Brian Johnson To Louisville

When it came time for Brian Johnson to make a decision, he just could not say no to Rick Pitino. The 6-foot-8, 238-pound power forward from Oak Hill Academy has given a commitment to Coach Pitino and his Louisville program. Early on in his recruitment, it looked like Johnson would eventually give a commitment to North Carolina, but both parties decided to head in another direction.

It was not the easiest decision in the world for Johnson, but he knew that Louisville was the best place for him.

"It's time for me to make a decision, and it's Louisville," Johnson told The Courier-Journal this morning. "Of the schools I was looking at, it was the right place for me. I like the system and I like coach Pitino."

Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith said Georgia Tech cancelled Johnson’s October 11th visit because of a fall break, moving the trip back a week. For Johnson, he just couldn’t wait any longer and decided to make his announcement to the Cardinals.

“I think he was thinking, ‘I’m tired of this process. Why should I wait 10 more days?’ So he decided to commit to Louisville,” Smith said. “Had they not cancelled the visit, who knows what would have happened. Tech and Notre Dame were both a close second. Maybe things would be different.”

Nevertheless, Johnson gives Louisville a hard working big man that can muscle over opposing players.

“He’s the leader of this team. He’s always in the weight room trying to get stronger,” Smith said. “The other players are catching onto that. In fact, when Brian first got here, he asked me, ‘When do we start individual workouts?’ He’s been in the gym ever since.”

With one scholarship remaining, look for Coach Pitino and his staff to wait for Sebastian Telfair, the 13th best player in the class of 2004 and the second best point guard. It’s widely believed that Telfair will eventually be the final piece of Louisville’s recruiting class.

Rivals.com ranks Johnson No. 33 on the Rivals150 list and the tenth best power forward in the class of 2004.

Justin Young also contributed to this report.