Jerry Easter II, one of the biggest recruits to come out the state of Ohio recently, has decided to go to USC, ending the speculation of him going to Ohio State.
Easter decided to make the announcement during the road trip as they face #1 ranked A.J. Dybansta and his elite squad in Utah tonight.
Easter, who had over 50 D-1 offers, was coveted by a bevy of top tier schools, decided on his Top 6:
Oregon, Ohio State, USC, SMU, and Vanderbilt along with Miami.
The Buckeyes had originally went hard after top recruit Darryn Peterson, but lost out on him to Kansas.
Once they lost on Peterson, they decided to make a late push for Easter II, but ultimately, Easter II and his family decided on USC.
Eric Musselman, who recruited Easter heavily at Arkansas, is now at the helm at USC. USC has gotten some high profile recruits lately, such as Scoot Henderson, Bronny James, and now, Easter II.
Easter will probably be given the ball from Day 1, which was important for Easter as he is leading the top team in the country (Link Academy) at the point guard spot.
"I liked that Mussleman continued to recruit me, even when he left Arkansas. Sometimes that don't happen like that when coaches go to a new school.
I liked his energy. He has a great track record."
While Diebler and Ohio State made a legitimate run at Easter, it was the loyalty and commitment to Easter early in the process that fueled Jerry to head to Southern California.
Easter is ranked Top 30 in the class, but is arguably a Top 15 player. For some reason he dropped from 20 to 31 in the ESPN rankings despite leading Nationally ranked prep school La Lumiere in points, rebounds, assists, and steals last season in the EYBL Scholar League.
La Lumiere has 2 kids in the top 20 of 2025 rankings, which is baffling how Easter dropped below them after leading the team to a #6 National ranking.
However, this summer NBA great Kyrie Irving, watched him play, took a liking to Easter and took him under his wing. It has helped Easter II immensely throughout the process.
Easter, and his family, is now relieved that the process is over, and has already signed.
For Ohio State, they were able to get Dorian Jones, a top tier wing player from Northeast Ohio.
But to lose the top 2 players from Ohio in Peterson and Easter II will sting.
Easter II and Link Acadmey looks to knock off Dybansta and his team to stay undefeated tonight.
Congrats to Easter II, who's a soft spoken kid with a dynamic game that translates to the next two levels.
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