COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State basketball has a clear top player on its 2018 recruiting board, and he's coming for an official visit this fall.
Elijah Weaver, a four-star point guard from Oldsmar, Fla., will visit Columbus on Sept. 9. That's the same weekend the football team hosts Oklahoma in Ohio Stadium. Weaver is the No. 37 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite ratings, and the No. 8 point guard.
Weaver also has visits set to USC (Sept. 2) and Florida (Sept. 16). Expect him to also set an official visit to Villanova at some point. The Wildcats are still considered the favorite in the 247Sports crystal ball predictions, but Ohio State has a chance here.
"Ohio State, we had a good connection. They recruited me at Butler. It started at Butler and when they moved schools, they said it'd be a better opportunity and nicer campus, but our relationship has been good," Weaver told Julius Kim of Elevate Hoops.
"We call everyday and we just talk about everything besides basketball so I feel like our connection is good. Just because it's a big school they want me to see it and they want me to run the show there. So if I go there and I like it enough, I'll probably commit, maybe, but I just wanna go see the school and see how I feel about it."
Read into that what you will. Basketball recruiting can get funky, with a lot of unexpected twists and turns, but Ohio State has a shot to make a real impression on one of the best guards in the country.
Ohio State, which already has a commitment from four-star shooting guard Torrence Watson, could add as many as three guards in the 2018 class.
5-star gets Buckeyes offer
As Ohio State adds to and reshuffles its 2018 recruiting board, it can be hard to keep track of the names. At some point we'll put together a reset of the whole board, but here's a name to know now: Simi Shittu.
The five-star power forward picked up an offer from Chris Holtmann's staff this week. He's the No. 9 overall player in the 247Sports composite ratings, and the No. 4 power forward.
The 6-foot-8 prospect from Vermont is one of just a few "bigs" on Ohio State's recruiting board at the moment. Shittu is a little more than a traditional big -- he can run the floor well and seems to have some decent handle -- but the Buckeyes' 2018 recruiting efforts are largely centering guards and wings. Holtmann would like a front-line guy if he can get one.
Ohio State was high on four-star forward Marcus Bingham, but the former Butler target has already committed to Michigan State. The Buckeyes have also offered four-star Florida forward Darius Days.
Another Ohio prospect on the board
We've written before about how Holtmann was put in a tough spot with this talented 2018 Ohio class, and may end up not getting any of them.
Holtmann's staff could make up for that with a strong showing in 2019, where the in-state talent is nearly as deep. Ohio State continues to stay in a good spot with four-star point guard Jeremiah Francis of Pickerington Central. They've also been recruiting four-star wing Jordan Mitchell, who's from Gahanna but will play at Montverde Academy in Florida next year. You can add another Ohioan to that list.
Alonzo Gaffney, a four-star wing from Garfield Heights, picked an offer from Ohio State this week. Gaffney, who played at Villa Angela-St. Jospeh as a freshman and sophomore, has also been offered by Kansas, Florida and Louisville this summer.