COLUMBUS — Ohio State signed the players it wanted in the class of 2013.

Coincidentally enough, that did not include two notable prospects from northwestern Ohio.

Fast forward four years, now the Buckeyes are second-to-last in the Big Ten and on the verge of missing the NCAA tournament for a second year in a row.

Meanwhile, those two players — Nigel Hayes and Vitto Brown — have had what Hayes called “a beautiful storybook” at Wisconsin: 110 wins, a Big Ten title, and two Final Four appearances in three tries. Currently 22-5 and ranked No. 16, the Badgers sit tied atop the league as Hayes and Brown make their final college trip to their home state with a game tonight at OSU.

Wisconsin ended up being the perfect landing spot for Hayes, a Whitmer graduate, and Brown, an alumnus of Bowling Green High School.

From Ohio State’s perspective, however, Hayes and Brown are a reminder of what could have been in Columbus. After beating the Buckeyes last season, Hayes fielded a question about Wisconsin’s players from Ohio — now up to four — and said “I mean, [Ohio State] got the guys they wanted. I'll take my two Final Fours and my wins and I'll carry on my merry way.”

Then he gently tipped over the microphone and said “Mic drop” to laughter in the media room.

Both players said they have no hard feelings toward Ohio State. Their careers blossomed at Wisconsin and they believe their success speaks for itself.

“Freshman year [if] you asked me this, probably double fist clench, you know, high blood pressure talking about how I thought I was good enough to go there and I’m mad,” Hayes said.

“Now — everything happens for a reason — I’m where I’m at.”

Hayes will finish as one of the most efficient players to ever play in the Big Ten, and a player whose affable personality and unapologetic social activism made him one of the NCAA’s most respected athletes.

As of today, he has 1,707 points, 720 rebounds, and 295 assists — one of three players in Big Ten history to accomplish those numbers. Hayes is the only active player in college basketball with more than 1,600 points, 700 rebounds, and 250 assists.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the Buckeyes missed on Hayes, whose family is lined with Ohio State fans.

“We recruited the heck out of Nigel,” Matta said. “We tried to get him the best we could. I thought he was going to be a great, great player.”

To Matta’s point, Ohio State did offer Hayes a scholarship. Realistically, though, OSU treated Hayes as a back-up plan all along.

The Buckeyes never so much as talked to Brown.

“Not once, man. Not once,” Brown said. “They had been to a lot of my AAU games. It’s something I’ve never really understood, and I guess now they’re paying the price for it, so I don’t really feel too bad.”

Brown has started every game but one for the Badgers during the past two years, averaging 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds along the way.

He said the success at Wisconsin — two Final Fours and national championship game appearance among them — reinforced that he made the correct decision.

“I feel like, in retrospect and at the time when I was getting recruited, this was the best place for me,” Brown said. “ Obviously we've had some accomplishments that have helped further that point. I don't really hold it against [Ohio State]. It’s kind of a ‘your loss’ thing, and we move on from there.”

Considering all angles, Hayes said everything happened perfectly at Wisconsin, both for him as a person and a player. Hayes said he is especially proud of his role in the Madison community, for which he raised $10,000 for a Boys & Girls Club shopping spree earlier this season.

“It’s extremely important, a little more important than just putting a ball through a hoop,” he said.

The players will have a large contingent of family and friends in Value City Arena tonight, an in-state farewell before a chance at another Big Ten title and one more crack at the elusive national championship.

Both Hayes and Brown echoed the same point: Wisconsin worked out so well, there is no use in wondering what might have been at Ohio State.

“The success I’ve had, the things I’ve been able to do in my life, the experiences I've had, the opportunities I’ve had to grow, the people's lives I’ve touched and the people I’ve met, the way I've set myself up for my life for basketball and non-basketball afterward — everything happened perfectly,” Hayes said.

“Wherever I’m at is a result of that. In hindsight, I have to thank them for not letting me come there.”

Contact Nicholas Piotrowicz at: npiotrowicz@theblade.com, 724-6110, or on Twitter @NickPiotrowicz

First Published February 23, 2017, 5:31 a.m.