Ohio State offers 2024 guard Dellquan Warren after strong camp performances

The heartbreak of a last-second loss was quickly washed away for Dellquan Warren.

Playing on the second day of Ohio State’s team camp, the 2024 point guard from Erie (Pennsylvania) Keystone Academy had just suffered an overtime defeat to a Pickerington Central team without Devin Royal. Shortly after the game, played on the main court at Value City Arena, Warren was approached by a pair of extra-interested spectators.

Standing in the southeast corner of the main floor, Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann and associate head coach Jake Diebler spoke with Warren and officially offered him a scholarship.

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“I mean, I’ve never felt like this before in a long time, man,” Warren said moments later. “It feels great. They like how I’ve got a high motor, I’m always picking up defensively. They said there’s a couple tweaks in my game but I’ll get better at that.”

Ohio State has been recruiting the 6-1, 160-pound Warren since the turn of the year, he said, and he made a pair of unofficial visits for home games during the 2021-22 season. As that relationship has continued, and as his appearance at Ohio State’s two-day team camp loomed, Warren said he had a feeling an Ohio State offer was coming.

“I mean, yeah, I kind of expected it,” he said with a smile. “We’ve been building a relationship for a couple months now, so I was kind of expecting it.”

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After his talk with Holtmann and Diebler, Warren quickly headed to his teammates who high-fived him one-by-one while he celebrated the moment. It took the sting away from the loss to the Tigers, a result that came in spite of a strong performance from the rising junior. Warren showed a strong court presence and ability to find his teammates in transition while, on multiple occasions, throwing down highlight-reel dunks that had Royal – who watched from the scorers’ table next to a quartet of current Ohio State players – clapping in approval.

Once Holtmann saw Warren in person, it was time to offer.

“It’s been great,” Warren said of his relationship with the Ohio State coaches. “They’re one of the most loyal coaches out right now that I’ve been talking to. They kept their word. They told me I’ve just got to keep being patient, my time is coming, and it came.”

Warren now holds offers from Ohio State, Maryland, Rutgers, Kent State and Youngstown State. He is currently unranked in the 247Sports.com composite database but said he projects as a point guard in college. He knows Bowen Hardman, a freshman guard from Cincinnati Princeton, and played against freshman Bruce Thornton while he was at Alpharetta (Georgia) Milton.

“It was crazy,” he said of the matchup with Thornton. “He’s just big, physical. He’s a great point guard.”

Warren said the next couple weeks will see him working out in the gym and preparing for the summer AAU season while also setting some dates for visits. Ohio State is in line to host him for an unofficial visit, and this trip left an impression on the guard.

“It’s awesome,” he said of being at Ohio State. “They’ve got everything you want. Everything you want and need is here. You don’t have to leave the building to do anything, so I think it’s just great here.”

ajardy@dispatch.com

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Strong camp performances net Dellquan Warren Ohio State offer