland, Mirror Lake, Nike, Raymont Harris, Rutgers, SBP, The Game, Uniforms, Urban Meyer
Categories: Basketball Recruiting, College Football, Conference Expansion, Humor, Michigan Football, Ohio State Basketball, Ohio State Football