Ohio men’s basketball announced its 2017-18 recruiting class Wednesday morning, per the team’s official Twitter account.
Ohio signed guard Zach Butler of Spartanburg, S.C., and forwards A.J. Gareri of Akron and Ben Vander Plas of Ripon, WI, further extending the basketball pipeline between Wisconsin high school basketball and Ohio coach Saul Phillips.
Vander Plas, who played at Ripon High School and verbally committed to Ohio on Aug. 1, should help bolster its soon-to-be empty front court.
With senior forwards Antonio Campbell and Kenny Kaminski graduating, and Wadly Mompremier contemplating transferring, Vander Plas has potential to find volume minutes alongside a shifting frontcourt of Doug Taylor, Ellis Dozier and Jason Carter.
Vander Plas is listed as 6-foot-7, 220 pounds on 247sports.com, and turned down offers from Milwaukee, Memphis and Wright State to play at Ohio. He will become the fifth member of Ohio’s roster who has spent a significant amount of time in Wisconsin, including Phillips, who studied at Wisconsin-Platteville in the mid-'90s.
In his senior year at Ripon, Vander Plas averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, per the Oshkosh Northwestern.
“It was probably one of the hardest, if not the hardest decision of my life,” Vander Plas told the Ripon Press. “It took a lot of talking with my parents and my brother and sister and just a lot of thinking. It was an extremely hard decision."
Ohio also recruited Gareri, another member who could potentially bolster its frontcourt and wing positions.
According to Cleveland.com, the Ellet High School forward selected Ohio over Kent State, Bowling Green and Toledo. Cleveland.com has Gareri listed as 6-foot-9, and reports that he averaged 22 points per game. He also earned honorable mention AP All-Ohio.
Gareri’s skill set includes productive shooting form, rim protection and interior sliding. Looking at YouTube highlight reels, it would seem that Gareri works best in a triangle offense.
Finally, Butler is listed at 6-foot-5, 175 pounds, according to verbalcommits.com. He is ranked as a two-star recruit.
At Dorman High School, Butler showed his ability to attack the rim and a consistent jumpshot.
Proud of @864_Made and his signing at @OhioMBasketball today! #DormanHoops #WIN #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/QerIh5hGmw
— Dorman Basketball (@DormanHoops) November 9, 2016
Butler joins a backcourt that includes All Mid-American Conference guard Jaaron Simmons, Rodney Culver, Jordan Dartis and James Gollon. Similar to Dartis and Culver, Butler could have a chance to learn from one of the conference’s best guards in Simmons.
Simmons averaged 15 points and eight assists with the Bobcats last year.
