Travis Ford Nabs No. 3 Player From Indiana For 2015

Travis Ford did it again. The head ball coach buoyed his job with  another big boy recruit that will help sneak OSU into the tournament and an exit stage right.

BREAKING: Davon Dillard has decomitted from Cal and is headed to Oklahoma State, source told @CBSSports. HUGE get for Travis Ford.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 2, 2015

It’s college basketball’s version of the Philadelphia 76ers, only if Sam Hinkie made $5 million a year and had an egregious buyout.

But this isn’t about Travis Ford.

It’s about Davon Dillard. And Davon Dillard is really good at basketball. According to ESPN, he was the No. 3 recruit from the state of Indiana and held offers from Pitt, Indiana, Creighton, Purdue and Cal.

Until Wednesday, Dillard seemed firm on his commitment to Cal.

“He had a change of heart,” his coach Eric Jaklitsch told Scout. “He’s going to be a real nice player for them. He wanted to go to a school that he would fit in well and he is. His strengths are that he’s a freak athlete,” Jaklitsch said. “He has a will to win and never backs down from anybody.”

I can tell.

https://vine.co/v/O2JD0vrQZVM

He’s also got some decent moves and appears to be a pretty good passer. Here’s ESPN’s breakdown:

He’s not overly skilled but he brings good effort and is a monster in transition. He’s a highlight reel waiting to happen and if a defender is in the way he may get dunked on. Davon’s a good defender and a good rebounder.

Dillard can be a Tasmanian devil when he’s plugged in. He’s an energy guy who needs some skill development but he will be a super-athletic transition player at the HM level.

I’m not sure if I’m encouraged by that or discouraged.

So how does this affect OSU’s rotation next season? I think your starting five are probably Jawun Evans, Phil Forte, Jeff Newberry … uh … Leyton Hammonds (?)[1. Wait, who on earth is going to play PF for this team??] and Mitch Solomon.

Yikes!

Maybe Dillard could contend for some playing time with Clip, Tavarius Shine, Joe Burton (?), Igor Ibaka and Anthony Allen coming off the bench. Either way, I’m not sure how excited I can get about this upcoming season.