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Top Ohio Target Chris Livingston Fielding Calls from Buckeyes, Many Others

Ohio State pursuing national top-five recruit in 2022 class

Adam Prescott

Cleveland.com

As of Monday morning, coaches across NCAA basketball were permitted to start contacting class of 2022 recruits again. Needless to say, the phone of Ohio’s top-rated prospect Chris Livingston was quite busy.

The 6-6, 195-pound shooting guard from Akron is not just the best prospect in the state, but is also a top-five ranked recruit nationally by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals. Livingston is situated No. 3 in the latest 247 composite list, coming in only behind fellow standouts Emoni Bates (Michigan) and Jalen Duren (Pennsylvania).

“He heard from Memphis, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Air Force and Ohio State,” Livingston’s grandfather, Joe, mentioned to Bucknuts.

Livingston played for Akron Buchtel High School as a freshman, spearheading the Griffins to the OHSAA Division II Final Four alongside his twin brother, Cordell. He was a first team All-Ohio selection after dropping nearly 24 points per game.

The duo then transferred to Western Reserve Academy in nearby Hudson as sophomores, with the team finishing just under .500 against a variety of opponents. Livingston finished that year with a 50-point game. Western Reserve is not affiliated with the OHSAA and, subsequently, can play more contests against more top competition across the country.

Livingston has also corralled MVP honors at the FIBA U-16 tournament for Team USA in Brazil, where he guided the squad to a gold medal. 

The Buckeyes have already offered Livingston while many others, as you can imagine, are also courting the phenom. Outside of LeBron James, the only other recent top-rive recruits within the state who compare (in terms of ranking) would be B.J. Mullens and Jared Sullinger.

Head Coach Chris Holtmann, readying for his fourth year at the helm, and staff have already secured one commitment in the class of 2022 by way of guard Bowen Hardman from Cincinnati Princeton. The Buckeyes likely already contacted anywhere from 40-50 recruits so far this week.

Of course, the one wrench with the possibility of being thrown into the mix on a top target like Livingston would be the one-year contracts now offered by the NBA G-League. A lot can change between now and then, however, as Livingston will only be a junior this coming season.

Stay tuned to BuckeyesNow and all of our social media outlets (@BuckeyesNowSI) on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as we continue the coverage of upcoming recruiting classes.

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Adam Prescott
ADAM PRESCOTT

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