Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

Forward prospect Nicola Kecman committed to Ohio State over Kentucky, his junior college coach said on Tuesday.

Kecman, a forward with three-point shooting range, had been targeted by UK.

Tim Walsh, his coach at Eastern Arizona College, cited academics as a reason for the decision. He also noted how Kecman felt a greater sense of excitement with Ohio State, where he visited last weekend.

“I think when he left there, that’s where he wanted to go,” Walsh said. “When we rode back from the airport, I had a feeling that’s where he’d go.”

When asked what gave him that feeling, Walsh said, “The way he spoke of the team, the coaching staff. With everything, there was an excitement in his voice.

“I didn’t get that same sense when he came back from Kentucky. He enjoyed the visit (to UK). Who wouldn’t? But I didn’t see that excitement and energy.”

Ohio State apparently also had an advantage academically. Walsh noted OSU’s aviation engineering program as key.

“That really settled it,” the junior college coach said. “That’s what he wants to get into and he was very impressed with what Ohio State had to offer.”

Kecman, a 6-foot-9 player from Serbia, averaged 13.3 points and made 46 percent of his three-point shots this past season. He became the second prospect to get away from Kentucky this week.

On Monday, big man Ater Majok, a native of Sudan via Australia, committed to Connecticut.

Kentucky remains involved with at least two big men: junior college strongman Josh Harrellson of Southwestern Illinois College and high school senior Maurice Sutton of Largo, Md.