Four-Star Shooting Guard Roddy Gayle enlists in Ohio State

At one point last week, 2022 Youngstown, New York, four-star shooting goaltender gave the word to Ohio State assistant coach Jake Diebler, “Hey, I’m ready to be a Buckeye.” Diebler quickly put head coach Chris Holtmann on call, and he informed all of the coaching staff of his decision to play for their school the next day.

On Friday night at a ceremony at Lewiston Porter Senior High School, Gayle made it official by announcing her commitment to play college basketball for Ohio State over Syracuse, Connecticut, Pittsburgh , Marquette and Georgetown.

“Were they surprised? They were very surprised, especially by the fact that it is early, ”Gayle said. Eleven warriors. “I feel like that’s why they were so excited. But I told you, Coach Diebler and I are literally like buddies now.

He joins Bowen Hardman, a three-star shooting guard from Cincinnati, as the second member of the 2022 Buckeyes class. His physical advantage at 6’5 ” and 200 pounds, his versatility that could allow him to play in three positions (playmaker, goaltender and small forward), his sense of the game and his athleticism attracted Ohio State to him initially with an extended scholarship offer. in April and a long pursuit by Holtmann and Diebler since.

But Gayle, the nation’s 76th overall rookie and New York’s No.1 prospect in his class, hasn’t had to make a decision just yet if he doesn’t feel comfortable. He could have prolonged the process, taken his time, continued to build relationships and had hopes that the NCAA will resume allowing visits in the near future. After all, all of his recruiting has taken place virtually since March, when in-person assessments and campus visits were indefinitely banned.

Gayle, however, didn’t feel like he needed any more time.

“Who is counting when we get to enter campus?” I’ve been to the state of Ohio before so I already know how it all goes so I really have nothing to worry about, ”Gayle said. “I went to Ohio state so I actually went to a game so I know what kind of attack they are running, what the atmosphere is like inside and the relationship that I ‘ve got with the staff and everything.

“I just felt like it was obvious to me.”

Matt Bradshaw, his basketball coach at Lewiston Porter Senior, called Gayle’s commitment to the state of Ohio a “game made in heaven.”

“It’s a perfect marriage,” he says.

The first – and only time – Gayle piled into a car for a visit to Columbus happened earlier this year. No one had a clue this would be one of his last college trips of the year due to a looming pandemic. Yet without it, his engagement likely wouldn’t have happened this fall.

Earlier this year, Bradshaw took Gayle to Ohio state – along with Syracuse and Wake Forest – on an unofficial visit. They got to visit at an optimal time for the Buckeyes, who beat Michigan, 77-63, in front of a sold-out crowd. For Gayle, it was unequivocally “the loudest place I’ve been to”.

The visit “made a presence on him when he left,” Bradshaw said, and it also showed him that she was close enough that his mom and dad could make the trip without too much trouble.

“My parents have never missed any of my games, so with Ohio state being less than five hours away, it’s nothing for them to get the car ready and drive here,” Gayle said. “It’s very special to me, whether it’s a bad game or a big game, I can look in the crowd and see my family there.”

For a while, Gayle had a return visit to the state of Ohio scheduled for Jan. 1 on her schedule. He and Buckeyes’ coaches were hoping the NCAA would allow tours starting on New Year’s Day. Recently, however, they told him they expected visits to remain banned until at least April.

Still, it wasn’t much of a setback for Gayle and the people who supported him – whom Bradshaw collectively calls “Team Gayle” – including his parents, his high school coach, and his coaches from his WeR1 and New basketball programs. York Renaissance. The Buckeyes’ pursuit was as constant as Bradshaw’s once was with them.

The high school head coach with three decades of experience used to hammer Diebler’s inbox with a movie of Gayle, who told him he was interested in the Buckeyes.

“Diebler probably wondered every time he went to his inbox, ‘God, who the fuck is Coach Bradshaw? Coach Bradshaw. Who the hell is this guy? Bradshaw says.

Eventually, Diebler began to return the favor.

Over the summer, the second-year assistant coach took to calling Gayle every day at around 4 p.m. Once his junior year started Diebler realized that Gayle was taking a nap every day when he returned to home, so he started to wait until 6 or 7 pm to call her. As Gayle said, Diebler “never misses a beat.”

Anytime Gayle played a game or had something else going on, Diebler would ask questions about it. They chatted about everything from basketball to the weekend plans, to his parents and just about everything. Diebler introduced Gayle to his children, called him to tell him when he bought a Tesla with autonomous driving capability – Gayle’s reaction: “What? You have to walk around there ”- and told him about his wife’s cookie business and the fact that she hadn’t allowed him to eat them.

“Diebler called every day. Holtmann called every other day, ”Gayle said. “So it’s like they really want me. This is what I felt. They really want me to be in their school and they think I can make a difference. This is what I felt. Not even me they called. They called my dad. They called my mother. I called all of my AAU coaches, be it Rens or WeR1. And they called people I was close to. If they’re having such a hard time trying to get me to go to school, then they really want me.

“So I feel like this is where I need to be.”