Ohio State offers rising in-state small forward

Ryan Day and his staff have done a phenomenal job working through this pandemic on the recruiting trail, putting together the nation’s top class in 2021 and picking up a trio of early commits in the 2022 as well. While Ohio State’s football team has been stealing all of the headlines, Chris Holtmann’s work on the basketball trail should not go unnoticed.

On Tuesday, the Buckeyes sent out an offer to Richmond Heights small forward Josiah Harris. A native of Cleveland, OH, Harris is listed at 6-foot-5, 180 pounds. He averaged 10 points and five rebounds per game in his freshman season at Canton Glenoak before transferring this past year and playing his sophomore ball at Richmond Heights, where he saw drastic improvement.

Rankings for the 2022 class have not yet been released, but Harris’ recruitment has been picking up steam as of late. He now holds offers from nine programs, including the likes of Akron, Kansas State, SMU and West Virginia alongside obviously the most recent addition of Ohio State.

“A lot of schools have been in contact and been interested,” Harris told 247Sports. “I’m just going to continue to pray about it and take my time and live out the recruiting process as long as I can and see these schools and see what the best fit is. There is no rush.”

This past season at Richmond Heights, Harris averaged 20.2 points per game, being named a second-team All-Ohio pick in Division IV. His team posted an impressive 22-4 record, but unfortunately would not get a chance to play for a trophy as the postseason tournament was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. In their last time out, Harris scored a game-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds in his team’s regional semifinal victory over Warren JFK.

“It was a great season,” he said. “I feel like we could have gone to the states for sure and won it. It was very disappointing it had to get cut short like that. But I am proud of the team and how we came together. We grew over the season. I really loved this team. It was a great team.”

Harris learned of his new offer on a FaceTime call with both Holtmann and assistant coach Jake Diebler on Tuesday. Growing up in Ohio, the small forward has kept a close eye on the Buckeyes, and has been on campus “two or three times this past year.” Harris says the coaching staff sees him as a three or a four, loving both his ability to play multiple positions and space the floor well.

Quick Hits

• Kerry Coombs has done a phenomenal job in his return to Ohio State, and he is looking to continue that trend by pillaging one of Michigan’s best in 2022 corner Will Johnson. Hailing out of Grosse Point South, Johnson is the No. 4 CB and No. 16 player overall in his class, while current ranked as the State up North’s top prospect.

Speaking to Bill Kurelic of Bucknuts, the 6-foot-3 DB says things are going quite well between he and Coombs.

“We keep building a better relationship. Ohio State puts out DB’s for the NFL every year. That’s a big thing for me,” Johnson said. “I’ll definitely get down to Ohio State when this [virus] stuff ends. I pretty much talk to coach Coombs every week.”

The four-star corner currently holds 23 total offers, including the likes of Michigan, Notre Dame, LSU, Penn State and Oklahoma, among others.