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Ohio State men’s basketball player preview: Meechie Johnson
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The Cleveland native is back in Columbus and ready to make up one of the top backcourts in the country with Bruce Thornton.
Even though it is October and fans are locked into college football, the fall also means that college basketball is right around the corner.
From now until the start of the hoops season in early November, we will be doing player previews and team previews for all the players on the men’s basketball team and the new-look Big Ten Conference.
Name: Meechie Johnson
Position: Guard
Class: Fifth-Year
High School/Previous School: Garfield Heights High School / South Carolina
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Weight: 185 pounds
Height: 6-foot-2
Meechie Johnson returns to Columbus after spending his first two seasons of college hoops at Ohio State and the last two seasons of his career at South Carolina, where he was able to grow as a player and make a name for himself.
He was named to the 2024 All-SEC Second Team and was a two-time SEC Player of the Week. He was also the Lute Olson National Player of the Week on March 4, 2024. He averaged 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over two seasons and 63 games played, starting all but one contest as a Gamecock.
In 2022-23, he started 29 of the 30 games in which he played and averaged 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while playing a career-high 33.3 minutes per game. He was the only player on the team to start all 18 SEC games that year, and led the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game to go along with 3.5 assists per game.
In 2023-24, he was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points and helping the Gamecocks win their most games since 2016-17 en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance. He also scored in double-figures in 22 of 33 games, with a team-high 10 games with 20 or more points.
In the NCAA Tournament, he scored a team-high 24 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, grabbed three rebounds, and recorded three assists against Oregon.
With Ohio State in his first two seasons, he appeared in 43 games across a season and a half and averaged 3.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. As a sophomore, he appeared in 26 games, making five starts and averaging 4.4 points per game in 17.7 minutes.
He got to Columbus early to start his collegiate career, forgoing his senior season of high school to join Ohio State for the 2020-21 season.
Johnson is going to play a lot of minutes, have a ton of usage and be one of the primary scorers and ball handlers for the Buckeyes. Johnson is teaming up with junior point guard Bruce Thornton in what should become one of the top backcourts in the conference. If they reach their full potential, they will be one of the best backcourts in the country.
He is one of the top impact transfers in the country and can immediately be an All-Big Ten type player. He will play 30-35 minutes a game and will be a leader of the team along with Thornton. His minutes could be dependent on the reliability of the backup guards, one being a freshman in Juni Mobley and another being Ques Glover, who is coming off a major injury.
Continue reading...
justingolba via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The Cleveland native is back in Columbus and ready to make up one of the top backcourts in the country with Bruce Thornton.
Even though it is October and fans are locked into college football, the fall also means that college basketball is right around the corner.
From now until the start of the hoops season in early November, we will be doing player previews and team previews for all the players on the men’s basketball team and the new-look Big Ten Conference.
The Meechie Johnson File
Name: Meechie Johnson
Position: Guard
Class: Fifth-Year
High School/Previous School: Garfield Heights High School / South Carolina
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Weight: 185 pounds
Height: 6-foot-2
Breakdown
Meechie Johnson returns to Columbus after spending his first two seasons of college hoops at Ohio State and the last two seasons of his career at South Carolina, where he was able to grow as a player and make a name for himself.
He was named to the 2024 All-SEC Second Team and was a two-time SEC Player of the Week. He was also the Lute Olson National Player of the Week on March 4, 2024. He averaged 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over two seasons and 63 games played, starting all but one contest as a Gamecock.
In 2022-23, he started 29 of the 30 games in which he played and averaged 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game while playing a career-high 33.3 minutes per game. He was the only player on the team to start all 18 SEC games that year, and led the team in scoring at 13.7 points per game to go along with 3.5 assists per game.
In 2023-24, he was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points and helping the Gamecocks win their most games since 2016-17 en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance. He also scored in double-figures in 22 of 33 games, with a team-high 10 games with 20 or more points.
In the NCAA Tournament, he scored a team-high 24 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range, grabbed three rebounds, and recorded three assists against Oregon.
With Ohio State in his first two seasons, he appeared in 43 games across a season and a half and averaged 3.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. As a sophomore, he appeared in 26 games, making five starts and averaging 4.4 points per game in 17.7 minutes.
He got to Columbus early to start his collegiate career, forgoing his senior season of high school to join Ohio State for the 2020-21 season.
Expected Role
Johnson is going to play a lot of minutes, have a ton of usage and be one of the primary scorers and ball handlers for the Buckeyes. Johnson is teaming up with junior point guard Bruce Thornton in what should become one of the top backcourts in the conference. If they reach their full potential, they will be one of the best backcourts in the country.
He is one of the top impact transfers in the country and can immediately be an All-Big Ten type player. He will play 30-35 minutes a game and will be a leader of the team along with Thornton. His minutes could be dependent on the reliability of the backup guards, one being a freshman in Juni Mobley and another being Ques Glover, who is coming off a major injury.
Continue reading...