Syracuse '18 OH SF - Darius Bazley

#Illinois offered Princeton 2018 wing Darius Bazley

— Mike Dyer (@MikeDyer) June 10, 2017

 

Darius Bazley

Ever since Ohio State’s 2016-17 season came to an end, there’s been no shortage of instability. The biggest sign there were issues in the Buckeyes’ program, however, may have been the de-commitment of 4-star forward Darius Bazley.

The state of Ohio’s second-ranked player, Bazley had been viewed as one of the cornerstones of Ohio State’s 2018 class. But his de-commitment sent shockwaves through the program, as did his comments when speaking to the Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy.

“Ohio State, they didn’t make the NCAA Tournament this year,” Bazley said. “They didn’t even make the NIT, which is unfortunate, but I looked into the recruits they have coming into next year, they didn’t look too good for the future. So I felt like when my class came in, yeah, we would’ve been OK, but good enough to make the tournament? I don’t know.

But with the dawning of a new era of Buckeyes basketball, perhaps Holtmann could convince the 6-foot-9, 200-pound small forward Ohio State is back on track. And if he can, the Buckeyes likely won’t have to worry about missing the NIT for a very long time.

 

Through four games at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, Darius Bazley is averaging 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. Double doubles the last two games

— Zach Fleer (@ZachFleer270) June 16, 2017

 

5⭐️Darius Bazley @BazleyDarius of @nikemeanstreets said he plans to use 3 of his officials to Syracuse, Florida & Georgetown #nbapatop100 pic.twitter.com/sNFWcXK254

— 𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 𝒮𝓁𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓇 (@Andrew__Slater) June 17, 2017

 

https://t.co/UlqT8TyeZU

— OSUBasketballJunkie (@ScarletBuckeye2) June 29, 2017

 

The new staff has there work cut out for them..................I would say they are not in the conversation for any top 2018 kid in Ohio, shows you how much Thad and staff failed to work hard in the state of Ohio............

 

BREAKING: 4-star SF Darius Bazley has committed to #Syracuse basketball he tells Scout https://t.co/aj8FIrkyfE pic.twitter.com/kB28YmgtGM

— Mike McAllister (@McAllisterMike1) July 3, 2017

 

Princeton basketball standout Darius Bazley reflects on #Syracuse, his summer and recruiting process https://t.co/f6vN3pRl8W

— Mike Dyer (@MikeDyer) August 3, 2017

 

Yahoo Sports story: McDonald’s All-American Darius Bazley decommits at Syracuse, becomes first top high school prospect to choose turning professional in the NBA G League. https://t.co/aM7VW2GF9M

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 29, 2018

 

Why the G League? 5-star Darius Bazley opens up to @ebosshoops on his decision to skip college ball: https://t.co/38AqYjbe8b pic.twitter.com/4ekP8aZ14e

— Rivals (@Rivals) April 12, 2018

 

Story on The Athletic: Top prospect Darius Bazley tells Athletic he’s decided not to play in G League, will use year to train and prepare as professional before 2019 NBA draft. https://t.co/6aIyzHSN6L

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 27, 2018

 

An @NYTSports exclusive: Agent Rich Paul and top 2019 draft prospect Darius Bazley discuss their new endorsement deal with @NewBalance that will pay Bazley at least $1 million while he spends this college basketball season as an intern --> https://t.co/9zu4ypwb7f

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 22, 2018

 

One player who I keep hearing good things about from NBA execs is Darius Bazley - who didn’t go to Syracuse and basically just worked out this past season on the advice of Rich Paul. Sounds like he has a good shot at going in the first round.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 18, 2019

 

Darius Bazley, a one-time Ohio State commit who decided not to play college basketball this year (and interned at New Balance instead), gets selected with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft and will be traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. https://t.co/LBKGgNynit

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) June 21, 2019

 

Darius Bazley handles into a pull-up jumper late for the @okcthunder! #NBASummer #NBARooks

📺: ESPNU pic.twitter.com/SzjD08vtwa

— NBA Draft (@NBADraft) July 12, 2019