Jalen Johnson to transfer to East Tennessee State.
KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee basketball player Jalen Johnson has announced that he will spend his senior year at East Tennessee State.
Johnson, a native of North Carolina, will head to Johnson City to play for the Buccaneers and coach Steve Forbes as a graduate transfer. Forbes formerly served as an assistant coach for the Volunteers under Bruce Pearl.
Jan 18, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jalen Johnson (13) controls the ball against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Johnson chose to leave Tennessee because he is in search of more playing time.
ETSU went 30-4 last season and won both the Southern Conference regular-season title and the SoCon Tournament championship. The Bucs qualified for the NCAA Tournament before it was canceled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson averaged 3.5 points and two rebounds per game last season.
High school basketball in the state of Wisconsin has exploded over the last decade. Even specifically in the last few years, the high school talent level in the state is different than ever before. Historically, five-star basketball prospects are …
High school basketball in the state of Wisconsin has exploded over the last decade. Even specifically in the last few years, the high school talent level in the state is different than ever before. Historically, five-star basketball prospects are not offensive lineman in Wisconsin. They do not grow on trees.
Over the past few years, however, Wisconsin has seen elite high school basketball talent. Tyler Herro is a name that most Badger fans do not want to hear. The former 2018 five-star recruit infamously de-committed from Wisconsin in favor of Kentucky after John Calipari swooped into the picture. It’s hard to argue with his decision, as the former Whitnall star was having a solid rookie year with the Miami Heat before the NBA suspended the season. In the 2020 class, Jalen Johnson is the top-ranked player in the state of Wisconsin. The 6-8 forward is a consensus five-star product, and eventually signed with Duke. UW made their play for the Milwaukee native, but eventually lost out to the Blue Devils.
Looking forward to 2021, Patrick Baldwin Jr. is one of the top-ranked prospects in the history of the state of Wisconsin. Listed as number three overall nationally by ESPN, 247sports has the Sussex Hamilton star leaning towards Duke.
The trend of this story is easy to see: Wisconsin high school basketball is at an all-time best and the Badgers are missing out on most of the top players in the state. But the question I want to ask is would UW be better off at making aggressive plays for five-star recruits? Wisconsin basketball has a brand. That brand is defined as we over me. Being a Badger is about winning and building community over a number of years at the college level. Being a Kentucky Wildcat is about making it to the next level. There’s nothing wrong with either way of running a program. They are simply different styles.
Did Herro make the best decision for himself? Absolutely, and I think that it is hard to look at his results and think anything differently. At the same time, are the Badgers really better off throwing time, energy, and resources at trying to steal five-star recruits from Duke and Kentucky, even if those players are in-state? Or is a school that does not have the basketball brand of a Duke or Kentucky better off recruiting players that will not only buy into the program on day one, but also play at UW for multiple years? I think the latter is where Wisconsin is better off. We have seen examples of this in Greg Gard’s 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes. There are players coming into this program that are going to be excellent Badgers, and be at Wisconsin for four, maybe even five years assuming a redshirt or two. We even see it on the players returning next year, many of which made massive leaps from 2018-19 to this past season.
Also, does the fact that Wisconsin is not the best place for a one-and-done recruit mean that the Badgers cannot develop talent? No, not at all. In fact, it is hard for me to think of a player over the last decade (I am a young guy) that Wisconsin has ruined in terms of NBA potential. Sam Dekker was the highest recruit of that decade, and he went 18th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Kentucky and Duke are excellent at what they do, and over the past decade Wisconsin has proved to be excellent at what they do. There are multiple ways to build a successful college basketball program. Should the Badgers turn away a five-star recruit who wants to play in Madison? Of course not. But it does not have to be the focus of Badger recruiting for this team to find success. Wisconsin should not be Duke or Kentucky. The Badgers should be the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.
Tennessee basketball posts video thanking outgoing transfer Jalen Johnson.
KNOXVILLE – Tennessee redshirt junior guard is entering the transfer portal.
Most of Johnson’s time in Knoxville was spent coming off the bench, but he saw his minutes increase year by year, especially after the exodus of stars that followed the 2018-19 season.
Tennessee basketball’s official Twitter account put out a video on Tuesday, thanking Johnson for his contributions as a Vol.
Grateful for this guy and what he's brought to this program, both on and off the court.
Johnson set career highs in points and rebounds per game in 2019-20, although the numbers did not jump off the page. Averaging 3.5 points and 2 rebounds per game, Johnson’s role served as an experienced leader that could help off the bench, defensively and on the perimeter offensively.
His Tennessee career high in points was 13 against Mississippi State, but he will likely be remembered for scoring eight off the bench, including back-to-back three pointers in a comeback win at No. 6 Kentucky last season.
Johnson will depart alongside Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden, who are graduating. Tennessee is bringing in its highest-rated recruiting class in program history next season, so minutes would have been hard to come by if Johnson had stuck around.
With the NBA trade deadline approaching, there may be some swaps of picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, which is considered to be a strong class.
With the NBA trade deadline approaching, there may be some swaps of picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, which is considered to be a strong class.
Now that the rosters for the McDonald’s All-American Game have been announced and the Hoophall Classic is complete, top prospects are emerging as future stars in the league.
This list does not include any of the top international prospects who will likely be selected in 2020 like Killian Hayes and Theo Maledon. It also does not mention any of the top returning players in the nation as it will be unclear who will opt to play in the NBA and it is still tough to predict at this point.
Instead, it offers an introduction to the current high school seniors and the international
All statistics are updated through February 3, 2020 and are pulled from D1Circuit.com, MaxPreps and RealGM unless stated otherwise.
1. Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State (Committed)
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Guard, 6-foot-7, 18 years old, Montverde Academy (Florida)
Cade Cunningham is currently the anchor for Montverde Academy, which is being called the best high school team of all-time. They are currently ranked as the top school in the nation. The point forward is so good that an NBA scout recently told Yahoo’s Krysten Peek he would likely be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft if he were eligible. That indicates he might already be the best player who is not currently in the league. For proof: Cunningham averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 assists per 36 minutes at the U19 World Cup, trailing just one player for total assists (40) during the tournament. With his size and his playmaking ability, he is already showing flashes of becoming a future franchise cornerstone.
2. Jalen Green, Uncommitted
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Guard, 6-foot-5, 17 years old, Prolific Prep (California)
Jalen Green is an incredibly explosive athlete who has improved as a shooter over the past few years as well. The scorer has become a more consistent and reliable option on the floor, offering an attacking mentality that will continue to develop as his competition continues. One of his crowning achievements thus far: He took home tournament MVP during the U17 World Cup in 2018, leading the United States to the gold medal behind 15.7 points per game. He averaged 7.7 three-pointers per 40 minutes during this competition, showing he is a fearless shooter. His natural stroke from the free-throw line shows that his three-point percentage will likely increase within time, too.
3. Evan Mobley, USC (Committed)
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Big, 7-foot-0, 18 years old, Rancho Christian (California)
Evan Mobley was 2019’s Gatorade Player of the Year in California and came into the summer as the highest-rated player on RSCI, which compiles all of the rankings on recruiting sites like 247 Sports and Rivals. The versatile big brags a 7-foot-5 wingspan with a 40-inch vertical leap, a rare measurement combination. He has recently been listed as a small forward, however, which Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo says “points to the dissonance” between his current identity and the best eventual fit in the NBA for someone his size. Still, there is arguably more to like about Mobley’s potential than that of 2020 projected lottery big man James Wiseman.
4. Scottie Barnes, Florida State (Committed)
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Forward, 6-foot-8, 18 years old, Montverde Academy (Florida)
Scottie Barnes currently plays alongside Cunningham at Montverde Academy and has a lot to offer as he continues to develop. He is a stat-sheet stuffer capable of putting up impressive lines for points and rebounds as well as assists. Like Cunningham, he has a point-forward mentality which is elevated by the fact that he is also measured with an incredible 9-foot-1 standing reach. Barnes can be a plug-and-play option for almost any team on both offense and defense in the NCAA and eventually in the NBA. That was an especially attractive trait for him for Team USA in the U19 World Cup, where he was a strong facilitator from the elbow. He assisted on 16.8 percent of scores for his team when he was on the floor despite never acting as his offense’s primary playmaker.
5. Ziaire Williams, Uncommitted
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Wing, 6-foot-8, 18 years old, Sierra Canyon (California)
Ziaire Williams is currently playing high school basketball at the high-profile Sierra Canyon. While he had to sit out the first few months of his senior year because of transfer rules, he has been a force to be reckoned with already. But that was no surprise for those who have followed the prospect. Williams led his AAU team (which also briefly included the aforementioned 2021 projected lottery pick Jalen Green) in points as well as rebounds and assists per game on the U17 circuit. The prospect has shown he is an above-average finisher near the rim, which will be important as he continues his growth. The Stepien’s Ross Homan also believes Williams can become the best shooter in this class. It will be fascinating to monitor his collegiate decision as he is the highest-rated recruit without an NCAA commitment yet.
KNOXVILLE — Jalen Johnson and the University of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team honored the memory of Kobe Bryant Tuesday night.
Johnson, an artist, painted a portrait of Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers great, who was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday.
Vols guard Jalen Johnson drew this illustration of Kobe Bryant, which UT displayed before its game tonight in honoring the victims of Sunday’s accident. pic.twitter.com/zc3KsmDkxI
Johnson and the rest of the Vols also sported purple strings in their basketball shoes in their Southeastern Conference game against Texas A&M at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Several fans in the stands also wore Bryant jerseys, including those that had both numbers that the five-time NBA Champion and 17-time all-star wore with Los Angeles during his illustrious career. Bryant began his career wearing No. 8 before switching to No. 24. His No. 10 USA Basketball jersey was also present in the arena.
Johnson’s painting was displayed on the video board before tipoff and UT also had a moment of silence for Bryant before the game.
Jan 26, 2020; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Fans gather at L.A. Live in Los Angeles to pay their respects to former Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant who died in helicopter crash on Sunday. Mandatory Credit: Sandy Hooper-USA TODAY
