Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones Should Play at Ohio State
This summer Jahlil Okafor, ranked No. 2 in class of 2014 and Tyus Jones, ranked No. 3 in class of 2014, announced they want to play together in college. Although the duo has multiple options, Ohio State would be perfect for them.
Recently, their captain and star player Jared Sullinger decided to enter his name in the NBA draft. Sullinger was drafted by the Boston Celtics at number 7 and left the Buckeyes without a leader. Okafor and Jones would be in a great position to be the new leaders and help Ohio State continue their success.
The Buckeyes have been NCAA Basketball Tournament runner-up 4 times and have made the NCAA Tournament Final Four 11 times. They are well coached and are known to produce great basketball players.
Thad Matta has coached Ohio State since 2004 and has a record of 221 – 65, over 8-years. Matta was also Big Ten Coach of the Year (2010,2006) and Naismith National Coach of the Year Finalist in 2003. He recently led the Buckeyes to the Final Four, until his team lost to Kansas.
During Matta’s coaching career, he’s also help Ohio State produce great players. In the NBA 2008 draft, former Buckeye Evan Turner was picked second, going to the Philadelphia 76ers. In 2007, former Ohio State player Greg Oden went first, going to the Portland Trail Blazers. If Okafor and Jones go to Ohio State, I believe they can end up high picks like Turner and Oden.
Okafor and Jones have not announced which schools they’re favoring, but the list of programs offering the duo include: Ohio State, Michigan State, Duke, Arizona, Minnesota, and Baylor.
