Maki Johnson, a three-star guard, is one of the best shooters left on the board in the 2023 class. He’s been taking his time with his recruitment and could still take more visits before he ultimately decides on a destination.
Johnson spoke with Rivals about what the landscape of his recruitment is looking like down the stretch.
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2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Mississippi State: “They hit me up a lot. They’ve been keeping in touch, really, and sending me stuff on their percentages and things like that. I haven’t really looked into them, but it looks like they have a bunch of hard-nosed guards. I do like that. They have a pretty good atmosphere, too.”
Seton Hall: “Pretty much the same thing. I don’t really know too much about their guards or their style of play, but their culture is good and it’s not too far away from home. They’re actually really interested, they really like me.”
Hampton: “They just started to hit me up. I don’t know too much about them, honestly, but they’ve basically been introducing themselves and trying to get to know me a little bit.”
Marshall: “I know a lot about Marshall because it’s the hometown. I like how they have an NBA style of play because of coach (Dan) D’Antoni. They’ve been winning a lot this year, which I like. They’ll probably go to the tournament, and they have a really smart point guard that passes really well. They’re a shooting team and I kind of fit their style of play.”
Visit plans: “I’m definitely taking a visit up to Coastal Carolina, and I think, it’s not 100%, I’m going to take a visit up to Seton Hall, too. I think Coastal will be an official visit, and I think Seton Hall will be an official, too, but I’m not 100% sure yet.”
Decision timeline: “It’s going to be after the portal and stuff opens up.”
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RIVALS' REACTION
Coastal Carolina, Clemson and Vermont are other schools pursuing Johnson, and there’s no clear-cut leader at this time, until he takes a couple of other visits in the coming weeks. Fit and culture have always been big talking points to the three-star guard.
