Ohioans Bowen Hardman, Shawn Phillips earn Ohio State offers for 2022 class

With its 2020 class locked up and two commitments from Ohioans already for 2021, the Ohio State men’s basketball program continued to look forward during the weekend with a pair of new scholarship offers.

While the Buckeyes hosted a pair of top-40 recruits in the 2021 class on official visits, they also extended scholarship offers to a pair of Ohioans in the 2022 recruiting class. Shawn Phillips Jr., a center from Dayton Belmont, and Bowen Hardman, a shooting guard from Cincinnati Princeton, both landed offers from the Buckeyes.

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Phillips is a four-star prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings and the No. 39 national prospect. Rivals.com lists him as the No. 25 overall recruit in the nation.

Belmont (OH) 6’10 2022 C Shawn Phillips Jr. picked up an offer from Ohio State  #GoBucks #Big10 pic.twitter.com/st1she2krD

— Wildcat Select (@wildcatselect) October 6, 2019

Hardman, who also visited during the weekend of during the weekend of September 7 alongside eventual commitment Zed Key and on August 5, is unranked by 247Sports. He is listed at 6-foot-3, 160 pounds.

According to OHHoops.com, Hardman is the No. 3 prospect in Ohio, one spot ahead of Phillips. Xavier and Ohio have also offered both players.

With much of the immediate recruiting wrapped up, Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said during the team’s media day September 24 that the Buckeyes are turning their attention to younger recruits.

“We’ll spend a lot of time on future classes,” he said. “You’re always keeping an eye on the current class, but given our roster makeup right now we’ll spend a lot of time on future classes, which I feel like we’ve made some inroads, but it’s a daily process.”

Hardman and Phillips weren’t the only recruits in the 2022 class on hand, either. D’Ante Davis, an unranked wing from Indianapolis Lawrence Central, was also at the game.

The Buckeyes hosted three 2021 recruits, two of which were official visits. Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary guard Malaki Branham and Richmond (Virginia) Steward School power forward Efton Reid were on official visits while Charles Bediako, a Canadian power forward from St. Catharines (Ontario) Andrews Osborne Academy, was on an unofficial visit.

All three recruits are four-star prospects according to 247Sports and among the top 40 prospects in their class. Branham is No. 25, Reid No. 28 and Bediako No. 40.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

Listen to the BuckeyeXtra Basketball podcast: