Drew Johnson: Pandora Gilboa Profile
Drew Johnson: Pandora Gilboa High School
Drew Johnson is a 6’6/190lb. left handed shooting guard from Pandora Gilboa High School located just 20 minutes north of Lima, OH. This past year was Drew’s first season playing AAU as he suited up for the Northwest Ohio Basketball program out of Van Wert. He caught the eyes of the NW Ohio coaches by averaging 19.8 points per game and 9 rebounds a game his junior year. The NW Ohio coaches wanted him because of his ability to shoot the 3, his ability to get to the rim but also his rebounding is exceptional for a guard.
During the spring AAU season, Drew was a little inconsistent with his shot but he was splitting time between basketball and playing high school baseball. He would have good games where he would end up with a double-double scoring 20+ points and grabbing over 10 rebounds while other games he’d struggle to get things going. This could have happened because there were a lot of new guys playing together for the first time and it took some time to gel as a team.
Once the summer AAU season came around, Drew took off and his game went to another level. He showed his ability to consistently knock down the 3, continuing to grab rebounds especially on the offensive end earning his team extra possessions, while also punishing smaller defenders in the paint. His confidence began to pick up by late July it was thru the roof. He felt like he could shoot from anywhere and it’d go in- this included a game where he knocked down 11 threes in Grand Rapids, MI. He finished the game with 39 points (limited minutes because of score differential) and this game really started to propel his recruitment.
Since then, Drew has been a rising prospect in the state receiving many phone calls and many offers in the last couple of months. The offers include Goshen (Home Visit), Concordia and Huntington (Already visited) which are all NAIA schools. Malone (Visiting in Oct.), Tiffin (Already visited/work out), Spring Arbor, Indiana South Bend, Sienna Hts., Hope and Findlay (Sept. 25) have all expressed interest in the shooting guard. He hopes to attend a school with a good nursing program.
Drew has been really busy the last few weeks talking to different colleges and trying to make visits. When asked what he’s looking for on the visits, Drew responded by saying “I’m looking for a coach with a good personality that fits my own as well as the academic side with a good nursing program.” He also added, “Location isn’t a major factor as I’d like to stay within 3 hours of home because I’d like my parents, friends and high school coaches to be able to come watch me play.”
Drew expressed that he’d really like to play Division II or NAIA because they can offer full rides and as he said “In order to play at the next level, I think I need to work on my pull up jumper, my post moves and finishing around the rim with my off hand.” Drew is looking forward to the work outs so he can display his ability to do these things in front of college coaches.
As far as making a decision on a college, Drew said, “I’d like to make my decision by mid-late October so I can just focus on my high school season come November.”
I look for Drew to have a really big senior season and I’m sure he’ll need a gym bag to take home all of the awards he’ll earn this winter. He’s not far from becoming Pandora’s All Time leading scorer and he has the county scoring record in his sights as well. He needs less than 500 points to get the county record. Drew said he’d also like to be the Player of the Year in both conferences, lead his team to 20+ wins, win both conferences (Pandora is in 2 basketball conferences) and make a deep tournament run.