Prospect Spotlight: Isaiah Johnson (2020)
A high-riser in Iowa’s 2020 class, Waterloo West wing Isaiah Johnson has been seen wrecking rims on occasion this spring with Martin Brothers 15U.
But it’s not just his leaping ability that is eye-catching, but his developing skill-set in general is creating a lot of buzz this spring.
“I feel like my strengths are my energy and my ability to attack the basket, also I’m a pretty good defender and scorer,” said the 6-foot-2 guard. “I bring energy when my team is down or in a close game, and help us pull-away or bring us back if we’re down.”
Last winter as a freshman with the Wahawks, Johnson averaged 5.2 points and 2.o rebounds per game. And even found himself starting by season’s end.
“My role was to be a role player and just to play hard and smart. I was a freshman so people didn’t really expect a lot from me,” he said. “At first I didn’t know what to expect, but as the season went on, I started playing better and that led to me starting five games at the end of the season.”
His goals for next winter are to come in with an improved jumper and overall guard skill-set.
“I’m working on my ball-handling and my jump-shooting. Those are things I didn’t work on much in middle school, since I was always the biggest guy on my team,” said Johnson, who will hone those skills while playing with Martin Brothers 15U.
“I feel like everyone on that team has the ability to make an impact, especially when we play the way we like to play; which is aggressive on defense to create offense, and out-run the other team and play more physical.”
He added: “My goal is to not lose at all (this summer), I hate losing. And I want to be able to win both of the live period tournaments we go to in July. I want to play hard and have people notice me, and just enjoy myself.”