Johnson working to elevate stock

The No. 118 ranked player in the class of 2006 Cory Johnson does a little bit of everything as a combo forward for the Howard Pulley Panthers. Johnson, 6-foot-7, 213-pounds, from Duluth East (Minn.) High School has a group of schools that have offered and are strongly recruiting him while another group of schools is waiting to see how well Johnson performs this summer.

"Minnesota, Iowa State, Iowa, Marquette, Creighton and St. Louis have all offered, said Johnson. "Then there are schools like Illinois, Stanford and Georgetown that are looking at me this summer, and I need to prove to them what caliber of player I am. I have also recently gotten calls from UNLV, Miami and Boston College.

"I am very open right now and just want to prove to myself how high I can go as a prospect."

Regardless of how this summer develops for Johnson, two schools have the edge in his recruitment.

"I'm really high on Minnesota and Iowa State," he said. "They have both been there the longest and recruited me the hardest."

Johnson, who will attend the Nike All American Camp in July, is a blue collar player with a solid skill package to go along with his ability to make hustle plays. Always in the right position, Johnson has a knack for coming up with the ball in the lane despite being just an average athlete. He also handle as passes well on the perimeter and has a quality midrange jumper that should easily extend beyond the three-point line in college.

Although he does not project as a "go to" player on the next level, Johnson does project as a very good complimentary player on the high major level.