WESTFIELD, Ind. — Ohio State head coach Thad Matta sat underneath one of the baskets on Court 2 at Jonathan Byrd’s Fieldhouse on Saturday morning to watch the big man for the future of his program.
Matta was almost certainly hoping he saw his future point guard, too.
All-Ohio Red, led by 2017 Buckeyes commit Kaleb Wesson, and King James Shooting Stars, which features top 2017 target Markell Johnson, squared off Saturday in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League — the most competitive AAU circuit in the country — and Matta was not going to miss it. All-Ohio Red and King James are the top two AAU programs in the state, it was almost a no-brainer Matta would be there.
Johnson noticed.
“It’s good knowing that when we play against All-Ohio, they already have an Ohio State commit,” he said. “Me and Kaleb are cool so just seeing Thad there trying to get us together, it’s good.”
A four-star point guard out of East Technical High School in Cleveland, Johnson is the No. 64 overall prospect in the country, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He previously trimmed his list down to five schools — Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Louisville, N.C. State and Cleveland State — before re-opening his entire recruitment. Johnson has since added offers from West Virginia and Xavier.
The scrapping of the top-five list stems from the cloudiness surrounding Johnson’s recruitment and what class he will truly wind up in. Johnson said if he takes a few classes this summer, he could potentially graduate early and reclassify to 2016, but that’s a decision that has yet to be made.
“I released that top-five [schools] off me being 2017, but now people have been talking to me about being 2016 instead of 2017 so I just scratched it,” Johnson said. “If I feel that I can come in next year and play at a college, I’m up to take the three classes.
“If I reclassify to 2016 I want to come into a program where I know I’m going to play right away. One where I can develop with point-guard type coaches so they can develop me to be a pro someday.”
Johnson is an intriguing prospect. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, but is as explosive an athlete as there is at the point guard position. His long wingspan makes him a capable defender and he has showcased his elite athleticism at the EYBL level. Through the first two sessions on the Nike circuit, Johnson is averaging 16.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game for King James, which is 3-4. On Saturday against All-Ohio Red, he led King James with 19 points though All-Ohio Red, led by 14 points and five rebounds from Wesson, won the game 72-68.
“Markell is a special player,” Wesson said. “He can do everything. He can shoot, dribble, rebound. He’s a great player.
“I’m [recruiting] Markell heavy.”
So, right now, things with Johnson still remain unclear. There doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut leader in his recruitment and it’s still up in the air what class he will be in when things are all said and done.
But while Matta certainly wasn’t the only major college head coach sitting on the Court 2 baseline Saturday morning — Xavier’s Chris Mack was also there and West Virginia’s Bob Huggins made an appearance — it certainly showed the Buckeyes are still interested.
And Johnson still has interest in Ohio State.
“Me being an Ohio guy, Ohio State stands very close,” he said. “I like Ohio State.”
