Johnson eyes SEC options
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Hoover (Al.) Spain Park guard Jamal Johnson has a long list of schools hot on his trail after a strong travel season playing for the Alabama Challenge in the Nike EYBL.
Over the weekend, the four-star junior made unofficial visits to a pair of SEC schools. He started with a trip to Athens on Friday afternoon to check out what the Georgia Bulldogs have to offer.
"It was good," Johnson said. "I got there and we went to eat at the food court there. I watched them work out and then went to the academic center. I spent a lot of time with the coaches."
The Bulldogs coaching staff tried to sell Johnson on player development during his time on campus.
"They were just talking about how I would fit in nicely in their system and they showed an article that had them ranked number one in player development. They said I would be a combo guard there that can come off both ball screens everything."
After his visit to Georgia, the guard made his way to Oxford on Saturday to see Ole Miss open up their football season.
"That visit went well too. I watched their football game against UT-Martin. I toured the campus with Coach (Tony) Madlock and Coach (Todd) Abernathy. Coach Abernathy played there and led the SEC in assists."
Head coach Andy Kennedy made a positive impression on the Alabama native as well.
"Coach Kennedy was really cool too. He was telling me I would fit in well there because they play really fast and he talked to me about how I would fit into their program."
Ole Miss and Georgia aren't the only SEC schools to host Johnson lately. He stopped by Vanderbilt a few weeks ago as well and was really impressed with the progress the Commodores have made.
"Vanderbilt was a great visit too. They are really good. One of their coaches sent me an article saying they will be in the top 20 this year. I know they were young last year, so now they have a chance to be pretty good."
Johnson also spent some time on Alabama's campus recently with their Crimson Tide's new coaching staff.
"I went to Alabama a few weeks ago. I like Coach Avery (Johnson) a lot. They have a really good staff. I think Coach Avery will turn the program around and make it a basketball school too. They got Terrance Ferguson recently too."
Many will assume that Alabama will be tough to beat for other schools trying to sign Johnson because his father, Buck Johnson, played at Alabama before going to the NBA. That's not necessarily the case, though.
"I'm serious about carving out my own path. I'm open to everybody. I'm not trying to stay focused on Alabama. I'm really open to everybody."
Auburn is turning heads with their ability to sign top players since Bruce Pearl's arrival on The Plains. They find themselves in the mix for Johnson, despite him being an Alabama legacy.
"Auburn is really serious too. Coach Pearl is turning the program around already. He's really energetic and really cool. Coach (Chuck) Person, he played against my dad all four years when he was at Auburn and my dad was at Alabama, so I know him well too."
Johnson plays with five-star post player Austin Wiley both on his high school team and with the Alabama Challenge and the two have talked about going to the same school for college. Both of Wiley's parents played at Auburn and there are strong rumors that he'll be headed there as well. Regardless of where Wiley ends up, could Johnson and Wiley go to the same school?
"I don't know. We've been playing together for like two or three years now. I like playing with him, but I don't know if that will be a big factor for me. I have to choose the school that best fits me."
Johnson said he hopes to trim his list at some point later in his junior year and will likely decide sometime next fall.