Oh, Hello: Pitt Transfer Guard John Johnson Commits to Penn State

John Johnson, Ladies and Gentlemen!
(per Alex Kline)

Stats

The Tale

Johnson was a highly regarded point guard prospect out of Philadelphia in the 2011 class despite lacking a prominent presence on the national AAU circuit. He verballed to Jamie Dixon right before his junior year of high school and remained loyal to the Panthers up until just a few weeks ago. He had a decorated high school career at both Girard College, where he won two PIAA Class A championships, and Life Center Academy and scored a combined 2,314 points in his career.

He was expected to be another Philly product for Jamie Dixon, following in Brad Wanamaker's and Nasir Robinson's footsteps. Last year was his first on campus, and he played in every game for the Panthers, averaging 4.2 PPG in 14.1 MPG while shooting 38% from the arc.

His relationship with coach Dixon seemed to quickly deteriorate after just one game into his sophomore season this year. Johnson didn't log one minute in the season's first contest, a 32-point shellacking of Mount St. Mary's. Dixon said after the game that Johnson was battling an illness, but the disgruntled player quickly took to twitter to claim that wasn't the case. He apparently had been surpassed by true freshman James Robinson on the depth chart. I'd expect there were some other underlying issues that could've contributed to his decision to hastily quit the team.

Outlook

Johnson adds yet another combo guard for Chambers to mold in the backcourt, but his arrival raises even more questions among Penn State's roster. Before Tim Frazier's injury, this recruitment would've made plenty of sense. Johnson, who is a combo guard capable of running the point, would've provided experience at the point while true freshman Geno Thorpe and Graham Woodward got acclimated to the college game. Now that Frazier will likely be back in 2013-2014, the point guard spot is solidified once again with the all-conference talent.

Before anything, the scholarship situation will have to work itself out or someone will be left in the cold. At this point, PSU is 'oversigned' by two 'ships on next year's roster. Simply put, two current players with eligibility remaining from this year's team won't be here next year. Chambers could definitely have this situation under control, but until any info becomes public, this will be a concern going forward.

EDIT - I initially claimed John Johnson had 2.5 years of eligibility remaining. That was wrong, unless Johnson receives a seasons of competition waiver, which doesn't seem likely. Explanation here.

Scholarship Matrix

*Not eligible until the conclusion of the 2013 fall semester.

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