The cat had been out of the bag for a couple of days, but just moments ago,
junior David Lighty of Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph made his decision
official -- he will be playing college basketball at Ohio State.
The 6-5, 190 pound small forward announced at a press conference this
afternoon that he has given a verbal commitment to Ohio State over Syracuse,
Michigan, and several other schools that had extended a scholarship offer.
"For the last two years or so, I've been trying to decide on what college I'm going to go to," Lighty said at the beginning of the conference. "To extend my career at the next level, I have decided to attend Ohio State."
Lighty put on an OSU cap during the announcement to a round of applause.
"It was a long process, a tough process," Lighty added, after thanking all the schools that had recruited him.
Lighty said a visit with OSU head coach Thad Matta went a long way in helping to make his decision.
"Two or three weeks ago, I started to feel real strong about Ohio State," Lighty said. "Coach came in about the 18th or 19th."
Lighty averaged 24.5 points and 11.8 rebounds a game last season, although
his season was cut short by an ACL tear. Lighty is currently rehabilitating his
injury.
Lighty is rated as the consensus No. 2 prospect in Ohio's junior behind
Dayton Dunbar guard and fellow OSU commitment Daequan Cook. Lighty is rated as a
five-star prospect and the No. 16 overall prospect in America by scout.com.
Lighty discussed the fact that he will be playing with Cook.
"It really didn't have much to do with me going there, but it's good that he's going there too. We could have one of the best backcourts in the nation," Lighty said.
An outstanding athlete, Lighty was also among the top football prospects in
his class and for a while was rated as the No. 1 overall prospect by Ohio High
recruiting editor Duane Long. Lighty chose to give up football and concentrate
on basketball before the start of the 2004 football season.
Lighty becomes the second player to verbally commit to Ohio State's
recruiting class for 2006. The Buckeyes are also strong contenders for verbal
commitments from five-star prospects Greg Oden and Mike Conley of Indianapolis
Lawrence North.
We will have more to come from this press conference very soon.