It was about five years ago that Quentin Rogers first crossed paths with Dorian Jones. At the time, Jones was a fifth-grader who went to same elementary school as Rogers’ son and the boys’ basketball coach and nothing much more than that.

Then, as Jones was about to become a freshman at Richmond Heights, Ohio, Rogers started to see his talent level. Now a four-star, top-40 national prospect in the class of 2025, Jones is midway through his prep career and being recruited by multiple high-major college basketball programs including Ohio State. A 6-4, 190-pound shooting guard, Jones didn’t take long to make an impression once he got to high school.

“He started as a freshman,” Rogers said. “We go with the kid we think is the best for the position. We thought it would be great for his growth as a basketball player, playing with some talented seniors on that team.”

That team went 25-4 and won a Division IV state championship by defeating New Madison Tri-Village, 50-29. Although he was described as “raw” by Rogers, Jones finished the year averaging 11.4 points per game and earned honorable mention all-state honors.

His focus for that season was just to work on understanding the game.

“Feed, mentality and approach to the game: Before we even worry about skills and stuff like that, those are the main things,” Rogers said. “He’s a sponge. He wants to be a great player. He’s very open to all, good and bad, information that you give him.”

Along the way, he established himself to his coach as a high-level defender.

“He really wasn’t called upon to do too much on offense so defense was something that was a main point of emphasis that year,” Rogers said. “I would say he’s one of the better defenders in the country on the perimeter.”

Richmond Heights has won 49 straight games during Jones’ two years with the program. The Spartans went 29-0 in 2023, winning the title game against Convoy Crestview by a final of 70-26, a game in which Jones hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 25 points. It capped a season where Jones was named the state’s player of the year in his division after averaging 20.1 points per game. He was one of three Spartans to be named first-team all-state.

“Even though he was a sophomore, he had to take more of a leadership role, him and some of the younger guys on the team,” Rogers said. “That was the biggest thing for him. Then we made sure offensively he was strong and sharp and on point.

“The team’s not built around anyone. They all play off of each other, whoever’s on the floor. It’s really just understanding the game and finding ways to score and impact the game outside of every play being ran for him.”

247Sports.com ranks Jones as the No. 37 national prospect in his class, the No. 8 shooting guard in the nation and the No. 2 player from Ohio. He landed a scholarship offer from Ohio State following his freshman season, making the Buckeyes the fifth school to offer him after Cleveland State, Toledo, Cincinnati and Arizona State.

Jones is being recruited as a shooting guard, Rogers said.

“Ohio State’s aggressively recruiting him,” he said. “I think he’s one of the guys that they’re targeting that they like. They’re aggressively recruiting him.”

Rogers said Jones does not yet have any fall visits scheduled and that his primary advice for the guard in his recruitment is to make sure that he fits into the team’s style of play.

Asked if he feels Jones is a fit for how Ohio State plays, the coach said, “Well, the way he plays he fits into anybody’s system because he can play off the ball so well. And he’s used to playing where everything’s not catered around him. He’s used to being able to score and be effective in the team situation.”

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Buckeyes 'aggressively recruiting' four-star guard Dorian Jones