'13 NY C Dakari Johnson (Kentucky Verbal)

[Buckskin86]

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Center
New York (N.Y.), Florida
Montverde Academy
AAU: Each 1 Teach 1
Ht:6'10"
Wt:265 lbs
Class:2014 (High School)

The Return of Dakari Johnson

By Adam Zagoria on June 16, 2012

When last we saw Dakari Johnson on the high school circuit, he was a member of the Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick team that lost the mythical national championship game to Kyle Anderson and St. Anthony in March 2011.

That squad also featured Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is now less than two weeks away from becoming a lottery pick in the NBA Draft.

When that season ended in disappointment and heartbreak for the Celtics, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Johnson left New Jersey and followed St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle down to Montverde (Fla.) Academy.

After sitting out all of last season due to transfer rules, Johnson, a Brooklyn native ranked No. 6 among centers in the Class of 2014 by Rivals, is anxious to get it cranked back up and play again this upcoming season.

?It was tough at first, but I got accustomed to it,? Johnson said of the transfer from Colorado Springs, Colo., where he hopes to make the USA Men?s U17 World Championship Team.

?Me sitting out was hard but I sucked it up and I just got in the training room with my trainer and we worked out like two times a day and just got my body in shape.?

Boyle, whose team lost the ESPN National High School Invitational final to Findlay Prep, is anxious to get Johnson on the court along with Florida-bound 2013 point guard Kasey Hill and 2014 shooting guard D?Angelo Russell.
?[Johnson] is legitimately one of the best big kids in the country in terms of drawing fouls on the other players,? Boyle told SNY.tv. ?Aside from scoring and rebounding he usually puts the best four or five [on the other team] on the bench because of foul trouble. So he?s helping the team defensively by putting the other team?s starters on the bench because he?s so massive and skilled at getting fouls.

?We have a chance to be really, really good. We have an All-American point guard and an All-American center and other good players around.?

Like Boyle, Johnson has been affiliated with teams in back-to-back years that lost a high school national championship game.

Now, he wants to put that behind him and win one.

?I?m looking forward to this year,? Johnson said. ?I think we?ll be able to good things at Montverde. We got Kasey Hill, D?Angelo Russell and we got some new transfers, so our goal is a national championship.?

As far as colleges go, Johnson said he?s being pursued by Kentucky, Syracuse, Georgetown, Kansas, Ohio State and Florida, among others.

?I won?t have a list until the end of July,? Johnson said.

Johnson?s mother, Makini Campbell, an English teacher at Montverde, is handling her son?s recruitment.

She said she heard on Friday from Syracuse, Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Stanford, Georgetown, Ohio State and Louisville.

cont...

http://www.zagsblog.com/2012/06/16/the-return-of-dakari-johnson/

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKrYw_2hjWI"]Interview with Dakari Johnson - C 2014 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljuKxO841hs"]Dakari Johnson Top Big Man in the class of 2014, ESPN Ranked #3 Overall. Next Jared Sullinger? - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7RBVmvmHB0"]Dakari Johnson Rivals #3 Prospect in the Class of 2014 - LeBron James Skills Academy 2011 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Elite big man Dakari Johnson reclassifies to 2013
By Jeff Borzello | Recruiting Blogger
November 5, 2012

The class of 2013 keeps getting better and better -? at the expense of the 2014 class. There was Wayne Selden at the beginning of the summer, Noah Vonleh last month, and then Andrew Wiggins a couple of weeks ago. Three five-star prospects moving up a class.

And now there's one more: Elite big man Dakari Johnson is moving from 2014 to 2013, a source confirmed to CBSSports.com.

Johnson, a 6-foot-10 center from Montverde Academy (Fla.), is one of the more dominant post players in the country. He has terrific hands and excellent footwork, and is essentially a lock once he gets position down low. Highly touted for a few years, Johnson was ranked No. 4 in the class of 2014. He immediately becomes the No. 1 center in the class of 2013 and will also move into the top 10 nationally.

As far as recruiting, Kentucky and Florida are strongly in the mix for Johnson, while Georgetown is also making inroads with him. Schools like Syracuse, Kansas, Louisville, Ohio State and others are also heavily involved.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...e-big-man-dakari-johnson-reclassifies-to-2013

 

[NINJA BUCK13]

Thad Mtta is heating up on the recruiting trail


If he could somehow pull off D. Johnson in this '13 class to finish with a Gaurd, Wing, and Big, to go along with the 2 Wings in the '14 class, that would be huuuuuge....


He has to answer to the momentum that Indiana has to eliminate the chance of a slight erosion as the top program in the B1G...


I hate Indiana!

 

[DZ83CK]

I doubt he is seriously considering OSU. He has listed OSU, and his mother was quoted in an article today by Adam Zagoria talking about his list, and she went on for a paragraph about other schools on his list like UK but barely mentioned OSU, just that they have tradition and they have to look into OSU more, as if she didn't even know that OSU is in serious need of a productive big man.

 

[Buckskin86]

Dakari Johnson?s Mother Breaks Down His Six Schools (UPDATED)
November 20th, 2012

Ever since Dakari Johnson announced earlier this month that he planned to move into the Class of 2013 from 2014, not much as been heard from the 6-foot-10 Montverde (Fla.) Academy big man or his family about his recruiting plans.

But his mother, Makini Campbell, spoke extensively to SNY.tv Tuesday about her son?s plans and the schools he?s considering.

Campbell reiterated that her son plans to sign in the spring period ? along with fellow elite players Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon ? and that he is considering Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State and Syracuse ? for now.

?Because of the early signing period, we realize some things will kind of change,? Campbell told SNY.tv.

?Some schools will probably not be in the mix because of some players that signed, and also whether or not schools have availability [of scholarships]. We looked at some schools that they tend to have had verbal commitments from players that are very similar to Dakari, so now he?s kind of getting the thought, ?Well, maybe that?s not really the school that I may want to consider.? You know what I mean??

Ohio State is also in the mix and has had big men like Jared Sullinger make the NBA.

?Their tradition,? she said. ?I spoke to their coaches and so that?s the appeal there. We?re going to explore that a little bit more, know more about that.?

To sum it all up, Campbell said, ?I would say it?s even across the board. No one has stood out.?

http://zagsblog.com/articles/dakari-johnsons-mother-breaks-down-his-six-schools/