Top 30 junior Keon Johnson talks trips
A top 30 prospect, Keon Johnson emerged as one of the top wing players in the class of 2020 with the EAB Tigers last summer. He’s continued to show why some of the top schools in the country are chasing him so far during his junior season as he’s averaging 27 points per game at Bell Buckle (Tenn.) Webb.
Before the season started, Johnson took advantage of the new NCAA rule this year allowing junior to take five official visits too. The high flyer used four of his trips already to see Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Virginia. Ole Miss is likely in line to get his final official visit for this school year.
The newest schools to get involved in Johnson’s recruitment are Indiana and Ohio State. He also mentioned that he is no longer considering Auburn.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Ole Miss: “Coach [Kermit] Davis has always showed that I’m a priority to him. When he first moved to Ole Miss, he gave me a call and said he wants me to be a part of his program. He was the first coach to offer me when he was at Middle Tennessee.”
Tennessee: “It was a real nice environment as far as seeing the football environment, but I want to get back and see the basketball side. I’ve been watching them so far and Coach [Rick] Barnes has his guys playing some basketball.”
Vanderbilt: “That was my first official visit, so it was really an eye-opener for me on what to expect. Coach [Bryce] Drew has a really great staff.”
Virginia: “It’s a really nice program. At first we were going to go up for a football game, but we pushed the date back so I could see a basketball game. The environment was really nice for it to still be football season.”
RIVALS' REACTION, WHAT'S NEXT?
Back during the summer, there were five schools that were spotted watching almost every single one of Johnson’s games: Auburn, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Virginia. A lot of times you would see the head coaches courtside for his games, so it’s no surprise to see those schools (minus Auburn) making a strong push for him early. Tennessee’s success the last two seasons under Rick Barnes certainly has Johnson’s attention and he seemed to really enjoy the atmosphere in Knoxville on his visit. Vanderbilt and Virginia both have put in a ton of time recruiting him and both schools have the advantage of high level academics and basketball to sell. Kermit Davis will always have the trump card of being able to say he was the first coach to offer Johnson, so that could keep the Rebels in play.