OSU Hoops: 10 2021 Prospects to Keep an Eye On
STILLWATER – We’re a few weeks into what should’ve been the start of the AAU circuits, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, prospects are just trying to find ways to stay in shape. As for college coaching staffs, this is supposed to be one of the prime evaluating periods of the year. Instead, they’re having to rely on old date and video conferencing calls to keep in touch and offers prospects.
Depending on how the next couple of months go, it’s possible recruits might be able to get back onto campuses and June is always a time where Oklahoma State unofficially host a few high-level recruits.
Looking at the current scholarship situation, Boynton and Co. have filled all 13 scholarship spots on the current roster. As far as the end of next season, Boynton and Co. will have at the very least two spots to give with the departures of Cade Cunningham and grad transfer Ferron Flavors Jr.
There’s always the possibility of guys leaving early or transferring, but we won’t be trying to look into that anytime soon.
Mike Boynton did, however, speak on class balancing a few weeks ago on a Zoom call with local media following the start of the spring signing period.
“It’s really hard to think about class balance in this climate, especially if this one-time transfer thing goes together,” Mike Boynton said. “It won’t matter, it really won’t matter; your roster could have 10 sophomores on it because the classes won’t matter because guys will be able to leave and go to another place and play the next year. But even as it stands, I’m not sure how much the significance is because of the grad transfer deal, but we still try to keep in mind in order to honestly recruit, there’s got to be some scholarships available. If you’re gonna recruit three or four guys, it’s hard to do that if you’re full. You can probably go over one, but it’s hard to go over two or three. So, that helps the big picture in terms of recruiting 2021, but we don’t honestly have many conversations about class balance anymore.”
I put out a full list of the current 2021 offers from Mike Boynton and Co a couple of weeks ago, so let’s take a look at 10 guys to keep an eye on as we move forward throughout the year.
PG: Brayon Freeman – Huntington Prep (WV) – 6-1, 160-pounds – No. 119 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Freeman checks in as a four-star prospect and the No. 18 overall point guard in the 2021 class, as well as the No. 2 overall prospect out of Virginia. He currently holds six offers, Oklahoma State, Florida, George Washington, UMass, Ole Miss and Wyoming, with Boynton and Co. extending an offer way back in Oct. of 2018.
PG: Wade Taylor – Lancaster (TX) – 6-0, 180-pounds – Unranked
Don’t let that unranked fool you, Taylor is a talented point guard that holds some impressive in-state offers from Baylor, SMU, TCU and Texas A&M, as well as Florida State.
SG: Langston Love – Montverde (FL) Academy – 6-4, 190-pounds – No. 25 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Love checks in as the No. 3 overall shooting guard prospect in the country, as well as the No. 2 overall prospect out of Florida. What stands out the most is the fact he was teammates with current Oklahoma State signee Cade Cunningham. If we’ve learned anything about Boynton and Co’s recruiting style is relationships matter. The first signees of the Nov. signing period, Cunningham, Rondel Walker and Montreal Pena, were all AAU teammates on Texas Titans. Could OSU sign another one of Cunningham’s teammates?
Love holds offers from Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Baylor, Illinois, Stanford, TCU, Texas and Texas Tech among others.
SG: Jaxson Robinson – Ada, OK – 6-5, 175-pounds – No. 35 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Robinson checks in as a four-star prospect and is the No. 6 overall shooting guard in the country, as well as the No. 1 overall prospect out of Oklahoma. He’s currently committed to Texas A&M, but he’s someone to keep an eye on with how well Boynton and Co. has recruited the state the past few seasons.
SG: Trey Alexander – Heritage Hall, Oklahoma City – 6-3, 160-pounds – No. 42 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Alexander checks in as a four-star prospect and the No. 7 overall shooting guard in the country, as well as the No. 2 overall prospect in Oklahoma just behind Ada’s Robinson. I believe Oklahoma State has a great chance of landing Alexander in the 2021 class. As mentioned, Boynton and Co. have had tremendous success recruiting Oklahoma, Kalib and Keylan Boone and Rondel Walker.
Alexander was also on Team Griffin, the AAU team that won the Peach Jam this past summer and was the teammate Robinson and of two upcoming guys on this list.
He currently holds offers from Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Kansas OU, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tulsa and Wake Forest among others.
SF: Harrison Ingram – St. Mark’s, Dallas, TX – 6-6, 210-pounds – No. 17 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Ingram is a five-star prospect and checks in as the No. 6 overall small forward in the country, as well as the No. 1 overall prospect out of Texas.
Oklahoma State offered Ingram back on April 8 of 2020, but they had been in on him for a while. As we mentioned in our offer article, Ingram plays on the Marcus Smart-sponsored AAU team YGC36. Texas has always been an Oklahoma State hotspot, and they’ve landed most of their top players from the DFW-area.
Ingram’s an incredibly talented players and one of the more sought-after prospects in the country. He’s received offers from just about everyone in the country including Oklahoma State, Stanford, Texas Tech, Memphis, North Carolina, Baylor, Florida State, Kansas, Texas and UCLA among others.
SF: Matt Stone – Kingfisher, Ok – 6-4, 180-pounds – Unranked
Again, don’t let the unranked fool you, Stone is a talented in-state prospect that Boynton and Co. have been in on for a while (the Pokes offered last June with his only other offer coming from Tulsa.)
Stone is a prospect that would benefit greatly under Mike Boynton and Co. and would be a great addition to the team.
C: Daimion Collins – Atlanta, Tx – 6-8, 190-pounds – No. 23 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Collins checks in as the No. 5 overall center in the country, as well as the No. 2 overall prospect out of Texas. Collins was also a member of Team Griffin that won the Peach Jam last summer along with Alexander and Robinson.
Oklahoma State offered Collins in May of 2019 and he also holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Houston, OU, Texas and Texas A&M among others.
CG: Hunter Sallis – Millard North, Omaha, Ne – 6-3, 165-pounds – No. 30 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Sallis checks in as the No. 4 overall combo guard in the country and the No. 1 overall prospect out of Nebraska. While they weren’t teammates, current OSU signee Donovan Williams has played against Sallis this past season. Williams even quote tweeted Sallis’ offer tweet with, “Team up bro?”
While that doesn’t guarantee a commitment, relationships always help, especially in today’s climate of AAU ball and social media.
Sallis currently holds a decent amount of offers from Oklahoma State, Gonzaga, Nebraska, Kansas, Louisville and UCLA among others.
CG: Tamar Bates – Piper, Kansas City, KS – 6-4, 175-pounds – No. 98 overall prospect in the 2021 class
Bates currently checks in as the No. 7 combo guard in the country and the No. 3 overall prospect out of Kansas. When it comes to geography, I’ll never county Boynton and Co. out of the mix. Bates is a talented combo guard that holds offers from Oklahoma State, Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, OU, Saint Louis and Wichita State among others.
