Tag: C.J. Jackson

Oklahoma 2024 prospects expected at ‘Party At The Palace’

Oklahoma set to host multiple 2024 recruits and commits for the Party at the Palace.

Oklahoma’s had a busy July to follow up a June full of official visits. July was about constructing their recruiting board for 2025 and 2026 as the 2024 class determines their future.

With so many Oklahoma targets for the 2024 recruiting class stopping by in June for official visits, it significantly decreased the likelihood that July would see nearly as much traffic. And while that may be true, this weekend’s Party at the Palace is still significant and a notable follow-up from Oklahoma’s ‘Sooners under the Sun’ underclassmen event that took place in the middle of the week. That event has already netted a pair of 2025 commitments from defensive tackle Ka’Mori Moore and four-star wide receiver Elijah Thomas.

For [autotag]Party at the Palace[/autotag], the 2024 class is back in the spotlight as more than 10 2024 prospects are expected to be in the building over the weekend. Several players are already committed, and the Sooners are hoping to use the event to move the needle with their uncommitted players. We took the liberty of highlighting who has been confirmed to be in Norman for the event.

Oklahoma will have the luxury of having multiple 2024 commits in the building to help with their recruiting efforts. [autotag]Michael Hawkins[/autotag] and [autotag]Isaiah Autry[/autotag] can help with the recruitment of three-star offensive lineman [autotag]Josh Aisosa[/autotag] and four-star offensive tackle [autotag]Grant Brix[/autotag]. Defensively, Jaydan Hardy can help with the recruitments of [autotag]Eli Bowen[/autotag], [autotag]C.J. Jackson[/autotag], and [autotag]Michael Boganowski[/autotag] and get in the ear of three-star safety [autotag]Mykel Patterson-McDonald[/autotag], who plans to announce his commitment on July 31st. He’ll be deciding between Oklahoma, Houston, and UNLV.

In-state talent [autotag]Danny Okoye[/autotag] has had a compelling recruitment. He’s been offered by some of college football’s elite, including Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio State. With Oklahoma still looking to build a historic class along the defensive line, knocking this visit out of the park would help go a long way.

Party at the Palace could provide the last springboard Oklahoma needs to help solidify its place in the recruitments of several 2024 guys as prospects prepare to lock in for their final high school seasons. This event also marks the last major recruiting event of the offseason for Oklahoma. The calendar gives way to fall camp in preparation for the [autotag]2023 college football season[/autotag].

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Big X advances to second round of The Basketball Tournament

Big X, a team with a couple of former Ohio State players, squeezed past D2 78-74 to advance to the 2nd round of The Basketball Tournament.

Most of you are likely following the Ohio State alumni team Carmen’s Crew during The Basketball Tournament, but there’s another team that has some former Buckeyes playing in the winner-take-all summer basketball tourney that has captured the fancy of many OSU fans over the last couple of years.

Team Big X did have more Buckeyes slated to play on the team, but the Wesson brothers decided not to play for personal reasons, and  Keyshawn Woods could not join the team because of exposure to COVID-19.

But that’s okay. Former Ohio State players C.J. Jackson and Andrew Dakich are still on the team and looking to make a deep run. So far so good, as the team advanced to the second round, but not without some struggles. Despite being the No. 9 seed and favored against No. 24 seed D2, Big X trailed for most of the game before finally wrestling the lead away late in the game with a little bit of a run.

Former Michigan State big man Nick Ward was huge down the stretch, providing two back-to-back dunks to give Big X the lead 70-69 when the Elam Ending was put into place. From there, C.J. Jackson hit a deep jumper as a part of a mini-run, then ended it with a tear-drop in the lane to reach the go past the targeted score of 78 to D2’s score of 74.

The next game should be fun for Big X as it faces an Ohio based team out of Dayton, the No. 8 seed Red Scare, at 2PM on Wednesday.

 

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C.J. Jackson, Andre Wesson, and Andrew Dakich join Big X, could face Carmen’s Crew

C.J. Jackson, Andre Wesson, and Andrew Dakich join Big X, a team of former Big Ten alum in The Basketball Tournament.

There’s another team in The Basketball Tournament that will have some serious Ohio State ties for the second year in a row. Big X announced three former Buckeyes to its roster Thursday.

Former point guard C.J. Jackson returns to Big X, with recently graduated Andre Wesson joining him. The heady Andrew Dakich will step off the sidelines as a coach and join Big X on the court this time. And there’s a good chance the team could match up with defending TBT champion Carmen’s Crew. Last year, Carmen’s Crew disposed of Big X 89-75 in the second round of the tournament.

If you’ve followed the original Ohio State alumni team Carmen’s Crew, there’s you’re familiar with the story. It has six former Buckeyes on the squad. Household names like Aaron Craft, William Burford, and David Lighty helped that team run through the tourney last year to win the championship and take home a $2 Million prize.

As for the Buckeyes being added to the Big X, they were given their own shoutout with a highlight reel also added in. Here’s a graphic just reminding everyone what they bring to the table.

If these two teams end up against each other, it’ll be like a dream come true for Buckeyes fans that used to watch those mid-2010s teams. Now starting a new decade, it’d be a nice blast to the past. Especially since the Columbus Regional is planned to take place on the campus of Ohio State at the new Covelli Center.

For now, we’ll just be thankful that we get to see these players on the court again as long as it all goes down as expected. The Basketball Tournament is set to kick off the Columbus Regional from July 23-26.