COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State basketball's most important recruiting target for 2019 has chosen another school.
Jeremiah Francis, a point guard from Pickerington Central whose father played for the Buckeyes, on Friday announced a verbal commitment to North Carolina.
Shortly after Thad Matta was fired and Chris Holtmann was hired in June, Francis told cleveland.com words that should have encouraged the new OSU coach.
"I think it's a great hire," Francis said. "He changed the program at Butler, and that's what I think he can do at Ohio State."
That wasn't enough. North Carolina offered Francis on Aug. 2, and it took fewer than two weeks for him to make the call.
Francis is rated by 247sports.com as the No. 1 player in Ohio in the Class of 2019, the No. 7 point guard prospect and the No. 61 overall player.