Prospect Commitment Prediction: Xavier Johnson
Editors Note: These predictions are not based on any inside information provided by coaches, players of the family of the prospects. It is simply what is stated, a prediction by myself as to where I believe they may end up. Enjoy!
Predicted Commitment: Georgetown, Creighton, Washington
Dark Horse Candidates: USF, Nebraska, Georgia Tech
Johnson blew up late his sophomore season at Bishop O’Connell, and has continued to shine since with a lot of high major programs coming in spurts to look at the dynamic playmaking point guard. He recently cut his list to the six schools above, and our predictions are based on a trend from those programs being heavily involved in the DMV and VA area.
The 6’2” point guard went from role player to go-to guy for Bishop O’Connell last season, and was one of the best point guards in the WCAC. In one of the most impressive individual performances I saw the past season, he outplayed Miami commit Chris Lykes scoring 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists. His steady play at the point guard position helped lead Team Takeover to a runner up finish in Nike EYBL’s Peach Jam and a championship in The Ei8ht in Las Vegas.
Georgetown is an obvious one, being just minutes away from Johnson’s school in northern Virginia. New head coach Patrick Ewing desperately needs a point guard to build around, and there’s no doubt he’d love to snag a local kid in Johnson who can score it, set up others and is also a great on ball defender. They have an added bonus of being able to have him on campus multiple times without having to use an official visit. Creighton has been heavily involved in the east coast the past few years, and have a history of dynamic guards like Johnson thriving in their system. They landed Davion Mintz from North Carolina and Ty-Shon Alexander from Oak Hill in the past two years, and would love to add Johnson to that list. Washington has had ties to the DMV area with this year’s number one pick Markelle Fultz coming from DeMatha, and despite a change in the coaching staff they don’t plan on stopping their pursuit in the area. The allure of playing in the Pac 12 should be a big selling point for them.
Johnson emerged as one of the best PGs in the DMV a couple of years ago.When it comes to the dark horse candidates, they may not be the biggest basketball names but they’re all making him a priority and all are on the come up. USF has struggled in the past, but they play a solid schedule and have the south florida weather to pitch and immediate playing opportunity. Nebraska was one of the first schools to offer Johnson back in his sophomore season, and head coach Tim Miles could use a floor general in the Big Ten, one of the best conferences in the country. Georgia Tech has also been recruiting Johnson for a long time and are willing to give him the ball from day one it seems like.
For those in the DMV area, many consider Johnson to be extremely under recruited. While he has some big name schools, he isn’t the household name that other star point guards in the WCAC have been in the past few years. While you may not know him that well now, wherever he decides to attend college you’ll be hearing much more about him there.