The Thad Five

Ohio State apparently is on the verge of landing its second major men's basketball recruit in the class of 2006 as coach Thad Matta and his staff prepare to play host to possibly a five-man recruiting class that one Web site has dubbed the "Thad Five."

Dave Lighty, a 6-foot-4 guard from Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph, has "not totally" committed to sign with the Buckeyes but could have an announcement early next week, his mother, Emily, said yesterday. "He's told them he's very, very interested and is probably going to tell them very soon."

Emily Lighty said her son plans to visit Ohio State on May 6-7, when as many as four other 2006 recruits...all currently high-school juniors...also could be on campus.

Seven-foot center Greg Oden and 6-1 point guard Mike Conley, high-school teammates from Indianapolis, also are scheduled to visit that weekend. They will be joined by their AAU teammate, 6-4 guard Daequan Cook of Dayton Dunbar, who committed to Ohio State in March.

A fifth prospect, 6-8 forward Thaddeus Young of Memphis, Tenn., said yesterday that he is "trying to figure out if I can make a visit" the same weekend as the others.

All five recruits are ranked among the top 20 nationally in their class by the scout.com recruiting site.

-- Bob Baptist, Columbus Dispatch