One of Minnesota’s top-ranked high school basketball recruit isn’t going anywhere.
Jarvis Johnson, the 6-foot-1 playmaking guard who goes to DeLaSalle, announced from the high school Friday afternoon he’s committing to the University of Minnesota to play basketball with the Golden Gophers.
It's official. Jarvis Johnson says he'll become a Gopher. pic.twitter.com/GjT5kxPANN
— Phil (@PhilErvin) September 12, 2014
Johnson is considered a four-star recruit by ESPN, and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and 247sports.com.
DeLaSalle High School has won three straight AAA Minnesota state titles.
“Good things happen to good people who work hard, and that certainly captures the essence of what Jarvis has done here at DeLaSalle,” school president Barry Lieske said at the press conference.
The commitment came one year after Richard Pitino and the Gophers missed out on the state’s “Big Three”: Tyus Jones (Duke), Rashad Vaughn (UNLV) and Reid Travis (Stanford). Snagging the dynamic Johnson is considered a big win for Pitino going into his second year in charge of the program.
Johnson is a 6-foot-1, play-making guard and is considered a three-star recruit from the nation’s top recruiting services Rivals.com, 247sports.com and ESPN.com. He reportedly had offers from Wisconsin, Michigan State, UCLA, Maryland, UNLV, Baylor and others.
The Minneapolis native recently took an official visit to the University of Minnesota.
The Star Tribune’s Amelia Rayno says Johnson dined with players and coaches, but the highlight for Johnson could have been the Minnesota-Middle Tennessee State football game.
“As soon as I walked out of the tunnel, they just started chanting my name,” Johnson told the Star Tribune earlier this week. “It was cool to see though. I really enjoyed that part a lot. It was kind of a surprise moment, but it kind of just made me laugh a little bit.”
Pitino’s 2015 class was already ranked 21st nationally by Rivals, before the addition of Johnson. He’d already landed four-star point guard Kevin Dorsey out of Virginia, plus three-star recruits Jonathan Nwankwo (a center from Florida) and Dupree McBrayer (a shooting guard from New York).
The Gophers are also still in the running for 2015 recruit and Minnesota native Alex Illikainen, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Grand Rapids who played with Jarvis Jones for the Howard Pulley AAU team.
Illikainen, who played through his junior season in his hometown of Grand Rapids, but transferred to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire for his senior year, has the Gophers as a finalist, according to 247sports.com. The four-star recruit has also drawn interest from Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Oregon and others, ESPN notes.
Here are some Twitter reactions to the Johnson commitment:
Richard Pitino adding combo Jarvis Johnson who can play with PG Kevin Dorsey & SG DuPree McBrayer. Great group of interchangeable guards.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) September 12, 2014
Jarvis Johnson is set too announce his decision to attend Minnesota in an hour and a half. Richard Pitino already has a top 20 class.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) September 12, 2014
Minnesota asst Ben Johnson went to DeLaSalle HS, the same HS as SG Jarvis Johnson. Dave Thorson coached both Jarvis & Ben.
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) September 12, 2014
Stanford F and DeLaSalle's own Reid Travis is present, standing at the back of the room.
— Joe Perovich (@JoePerovich) September 12, 2014
