Stanley Johnson got the last-minute call to participate in the Under Armor Elite 24 game and he jumped at it.
“It’s going to be fun, playing with all the good players we have here at the 24, so I’m looking forward to it,” the 6-foot-6 Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei forward told SNY.tv Thursday by phone.
Johnson joins Oakland Soldiers teammates Jabari Bird and Aaron Gordon in the game, which airs Saturday night on ESPNU.
While Bird and Gordon are in the Class of 2013, Johnson is 2014, yet he is still hearing from a lot of big time schools.
He said Kentucky, Arizona, USC, UCLA and Colorado have reached out recently.
“Coach Cal called me and Orlando [Antigua] texted me,” Johnson said of the Kentucky coaches. “Coach Cal is talking about college and stuff, and coach Orlando said they’re coming down in September to watch me.”
The other schools said they would watch Johnson in September, too.
Bird lists Cal and Washington as his top two options, and Gordon has said Washington is his top choice, followed by Arizona and Kentucky.
“Of course I want to go to school with them, but to be honest I told them both, I don’t believe you guys will be there for more than one year so there’s no point in me [going there] because you guys won’t be there when I get there,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Conner Frankamp and Brannen Greene were working on him to go to Kansas.
But Johnson’s in no hurry to decide.
“There’s no chance I’ll announce this year,” he said. “Next year.”
