2018 - F - Brandon Johns (Commit)

Matt tricked me into thinking I didn’t want Johns, but after watching recent video I’m extremely excited about the possibility of him coming here. He’s such a perfect fit at the 4.

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Sometime recruits have to wait their turn. Johns was playing up and needed to gain experience and wait his turn and it happened for him. I remember stating early last fall that Johns was still young and had a couple of years to progress but this AAU season would tell the story on him. I think he has answered any questions.

Yeah, Johns has excellent potential to be a prototypical modern 4, especially at Michigan. Good height, good athlete, can shoot it, can finish with authority, enough versatility and skills to put in on the deck/attack closeouts. Could potentially pair with Livers really nicely on the wings and/or have two promising 4s.

Look forward to watching it. Thus far, I have seen zero film on Johns.

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A great recruiting win for Coach Beilein and the Michigan Wolverines!

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Excellent pickup and a nice recruiting win for JB over Izzo. Let’s keep it going!

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Watched the first half of Johns’ game vs. NY Rens at the Peach Invitational. It was a really uninspiring game for both teams. Both teams played 2-3 zone the whole half. Indy Heat has 7 guys and Rens has 6. Blah of a game.

Eval on Johns: Seems bouncier than he was last year. Has a great frame that can add some pounds but he doesn’t need to add a ton. He got in the mix for a couple of offensive boards and had a few layups off of those. Missed the only 3 that he took. He didn’t touch the ball much in the flow of the offense. He was basically stationed in the high post and the guards barely looked for him. Zone offense the team was running was terrible. Overall, it was a pretty awful half for everyone, Johns included.

Naturally, the first possession of the second half. Johns gets to a loose ball off an offensive rebound and dunks one home.

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Some recent highlights a colleague of mine did on Brandon Johns from this past July. The highlights were from the 2nd and 3rd Live period events.

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Can’t wait.

Johns took a lot a heat by some early in his high school career. I think he has progressed quite nicely. Also, think JB’s system is going to be perfect for him. Hoping he gives the team at least what Glen Robinson III gave before he is finished with college. I would like to see what his work out stats would be (verticle, etc.)

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He looks so much better than last summer. Much better on the boards.

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I like the look in his eye.

Looks really impressive to me. Compare him to Donnal or Doyle at this stage in their careers–the talent level is on a decided upswing.

Johns is better than those guys at this stage. More athletic and skilled with the ball. Better rebounder than both as well.

I am inclined to compare Johns and Iggy to players like: GR3, Novak, Smot, and Chatman.

It is going to be hard for anybody to develop in the kind of athleticism GR3 had, but I think Johns and Iggy are very high floor type of players. Comparing where everyone was at the high school level, In my opinion, Iggy and Johns have higher floors (by a wide margin) than everyone on that list of guys that played 4 for us.

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I’m an amateur, but I see a lot of DJ Wilson here, especially prior to his big late-term growth spurt. DJ was a jack of all trades in high school, pretty much playing every role at times. Johns seems to have the ability to handle, shoot, rebound, and pass.

I’m almost tempted to say “protect the rim”, but then I need to remind myself these are highlights and that it’s a lower competition level than the NCAA.

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Johns is more college ready/polished then DJ was.

DJ, imo, had a higher ceiling because of his size but Johns is right there. If Johns can consistently play the 3, he, Iggy and Matthews at the 3/4 will be deadly in two years.

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Don’t forget Livers too…that’s quite an incredible collection of diverse skilled athletes for those two spots.

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