When Ohio State offered his son before he had played a single high school game, Demetrius Johnson started to hear the gossip. As a freshman on the same Garfield Heights team as Alonzo Gaffney, Ohio’s top prospect for the class of 2019, it was assumed that the offer was extended to curry favor with the five-star recruit.
Now, with a freshman season under his belt, more scholarship offers to his name and an unofficial visit to Ohio State on Monday under his belt, Meechie Johnson is proving his merit. Listed at 5 feet 11 and 160 pounds, the point guard prospect for the class of 2021 holds offers from Georgetown, UNLV and a host of others including, most recently, Florida.
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A college decision isn’t on the immediate horizon for Meechie Johnson, who is getting ready for the July live evaluation period, but the family is looking for a school with a good family atmosphere that can also prepare him for life if basketball doesn’t work out. Gaffney is committed to Ohio State but will play at a prep school during his senior season, but Sonny Johnson Jr., who will be a freshman this season, is also receiving early recruiting interest from the Buckeyes.
It has had Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson talking about a pipeline of top players going from his program to Ohio State. Demetrius Johnson, his brother, said that’s not something he’s opposed to but cautioned about making the best individual decision.
“An Ohio State pipeline would be unbelievable but at the end of the day I always say it’s about him feeling comfortable and him having a lot of say-so,” he said. “Ohio State was my dream school growing up, but just because I feel like that, he has to have a feel for whatever school he decides to go to. We’re excited. We’re so excited about Ohio State. There’s nothing like it as an Ohio kid. Everyone dreams about it as a school, but I also want him to get to know and get a feel for what you want to do and where you want to go. It’s still early. You’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
