Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Tyrone Johnson, one of the most sought after point guards in the Class of 2011, is close to trimming his college list.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Johnson out of Plainfield (N.J.) High School is the No. 13 point guard in the rising senior class, according to Rivals.
The schools who have offered him include Georgetown, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Temple and Miami. West Virginia, Florida State, Georgia Tech and UConn have shown interest.
“I’ll probably cut my list down in July,” said Johnson, a two-sport star who had been Plainfield’s quarterback before opting not to play football his senior year.
Georgetown and Villanova remain in strong position with Johnson, who has visited both campuses on multiple occasions.
“Those are two favorites,” he said.
Georgetown was one of the first schools in on Johnson and have been involved since his freshman season.
“Yes, my freshman year,” he said. “It was good having them recruit me as a freshman.”
Since then, Johnson has returned on several unofficial visits.
“I visited Georgetown a month ago,” he said. “It was real good. They like me a lot and the role I play now. Just come in and play.”
Villanova has produced a slew of talented guards in recent years. Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes and Dominic Cheek all played their high school ball in the Garden State, just like Johnson.
“Villanova has been more of a guard school so they want me,” he said.
In Mike Rice and Kevin Willard, Rutgers and Seton Hall have relatively new coaches who have reached out to Johnson since taking over. Last week Johnson took an unofficial to the Rutgers campus.
“Yes, they both said the same thing,” Johnson said. “Both need to build their programs back up and they want to do it with New Jersey guys.”
Seton Hall’s Jordan Theodore will be a senior when Johnson is a college freshman, whereas Rutgers has no point guard who projects to be on the roster then.
“They want Jersey guys,” said Derrick Bobbitt, Johnson’s AAU coach.”They want Jersey guys. They want him as a Jersey guy.”
Johnson has a busy summer ahead that includes an invite to the LeBron James Academy in Akron, Ohio in early July.
As for when he will decide on a school, he said: “I don’t know yet. Whatever I feel is the best situation for me.”
(Photo courtesy Rivals.com)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Tyrone Johnson, one of the most sought after point guards in the Class of 2011, is close to trimming his college list.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Johnson out of Plainfield (N.J.) High School is the No. 13 point guard in the rising senior class, according to Rivals.
The schools who have offered him include Georgetown, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Temple and Miami. West Virginia, Florida State, Georgia Tech and UConn have shown interest.
“I’ll probably cut my list down in July,” said Johnson, a two-sport star who had been Plainfield’s quarterback before opting not to play football his senior year.
Georgetown and Villanova remain in strong position with Johnson, who has visited both campuses on multiple occasions.
“Those are two favorites,” he said.
Georgetown was one of the first schools in on Johnson and have been involved since his freshman season.
“Yes, my freshman year,” he said. “It was good having them recruit me as a freshman.”
Since then, Johnson has returned on several unofficial visits.
“I visited Georgetown a month ago,” he said. “It was real good. They like me a lot and the role I play now. Just come in and play.”
Villanova has produced a slew of talented guards in recent years. Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes and Dominic Cheek all played their high school ball in the Garden State, just like Johnson.
“Villanova has been more of a guard school so they want me,” he said.
In Mike Rice and Kevin Willard, Rutgers and Seton Hall have relatively new coaches who have reached out to Johnson since taking over. Last week Johnson took an unofficial to the Rutgers campus.
“Yes, they both said the same thing,” Johnson said. “Both need to build their programs back up and they want to do it with New Jersey guys.”
Seton Hall’s Jordan Theodore will be a senior when Johnson is a college freshman, whereas Rutgers has no point guard who projects to be on the roster then.
“They want Jersey guys,” said Derrick Bobbitt, Johnson’s AAU coach.”They want Jersey guys. They want him as a Jersey guy.”
Johnson has a busy summer ahead that includes an invite to the LeBron James Academy in Akron, Ohio in early July.
As for when he will decide on a school, he said: “I don’t know yet. Whatever I feel is the best situation for me.”
(Photo courtesy Rivals.com)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
