Recruiting Report: Tayler Johnson (2018)
One of the best two sport athletes in the state of Minnesota is Tayler Johnson and schools from both college football and college basketball are in contact.
“I’ve been in close contact with North Dakota State with being at their camp Monday and I’m on my way there now for a team camp,” Tayler said. “Nebraska-Omaha is in contact, Buffalo and Lehigh for basketball, and Iowa, Indiana State, Northern Iowa and North Dakota State for football. I haven’t planned any other visits.”
On the football field Tayler had four touchdowns at wideout, had four interceptions as a defensive back, and a touchdown as a punt returner as a junior. After that Tayler averaged 10.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game on the court.
Tayler continues to grow as a combo guard prospect for the Polars.
“This winter, I feel like I grew a lot in becoming a combo guard,” Tayler said. “Scoring when I need to, passing up good shots for great shots and making my teammates better.
“From this season I’ll take away the passing up good shots for a great shot because that just reminds me to keep my eyes open and not have tunnel vision. It also brings in and improves my IQ if I know when and how to make smart plays. I know that’s what coaches are looking for me to do and that’ll help me a lot on the next level.”
Johnson is always working on his craft and that starts with daily workouts in the weight room and in the North basketball gym.
“Every time I’m in the gym my focus is to improve my ball handling skills,” Johnson said about what he wants to improve. “I also want to be able to guard the post and become consistent with my shots from all around the court.”
Johnson played with D1 Minnesota Prospects as a 15u player, with Minnesota Heat Reese as a 16u, and now he’s with Grassroots Minnesota playing on the Under Armour tour. His previous teams were top five teams in Minnesota but now he’s playing on a shoe tour.
“It’s really nice, Grassroots Minnesota has been treating me with a lot of love,” Tayler said. ‘There’s a lot of competition guard wise on the UAA circuit with playing against some of the top guards in the country.
“I really wish I would’ve been playing on a circuit the past couple years just to get a feel for it but it’s been treating me well. I’m growing from this experience and look forward to bringing what I’ve learned to the high school season and so on.”
Johnson’s future is bright but he has goals he wants to accomplish.
“I want to become a better all around player, get offers, and help my team win games for the rest of the summer. My senior year my goal is to lead my team to another state championship and reach the 1,000 point club.”
Tayler currently sits at 561 career points entering his final season so his goal of 1,000 is within reach as long as he averages between 15-16 a game. How about the state title being within reach? The Minneapolis North vs Minnehaha Academy chase is something that will be talked about all year long!