Coach Patino Offers East Tech Guard Markell Johnson Reclassifying Option

Markell Johnson’s first three games this season have confirmed what Cleveland-East Tech High coach Brett Moore always thought about his 6-foot-1 guard.

He has scored 22, 34 and 47 points in those games, all wins for East Tech, and he’s now 12 points away from reaching 1,000 points for his school career — as a junior.

“I don’t see too many guards better than him,” Moore said. “He’s just a dynamic player on both ends of the court. Not too much surprises me, but with him, every game I’m like, ‘Wow.’ I just see other teams just overwhelmed. He’s too much. I feel sorry for a lot of people, because he’s that good.”

As a result, Moore said, Johnson has seen his recruiting process ramp up quite a bit. The four-star, top-100 guard, who by Moore’s estimation “is way better than that,” already has scholarship offers from Arizona State, DePaul, Florida, Virginia Tech and all of the Mid-American Conference schools, Moore said. NC State plans to watch Johnson on Friday, and California, Ohio State and UCLA are all monitoring him as well.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino evaluated Johnson in early November with assistant Kenny Johnson, and the Cards, searching for guards, offered the Cleveland native a scholarship. They also asked Johnson if he would think about moving up from the 2017 class and reclassify into 2016, something Moore said Johnson is strongly considering.

“It’s definitely serious,” Moore said. “They expressed a need at point guard following this year so they want him to consider it. He may have to take one or two classes in the summer, as long as he completes them by August, he’d be ready.”

Moore said his standout guard is going to gain more attention as the season rolls along, and that he is “way better” than the highlight reels from last season that are on YouTube and other video-sharing sites.

Johnson, who has a 6-4 wingspan, has improved his jump shot in recent months, Moore said. The high-scoring guard is 43-of-64 from the field to start this season, including a 17-for-26 performance on Saturday against Idea Public Charter, a Washington, D.C., school. He also had 34 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in a win on Friday.

“He’s super efficient,” Moore said. “He does not want to shoot that ball that much. He always says he thinks he’s shooting too much. A lot of that stuff comes in transition because he’s so great in the passing lane. He’s an elite athlete, a rare athlete. Great combination of power and quickness, and he’s graceful. Great footwork. Great hand-eye coordination.”

via: Courier-Journal