Jeremiah Francis was supposed to be one of the linchpins of Chris Holtmann’s Ohio State basketball program, but that plan appears to have hit a snag.
Zach Fleer with 270Sports.com broke the story on Friday that Francis has committed to North Carolina. Francis then tweeted out the news.
TARHEELNATION?
Blessed??https://t.co/X9eNfvv6Bm?amp=1 pic.twitter.com/2LoidV4S6Q— Jeremiah Francis? (@JFrancis30_) August 11, 2017
Francis (6-3 190) is a 4-star prospect and the No. 7 point guard in the 2019 class. He is a Buckeye legacy — the son of former OSU forward Jerry Francis, and he plays at local Pickerington Central High School.
North Carolina offered Francis a little over a week ago, and he released his Top 10 shortly after that. Rather than wait any longer, Francis decided to jump on Roy Williams’ offer to come play for the Tar Heels.
Don’t expect Ohio State to give up yet, but it’s clear that UNC was an offer that Francis was waiting for.
Holtmann and his staff have talked about the importance of keeping Ohio’s best from leaving the state, but this is not an ideal start to the 2019 recruiting class. Francis is ranked as Ohio’s No. 1 player per the 247Sports Composite.
The Buckeyes do not yet have any verbal commitments in the 2019 recruiting class.
[Jeremiah Francis photo courtesy TheSuburbanite.com]