Keldon Johnson, the 6-foot-6, 215-pound small forward from Oak Hill Academy (VA), took an official visit to Kentucky this weekend.
“It went really well,” his father Chris said Monday evening.
“The message that Coach Cal is preaching is that if he works hard and plays like he’s playing now, he could come in there and would have a chance to play and a chance to start. But he would have to come in ready to go because at Kentucky nothing is given to you.”
Johnson visited on the same weekend as John Carroll (MD) point guard Immanuel Quickley, who has visited Kansas and Kentucky.
“Oh yes, they hung out a lot,” Chris said. “They hung out on Friday morning and Saturday. They hung out a lot.”
Johnson is working with a list of Kentucky, Texas, N.C. State, Maryland and Florida State, but Kentucky is right up there.
“Getting to talk to Cal, you see the real Cal,” Chris said. “He really loves the kids, and I could see Keldon playing there. I think it would be a great opportunity.”
Next up is a Maryland visit in two weeks, followed by Florida State (Oct. 20-21).
“We have two more visits to go and we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Johnson has already visited Texas and N.C. State.
“[Texas head coach] Shaka Smart has been recruiting Keldon every since ninth grade,” Chris said. “So and Texas has all the latest technology there is so it was really good to go down there. They showed where Keldon would fit in at. He did a real good job.”
As for N.C. State, Chris said, “For one thing, it’s 72 miles from my doorstep [in Brodnax, Va.]. Coach [Kevin] Keatts really have a plan and he said Keldon would be the focal point from day one, so you always love that for your kid. N.C. State is 72 miles, so that’s always good.”
Johnson figures to decide after his last visit.
“That’s what we’re talking about, we’re going to try to get it done in November,” Chris said.
Meantime, Oak Hill coach Steve Smith says Johnson is a future pro.
“He’s got great size, he’s a wing player, he’s about 6-6, 6-7, good body, weighs about 215 right now,” Smith said. “We’re trying to get him down to about 205. We’re working with him on that. He’s an NBA prospect. he’s that kind of player. He’s very skilled, he’s a great passer. He’s long, he defends, he rebounds. He’s a great offensive rebounder and then he can score the ball as well as any wing in the country so he’s got a great upside. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t play for money one day.”
Photo: Matthew Hatfield (VirginiaPreps.com)
