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After spending the first three years of high school as a St. Edward Eagle in Lakewood, Ohio, '16 C Derek Funderburk transferred to attend Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia for his senior year. Despite leaving the Buckeye state for Virginia, it won't be long until Funderburk is back home as just moments ago, the 6'9, 210-pounder signed his letter of intent to officially become a student-athlete at Ohio State.
It was back in April, not even a month after an unofficial visit to the campus, when Thad Matta and the rest of the hoops coaching staff received the news of Funderburk making his commitment to the good guys. The newest Buckeye received offers from Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, and Xavier during the process. Ultimately though, it was the offer from the scarlet and gray on January 28th, 2015 that Funderburk decided on. Funderburk took an official visit to Ohio State on the weekend that the football team took on Western Michigan and took care of business with a victory by a final score of 38-12.
According to the 247Sports composite scale, Funderburk grades out as the 62nd best player in the 2016 recruiting class. At the center position, which may not even be the spot for Derek at Ohio State, he is ranked 8th overall. Despite his departure to Hargrave for his senior year, Funderburk was still listed as the 6th best prospect from the state of Ohio.
If you are wondering what the four-star prospect will bring to Columbus, you can check out his highlight tape here. However, there is no better way to get insight on the Lakewood native than to get Land-Grant Holy Land's own Zach Fleer to break down his game:
Derek is a high-upside wing forward that has improved his game in a variety of areas. He is still lanky at 6'9, but he has some post scoring ability, and is very athletic. He can knock down the elbow jump shot consistently, and he runs hard to the rim. He has played for some of the nation's best coaches in HS ball, and comes from an elite AAU program where he won a ton of games. He's a winner, and a nice addition for the Ohio State program.