Johnson is ready to step up

For St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, OH, life after Lebron James has its ups and downs. They recently broke a five game losing streak with a win over Copley in the sectional final. However, talented 6-foot-3 junior guard Marcus Johnson has continued to improve and is now attracting the attention of a growing number of college coaches.

Johnson's coach Drew Joyce told us recently that St. Joseph's, Syracuse, Xavier, Dayton, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Arizona, and Michigan are among the teams recruiting him at this time.

Word is that St. Joseph's has a bit of an edge here, and that Johnson is impressed with the way the Hawks made their tournament run last year behind the strong guard play of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West.

In the meantime, he's averaging 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals per game for the 15-6 Irish. They play Highland in the district semi-finals tonight.

At the PrimeTime Shootout Johnson impressed us with both his ability to knock down perimeter jumpers, and his quickness off the dribble. But perhaps his most underrated characteristic is his ability to rebound from the guard position.

Johnson said that he'll be playing for the King James Shooting Stars on the Nike Circuit this spring and summer, and will likely attend the Nike All America Camp in July.