Ohio State's Basketball Program Gets Massive News on Monday from Top Recruit

The Ohio State Buckeyes program hasn't been elite in over 20 years. They have been hard-pressed to make the tournament, and competing for a championship has not really been in the equation.

The return to the glory days in the Ohio State basketball program just may be closer than they are far away.

On Monday, the Buckeyes achieved something that they haven't had since 2008. Recruit LJ Smith reclassified into the 2026 class, which gave the Buckeyes their second five-star recruit in the class. It is the first time in nearly two decades that Ohio State has had two top recruits in the same class since they signed five-star BJ Mullens and William Buford.

Those two never developed into much at the next level, but in college, they were in the golden era of Ohio State Basketball. In the 2008-09 season, the Buckeyes were 22-11 and were eliminated in the first round of the tournament. 

They didn't leave anything to chance in 2009-10, going 29-8, finishing the season as the fifth-overall team, and losing heartbreakingly to the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16. 

The following season catapulted the Buckeyes up to the No. 1 team in the country, but they again were ousted in the Sweet 16. 

Tons of wins for the Buckeyes program, maybe not the results they wanted in the tournament. However, Buckeye fans and the Buckeye program would take that three-year stretch in an absolute heartbeat right now.

To get there, LJ Smith and fellow five-star Anthony Thompson will have to play significant roles. 

Thompson comes from Northeast Ohio, where he became a five-star player at the prestigious Western Reserve Academy in Hudson. He stands at 6'8" and can do everything with the basketball in his hands. 

Smith, on the same hand, was one of the best players in the 2027 recruiting class. He was ranked as the No. 11 player in the ESPN top-100 rankings. 

Smith's calling card is his shooting ability. High school stats are largely unofficial, but he is a 40-percent three-point shooter and a guy who is going to give you a high-teen, low-20 point per game scorer. 

Smith, combined with Thompson and then the four other transfers that Ohio State acquired this year, will have them looking completely different when they take the court next year. 

The Buckeyes need everything that they can get next year. They are doing all the right things to this point; now they just need it to translate to victories come the wintertime.

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