2020 - Forward - Carlos Johnson (Offer)

Michigan and Michigan State were at Benton Harbor to see 2020 6ā€™6 SF Carlos Scooby Johnson. Benton Harbor destroyed Mattawan 80-45. Mattawan was 8-1 in Class A coming into that game. Scooby has 23 & 11 rebounds.

He is trending up big time. I sent Princeton University out there earlier this week to check him out and they absolutely loved him too. Scooby reportedly has a 4.0. Has the grades and the talent. Hopefully Michigan prioritizes him. Heā€™s the 2020 equivalent to Romeo Weems.

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Really? I like him but I wasnā€™t awed. He looks like a solid player but he didnā€™t blow me away. He just looked like he was bigger than everyone. He seemed like he was in control and had solid fundamentals. Iā€™d like to see more against better competition.

I take that back you said there were some d1 players and 6 7 guysā€™ matched up. Solid player. Iā€™d like to see more

He had 18 rebounds in the Peach Jam semi finals, then a double-double in the peach jam title game for the Family 15u that won every tournament in July. I am sure this kid is the real deal. He is a D1 talent easy. In the game against Mattawan, Carlos was frequently defending and being defended by Nolan Foster, a 6ā€™10 Center who has multiple D1 offers himself. He gave up 4+ inches and a year age/grade and still outplayed him. I was a little skeptical of Johnson last year but his development over the summer has me convinced he is the real deal. The word out of Benton Harbor from what I heard is that he is the best player from there since Wilson Chandler. Not saying he is that level of player, but that is a very high praise being placed on him as only a sophomore.

He plays methodically which I like. I guess he wasnā€™t super springy but thatā€™s ok. Trying to remember heā€™s a sophomore too. Has nice form and he looks like he has great body control and squares up well. What I really liked was some of those full court out let passes that were straight dimes. Obviously you wonā€™t get away with that at a higher level but the vision and accuracy was great.

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I like Scooby. Wish he was a couple inches taller, but heā€™s a gamer.

So is this a Brandon Dawson type player? If yes, probably not the best fit for Beileinā€™s system.

A great hustle, rebounding, smart, glue type guy. He also hit the game winning jump shot in last seasonā€™s Class B state championship game.

Beilein was at Benton Harbor today.

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Appears Michigan is making Johnson a major priority. Beilein has been there multiple times in the past month to see him.

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Is his shot better, or is there a developing trend of Beilein courting athletic non-shooters more often?

Even if his shot hasnā€™t developed I donā€™t think he would represent a new trend for Beilein. Beilein brought in Colton Christian, Chatman, GRIII (mostly a slasher when he committed), and Morgan. He also went hard after Draymond Green, who was not a shooter in HS, and a number of other athletes that didnā€™t fit the supposed ā€œBeilein mood.ā€
My sense had always been that while Beilein values skill more than some coaches, he has tried (not always successfully) to balance that with athleticism/toughness.

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He also turned Matthews into a solid spot up shooter. And if he can do that, he probably feels confident he can get most players to shoot threes at an adequate rate.

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Well you guys are looking at Beilein 2+ years ago. The teamā€™s identity now more than in the past is based on defense and positional versatility. Johnson is a very versatile player who rebounds great for his size and is an elite passer. Heā€™s an ok not great athlete and his jumpshot is ok. Itā€™s improved since last year but still a ways before Iā€™d consider him a knockdown shooter. And heā€™s a 4.0 GPA who is a very quiet and humble kid. Fits the character criteria and student criteria Beilein wants. We will see if an offer is extended. Heā€™s been to several games and practices now since the season started which makes me think heā€™s seruously considering Johnson now.


Johnson had 39 and 12 rebounds in the game.

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https://twitter.com/athlazon/status/1082444351026982914?s=21

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A very high Charles Matthews like release on his shot.

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