Greg Oden, welcome to Columbus.
Same with Mike Conley, Daequen Cook, Othello Hunter and David Lighty. The “Thad Five” has arrived.
The five, thought to comprise the best incoming recruiting class in school and possibly NCAA history, signed letters of intent Wednesday to play basketball for Ohio State starting with the 2006-07 season.
The class is led by Oden, the consensus No. 1 player in the country. Thought to be one of the best players to come out of high school ever, Oden averaged 20.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis.
“He’s one of the most unique guys I’ve ever coached because of who he is as a person,” coach Thad Matta said. “He has a chance to be special, and it all starts with him and the humility he carries for his age at 17 years old.”
Oden, a 7-footer, was the 2005 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year as well as both the USA Today and PARADE Magazine Player of the Year.
Conley, 6-foot-1 point guard and teammate of Oden at Lawrence North, has 329 career assists in 75 games and averaged 10.7 points per game last season.
Two of the players are Ohio natives. At guard, Cook is the state’s top recruit, averaging 22.6 points and 11.0 rebounds a game at Dayton Dunbar High School. Lighty, also a guard, attends Villa Angela-Saint Joseph High School in Cleveland and scored 24.5 ppg and pulled down 11.8 rpg a year ago before seeing his season end prematurely with an injury.
Finally, Hunter is a junior college transfer from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla. A 6-foot-9 forward, he averaged 8.8 ppg a season ago.
“These guys signing with us today is unique because I think we got every position filled, which not very many times in college basketball do you have that opportunity,” Matta said.
Cook, Conley and Oden all play for the same AAU team and will stay together in Columbus.
“The thing that’s exciting is these kids want to win, and they’re unique,” Matta said. “With Greg, Michael and Daequen playing together quite a bit in the offseason, you get a true appreciation for their ability to play team basketball.”
On the women’s side, coach Jim Foster announced the signing of five recruits as well.
The class is led by 6-foot-2 forward Lesslee Mason-Cox from Cincinnati Princeton High School, who is rated the No. 7 player in the country by USA Today. Also included from Ohio is 5-foot-11 guard Cherise Daniel of Columbus Eastmoor Academy. The class is rounded out by 5-foot-8 guard Shavelle Little of Ann Arbor, Mich., (23.2 ppg and 6.9 steals per game), 5-foot-7 guard Melissa Moeller of Maria Stein, Ohio, (18.4 ppg as a junior) and 6-foot-5 center Andrea Walker of West Allegheny, Pa., (16 ppg and 12 rpg a game as a junior).
“We got a little bit of everything,” Foster said. “It’s a nice mix.”
