Jump to content

Thanks for visiting BtownBanners.com!  We noticed you have AdBlock enabled.  While ads can be annoying, we utilize them to provide these forums free of charge to you!  Please consider removing your AdBlock for BtownBanners or consider signing up to donate and help BtownBanners stay alive!  Thank you!

Class of '66 Old Fart

(2020) C Zach Loveday to Baylor

Recommended Posts

From Verbal Commits via InArchWeTrust - Florida and Indiana offered 2020 Gallia Academy (OH) C Zach Loveday.   4-star rating; 7' 0" and 200 lbs. from Gallipolis, OH.  

247

Rivals

Video

The Columbus Dispatch - 11 June 2018

There aren’t a lot of opportunities for a 7-foot high school player in southeastern Ohio to find corresponding size to play against.  It was with that in mind two years ago that Gary Harrison, the boys’ basketball coach at Gallipolis Gallia Academy made the decision to bring his team to Ohio State’s summer team camp.  

This year, that meant better performances overall from the Blue Devils and for their biggest player: Zach Loveday, Ohio’s top overall prospect in the class of 2020 according to 247Sports.com and listed at 7 feet, 200 pounds.  “Probably the biggest guy he’s going to go against is 6-4 (in our league,)” Harrison told The Dispatch during Friday’s camp session.

“So, 7-foot (versus) 6-4, we want him in the post. For his all-around game and college and stuff, he needs to develop and shoot the three and I think he’s got to get better at taking people off the bounce. He’ll get that. He’s got the tools to do things.”

That much was on display during both days at the camp, where Loveday dunked with ease but also showed touch with an outside jumper. Surprisingly agile for his size, Loveday said he tries to look to a player such as Kevin Durant for inspiration for his game and is working on his perimeter defense as well as his mobility and strength.

“I really try to work on my ball-handling and things like that,” he said. “I feel confident with my post game, and that’s one thing I’ve been working on is expanding away from the basket because you can see in the league today the 5 spot is really evolving. They don’t just want a guy who can sit on the block and rebound. They want somebody who can step out, shoot the ball, attack the basket, face up, stuff like that.”

Harrison said Loveday will be Gallia Academy’s first Division I men’s basketball player in more than 50 years and only the second in school history.

Ohio State offered him a scholarship last fall, and he spent time with coach Chris Holtmann and his staff during the two-day camp. Buckeyes assistant coach Terry Johnson, who coaches the team’s big men, was on hand watching.

Since the OSU offer, “I got a Xavier offer,” Loveday said. “I got a George Washington offer a couple days ago. Louisville I believe is supposed to offer, and Clemson I believe is supposed to offer as well. That’s all I know of. If I can make a really good impression this July, that can really skyrocket (things) as well.”

Loveday plays AAU basketball for the Louisville Magic in the Adidas series and will be playing in New York and Los Angeles during the July evaluation period. He has taken an unofficial visit to see the Cardinals while David Padgett was the school’s interim coach, and his AAU coach is a former Louisville player. Loveday said he has also taken unofficial visits to Kentucky, Michigan, Purdue and West Virginia and is trying to go to Indiana.

Through it all, Loveday said, he’s looking for a situation that can help him grow on and off the court.

“I don’t really want to be a one-, two-year (player) and go to the draft unless I really, truly believe that I am mentally and physically superb to come in and compete for a really good spot,” he said Thursday. “I want to really focus on an education because Ohio State, we met with coach Holtmann today and they had a slideshow: there’s a 500,000(-member) alumni base around the world. If you go here, if you go four years and you get a degree and you need a job, you’re going to get it because so many people watch you and follow you and pay attention to you.”

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
37 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

 

“I want to really focus on an education because Ohio State, we met with coach Holtmann today and they had a slideshow: there’s a 500,000(-member) alumni base around the world. If you go here, if you go four years and you get a degree and you need a job, you’re going to get it because so many people watch you and follow you and pay attention to you.”

That's not too bad Ohio State, but, Zach, take a look at this.

 

Total living alumni: 500,000

Ohio State’s more than 500,000 alumni include Mark Frissora, CEO of Caesars Entertainment; Leslie Wexner, CEO of L Brands (which owns Victoria’s Secret); and Brett Buerck, CEO of political consulting firm Majority Strategies. It also graduated two current U.S. senators and five current members of Congress.

 

Total living alumni: 650,000+

Businessman Mark Cuban, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers, and Irish President Michael Higgins are all Indiana University alums. So are Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins and Oscar-winner Kevin Kline.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Jordan Wells -

IU's 2020 recruiting board is starting to grow.  To-date, only one public IU offer was known for the cycle in Butler (Pa.) four-star guard 

Ethan Morton.  Now, the Hoosiers have offered their second prospect in the class in Gallipolis (Ohio) Gallia Academy four-star big man 

Zach Loveday. 

The offer was reported by his AAU team, Louisville Magic, on Twitter. IU's coaching staff kept a close eye on Loveday playing for the Magic this spring on the adidas circuit.

Purdue and Ohio State also offered early scholarships to the big man.

"Right now, my window is wide open, and I'm not really trying to collect offers," Loveday told GoldAndBlack.com this April. "But I'm trying to take in as much as I can mentally so I can find something that I want to do and find colleges that suit me best.

"Then when it comes time to narrow things down, I know who might fit my best interests."

He averaged 17.3 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots per game as a sophomore, leading his team to a 20-4 overall record. Those efforts helped him earned first team all-Southeast District honors from local media and special mention All-Ohio honors from the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Wow! That’s wild!

Yeah seeing his name on her adoption papers is weird. Plus pictures with Jim Jones kids growing up. My mom is the same age as Jim Jones Jr. So they have quite a few. My adopted grandfather was a Deacon in his Indy church. It’s odd.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Corey Evans - 

LADERA RANCH, CA. – One of the top standouts on Saturday at the adidas Summer Championship was Zach Loveday, a four-star prospect within the 2020 class. Running with the Louisville Magic 16-under squad, Loveday has become a priority for the top Midwest programs as he is hoping to take a few school visits next month.

Standing close to 7-foot tall, Loveday can score out to the 3-point line, convert over either shoulder in the post and has a more than solid feel for the game in playing within high-low sets.

Already, Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Xavier, Florida, Louisville, George Washington, and Stanford have offered Loveday and more is likely on the way.

Michigan: “I really like them. Coach B (John Beilein) is a great guy. I liked the way that they played with (Moritz) Wagner.   I got the chance to watch them play a lot. I really like the way that they used him and their bigs. I have been there before. I really like the campus. It is great with basketball and football, the two big things up there.”

Ohio State: “It was good. I like Ohio State. Coach (Chris) Holtmann is a great guy. I have been able to watch them play a few times. I like the way that they use their big guys and someone like (Keita) Bates-Diop, I want to be more like that with playing inside out and stretch the floor.”

Indiana: “I haven’t been there before. I don’t know much about them there yet but I do know that Archie Miller had great success at Dayton but hopefully I will get the chance to watch them more and get down there in the fall.”

Louisville: “Coach (Chris) Mack, I love him. He actually had offered me while he was at Xavier. He is a great guy. He breaks the game down the way that he sees it.”

Purdue: “They offered me the first time going into my freshman year. I like them. They are a big man school. Coach (Matt) Painter the way that he uses the big men in his offense is really impressive.”

WHAT'S NEXT?

Loveday will complete his junior summer this month with the Louisville Magic 16-under squad.

Next month, Loveday told Rivals.com that he will be on campus at Purdue on August 24 where he is also hoping to get to Indiana and Florida, that is if his schedule permits.

RIVALS' REACTION

Loveday brings plenty of value and upside to the frontcourt. He is skilled, mobile, active and productive and can be placed within various schemes on the offensive end.

Expect for the entire Big 10 to make Loveday a priority with several others becoming involved. Another visit to Purdue next month should only bolster the Boilermakers’ chances with him, though much time still must be given before any sort of favorite emerges for the four-star 2020 prospect.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 Gallia Academy boys basketball team overcame a 19-point halftime deficit and tied things up with less than 15 seconds remaining, but lost 63-61 on a basket with four seconds left.  Loveday had a game-high 35 points and 10 rebounds.  18 of his pts. came in the 4th Q.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 Gallia Academy boys basketball team overcame a 19-point halftime deficit and tied things up with less than 15 seconds remaining, but lost 63-61 on a basket with four seconds left.  Loveday had a game-high 35 points and 10 rebounds.  18 of his pts. came in the 4th Q.

Big kid. We could use someone like him in this class.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 6/17/2018 at 10:03 AM, HoosierTrav said:

Nice! Although, IU alumni includes the infamous Jim Jones of the Jonestown Massacre.

Hmmm:  "He attended Indiana University Bloomington, where a speech by Eleanor Roosevelt about the plight of African-Americans impressed him.[12] In 1951, Jones moved to Indianapolis, where he attended night school at Butler University, earning a degree in secondary education in 1961, ten years after enrolling." -Wikipedia, so it HAS to be true. Based on that I say he's a Bulldog, baby!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
32 minutes ago, Hardwood83 said:

Hmmm:  "He attended Indiana University Bloomington, where a speech by Eleanor Roosevelt about the plight of African-Americans impressed him.[12] In 1951, Jones moved to Indianapolis, where he attended night school at Butler University, earning a degree in secondary education in 1961, ten years after enrolling." -Wikipedia, so it HAS to be true. Based on that I say he's a Bulldog, baby!

Jones spent time in Richmond as well. Many people still around that knew him.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×