In a move that surprised many with the timing, as we’re less then two weeks away from the NCAA live evaluation period where college coaches will watch top prospects play on the travel circuit, Ohio’s top junior announced a verbal commitment to a college program on Tuesday via Twitter.
6’9 forward Alonzo Gaffney out of Cleveland Garfield Heights made a pledge to Ohio State and head coach Chris Holtmann. Ohio’s #1 ranked prospect in 2019 via this publication, landing Gaffney is a huge coup for Holtmann and his Buckeyes program, as the staff is taking a major stride forward both in showing an ability to land top in-state prospects as well as top ranked players nationally (as almost all major recruiting publications consider Gaffney to be a top-25 prospect in the nation and a five-star player).
While choosing Ohio State isn’t necessarily a surprise with Gaffney, as the state’s top prospects almost always at least consider the Buckeyes, but the timing again was unique, as Gaffney would have been evaluated by almost every college program in the nation this spring with his All-Ohio Red travel team. In choosing the Buckeyes, Gaffney spurned offers from programs such as Kansas, Florida, Louisville, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Michigan State.
The Cleveland area forward is an elite talent, as Gaffney possesses a unique combination of size, length and athleticism, with the fluidity to play on the wing or out of the post. Also a skilled player who is capable of handling the ball and knocking down shots, Gaffney is the prototypical new-age face-up four man, as he is almost a fourth guard at times but can also play an anchor role defensively by cleaning up shots at the rim with his length and explosiveness. As he continues to add strength and tighten up his skill-set, Gaffney will keep climbing the recruiting rankings nationally and could potentially find himself in the McDonald’s All-American Game a year from now as his production becomes more consistent.
Not only is Gaffney the fifth junior from Ohio to commit to an NCAA D1 school, but he’s the fourth to commit to a high-major program, joining Pickerington Central guard Jeremiah Francis (North Carolina), Cincinnati Moeller guard Deuce McBride (West Virginia) and Xenia guard Samari Curtis (Xavier) as top prospects who’ve already made their college decision. With four of the top ten prospects already off the board, this spring and summer should be an interesting one on the recruiting trail, as many of the top mid-major prospects could get an extra look from high-major programs who might’ve missed out on the kids who have already made their decisions.
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