TicketsLOGAN JOHNSON SIGNS WITH MEN'S BASKETBALL
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Logan Johnson had never been to Cincinnati before and really didn't know much about it when he agreed to an official visit to the University of Cincinnati.
"I thought, well, let's go on this visit and see how we like it," Johnson said.
He liked it so much that after he made the trip in mid-September he cancelled planned visits to UCLA, St. Mary's and Santa Barbara and committed to the Bearcats. He signed a national letter-of-intent for the 2018-19 season Wednesday, the first day of the November signing period.
"I felt like they really wanted me," Johnson said. "They had really put the time into the visit. They really got to know me. I just felt like it's the right place for me and the right fit because of the coaching staff and how they operate. They're a big-time program that's always going to the NCAA Tournament and Coach (Mick) Cronin is a guy that you want to play for."
Johnson, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound point guard from Mountain View, California, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, was rated a 4-star recruit by Scout.com and a national Top 150 prospect by 247 Sports and Rivals.com.
As a junior last year at St. Francis High School, he averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals and helped lead his team to the Northern California Division II state championship game.
"He's got tremendous quickness and athleticism," Cronin said. "His body development is nowhere near where it's going to be. He's a tantalizing guy because he is so athletic as a point guard and quick and he's still growing and filling out. I really think he's a potential guy like some of the guys we've had where it's like how did they get him? Why wasn't he rated higher? A couple reasons: he played on a smaller AAU team and he's a late physical development guy. He's got things you can't teach with his explosiveness."
Johnson, whose brother, Tyler plays for the NBA's Miami Heat, said he liked the way the Bearcats play.
"They're a bunch of guys that get after it," he said. "They're picking up full court every time and competing. They've all got the same goal, which is to make it to the highest level. That's my goal, too, and I feel like they can help me accomplish that. I've watched them on TV. The intensity and the energy that they bring, I love that. That's my type of basketball. Coach Cronin is a dude that I want to play for."
Both of UC's current point guards – Cane Broome and Justin Jenifer – are juniors, which means Johnson will have one year to adjust to the college game before presumably running the offense as a sophomore. He can also play the two-guard position. He was recruited by UC assistant coach Darren Savino.
"From the day we went after him we offered him and we were extremely diligent telling him how much we believed in him and we wanted him," Cronin said. "The way we like to play defense, he can scramble and jump and run. It just fits me better to have a speedy, fast, athletic point guard."
Johnson described his game as "limitless."
"I feel like I bring a lot of different things to the court," he said. "I can score. I'm going to pick up in the full court and I'm going to give you a problem. I always like to bring energy. I like to be a hustle player. I like to do the little things that help the team, whether it's deflecting a pass, getting a big block, getting a big steal or making a big layup."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Logan Johnson had never been to Cincinnati before and really didn't know much about it when he agreed to an official visit to the University of Cincinnati.
"I thought, well, let's go on this visit and see how we like it," Johnson said.
He liked it so much that after he made the trip in mid-September he cancelled planned visits to UCLA, St. Mary's and Santa Barbara and committed to the Bearcats. He signed a national letter-of-intent for the 2018-19 season Wednesday, the first day of the November signing period.
"I felt like they really wanted me," Johnson said. "They had really put the time into the visit. They really got to know me. I just felt like it's the right place for me and the right fit because of the coaching staff and how they operate. They're a big-time program that's always going to the NCAA Tournament and Coach (Mick) Cronin is a guy that you want to play for."
Johnson, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound point guard from Mountain View, California, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, was rated a 4-star recruit by Scout.com and a national Top 150 prospect by 247 Sports and Rivals.com.
As a junior last year at St. Francis High School, he averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals and helped lead his team to the Northern California Division II state championship game.
"He's got tremendous quickness and athleticism," Cronin said. "His body development is nowhere near where it's going to be. He's a tantalizing guy because he is so athletic as a point guard and quick and he's still growing and filling out. I really think he's a potential guy like some of the guys we've had where it's like how did they get him? Why wasn't he rated higher? A couple reasons: he played on a smaller AAU team and he's a late physical development guy. He's got things you can't teach with his explosiveness."
Johnson, whose brother, Tyler plays for the NBA's Miami Heat, said he liked the way the Bearcats play.
"They're a bunch of guys that get after it," he said. "They're picking up full court every time and competing. They've all got the same goal, which is to make it to the highest level. That's my goal, too, and I feel like they can help me accomplish that. I've watched them on TV. The intensity and the energy that they bring, I love that. That's my type of basketball. Coach Cronin is a dude that I want to play for."
Both of UC's current point guards – Cane Broome and Justin Jenifer – are juniors, which means Johnson will have one year to adjust to the college game before presumably running the offense as a sophomore. He can also play the two-guard position. He was recruited by UC assistant coach Darren Savino.
"From the day we went after him we offered him and we were extremely diligent telling him how much we believed in him and we wanted him," Cronin said. "The way we like to play defense, he can scramble and jump and run. It just fits me better to have a speedy, fast, athletic point guard."
Johnson described his game as "limitless."
"I feel like I bring a lot of different things to the court," he said. "I can score. I'm going to pick up in the full court and I'm going to give you a problem. I always like to bring energy. I like to be a hustle player. I like to do the little things that help the team, whether it's deflecting a pass, getting a big block, getting a big steal or making a big layup."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.