Buckeyes grab a Florida forward

While Raymar Morgan nears a decision that many believe will be colored green and white, Ohio State men's basketball head coach Thad Matta decided not to be left empty-handed.

Therefore, he made a face-to-face visit with Hillsborough Community College forward Othello Hunter on Thursday to follow up Hunter's well-received official visit to OSU the weekend of Sept. 3 -- and nearly closed the deal. A few days later, Matta had the power forward he has been seeking since securing four prep superstars -- center Greg Oden, point guard Mike Conley, and wings Daequan Cook and David Lighty.

Hunter went ahead with a visit to UTEP over the weekend -- he previously made one to Colorado -- but knew as soon as he returned to his school in Tampa, Fla., that he wanted to be a Buckeye.

After talking on the phone with his coach, Derrick Worrels, and his parents back in Winston-Salem, N.C., Hunter gave Matta the good news Monday evening.

"(Hunter) was kind of scared to pull the trigger at first but he always believed Ohio State had done the best job recruiting him," Worrels told BuckeyeSports.com. "His father didn't even want him to make his visit to El Paso. He was sold on Ohio State.

"Othello really was, too, but he wanted to take that visit to be sure. When it was all said and done he knew what the best decision to make was."

Hunter is described by his own coach as a diamond-in-the-rough, but other major programs were catching on to his potential. Worrels said schools that came in with late offers included Oklahoma, Kansas State and South Florida.

"That threw him off a little," Worrels said.

Hunter could prove to be quite a catch. At 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds he is a late-blooming player with legitimate, deep range on offense and shot-blocking ability on defense. He posted modest averages of 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds as a frosh but Worrels said those numbers nearly doubled the second half of the season.

"He just really came around after January," he said. "He had 67 blocks in conference play and improved significantly. Put it this way: He's the only freshman I've ever had to make first team all-conference and he's just going to get better and better.

"He does a little bit of everything fairly well and he shoots it extremely well. His short-range game is great and he can shoot it out to the three-point line. Plus, he's got a good post game.

"Ohio State really did their homework with him. They really thought he could be a great fit for them and they showed him a lot of love."

Worrels said he expects Hunter to sign a letter of intent with Ohio State in November. He would have two years of eligibility beginning in 2006-07.