Goodwin, class of 2018, commits to OSU
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Before he has even played a high school game, freshman Dane Goodwin is off the board. Monday afternoon, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Upper Arlington (Ohio) High committed to nearby Ohio State.
It isn't every day that a player so young commits to one of the top programs in the country and the decision wasn't made lightly. Goodwin's father Damon -- who starred at Dayton during his playing days and has been the coach at Capital University for several years -- broke down the reasoning behind the early commitment.
"We talked about it and Dane believes and we believe as a family that this will take some of the pressure off of him," the elder Goodwin told Rivals.com. "He can go out and enjoy being a high school player and playing the game.
"At any level, the recruiting process can get tiresome. Dane believes this as well and I believe as a dad, when you have a program like Ohio State that believes in you, it's hard not to believe in them."
The Goodwin family didn't just look at a high school timeframe, they looked at the big picture all the way through his college years.
"Coach (Thad) Matta is pretty young at 47 or 48 years old and we are looking eight years out with Dane," Goodwin said. "I really think that there's a chance coach Matta will still be there.
"There are no certainties in the coaching world, but with his success, one of the things we made the decision on is that we believe he's going to be there."
Matta, 47, is in his 11th season at Ohio State.
Given that Goodwin will take the floor for his first varsity game on Friday night, there are some who may argue that such an early commitment could actually create more pressure. That was discussed, but at the end of the day, the family didn't feel it would add any pressure.
"That cat was out of the bag when they offered him," Goodwin said. "Once people heard that they offered him, that was going to happen whether he committed or not and we discussed that as well. That's something he's going to have to deal with, but he's a mature kid and he's a tough kid.
"Quite honestly he's going to have some bad games. He's a 6-foot-4, 175-pound freshman and he'll have some games where he goes 1-for7 or 1-for-8 and he'll hear some of that with people saying that he's not good enough. We feel like he's tough and ready for that."
Most of all, Goodwin and his family are excited about the commitment and the feeling that they got being around the program on visits to campus really sold them on an early commitment.
"We've watched some practices and been to some games," said the elder Goodwin. "I've been impressed with what they do as a basketball program but I've truly been impressed with the way their kids conduct themselves. As a father, I've been impressed with the way their former players come back and continue to be involved."
With four years to go before Goodwin laces them up for the Buckeyes, he will obviously have plenty of aspects of his game to work on. However, he is known as a shooter, has good basketball genes and has been around the game his entire life.
"It's hard to separate being a coach and a dad sometimes," said Goodwin. "I can tell you this. He's 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds and he's a tough kid. He's earned everything he's received and the thing that has attracted schools to him is that he's a shooter. He's a very good shooter. He can also beat people off the dribble and is probably more athletic than given credit for and he's probably going to grow at least a few more inches."
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