Amedeo Della Valle must have enjoyed his midweek visit to Ohio State.
Amedeo Della Valle
The 6-4, 185-pound shooting guard from Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep committed to the Buckeyes this morning. He picked OSU over Arizona, Gonzaga and Texas A&M.
“Next year I will play at Ohio State !!” Della Valle Tweeted at 12:22 p.m. Eastern time.
Coach Thad Matta and his staff were looking for a perimeter player who could come in and help the program as a three-point threat right away. He is OSU’s first verbal for 2012.
Della Valle grew up in Italy. He came to America to play for the renowned Findlay Prep program in hopes of earning a scholarship to play college basketball. Findlay Prep went 32-1 and won the National High School Invitational championship this season.
According to Findlay Prep coach Michael Peck, Della Valle became comfortable with the situation at Ohio State.
"I think he was intrigued by them," Peck said. "I think he was able to look at what they had coming back and felt like that was a place he could go and compete at the highest level and yet not have the pressure to go in right away and have to be an impact player.
"I think he is looking at being able to contribute more there over the course of his four years."
Della Valle started all season for the Pilots and played anywhere from the point guard to the power forward positions at various times. He averaged roughly 12 points per game. He played alongside several top college prospects, including Dominic Artis (Oregon), Winston Shepard (San Diego State), Brandon Ashley (Arizona) and Anthony Bennett (undecided). Bennett and Ashley are regarded as national top-10 prospects by 247Sports.com.
“Amedeo is kind of a multipurpose guard,” Peck said. “He has an unbelievable feel for the game. He knows how to play. He understands spacing and simple concepts. He also plays hard and does a good job of moving the ball. He is a good passer. He doesn’t need to stand there and dribble it.
“He’s just an efficient player. He is a very good shooter from behind the arc. I think he will continue to improve as he gets stronger. He has a high basketball IQ. You don’t have to explain every single thing to him.”
This could open the door for Ohio State to recruit top players from the fertile Findlay Prep program in the future. Twenty-two Findlay players from the program’s first four seasons are either currently playing Division I basketball or will do so in the fall. The school has produced six McDonald’s All-Americans, including Ashley and Bennett this season.
OSU’s scholarship situation opened up this week with J.D. Weatherspoon and Jordan Sibert each announcing transfers. OSU still has three scholarships available.
Matta and his staff are still awaiting word on Georgia big man Tony Parker, who will announce at 4 p.m. Monday. Most experts have the 6-9, 280-pound Parker signing with instate Georgia, although he is still also considering OSU, UCLA, Georgetown and Memphis.
An unused scholarship could also be banked for 2013. OSU will only have one senior in 2012-13 in Evan Ravenel. The Buckeyes have a commitment from Toledo St. John’s 6-8 wing Marc Loving for that class already. Loving is due to be in Columbus this weekend for the All-Ohio Cup AAU event with his All-Ohio Red 17-and-under team.
More Links
Click here for our game story.
Click here for Dave Biddle's What We Learned column.
Click here for our report on LB Alex Anzalone’s commitment to Ohio State.
- Steve Helwagen
- National Reporter - Bucknuts