Thursday marked the beginning of the Adidas Summer Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, and almost all of Tennessee’s coaching staff was in to watch arguably the Vols’ top target in the 2020 recruiting cycle.
Keon Johnson, the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee, is participating in the Adidas Summer Championship. According to his travel AAU team, EAB Tennessee, both Tennessee and Ohio State’s head coaches and staffs were in to watch Johnson. Vol head coach Rick Barnes and assistants Mike Schwartz and Kim English were courtside to watch Johnson.
Tennessee & Ohio State head coaches + staff here early in Birmingham #EAB2020 6’5 SG Keon Johnson (Shelbyville, TN)… ?Announcing decision Aug 6th ? @iamkeonjohnson @GauntletSeries @adidasHoops @Volquest_Rivals @EvanDaniels @Buckeye_Nation pic.twitter.com/qyK8pLEDa4
— #EAB TENNESSEE (@EAB_Tennessee) July 11, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Johnson is the No. 31 overall prospect and No. 6 shooting guard in the 2020 class. The regular 247Sports rankings have him as the No. 27 overall player and No. 5 shooting guard. Both ratings have him ranked as the top player in the state of Tennessee.
The 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard who plays for The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN listed Tennessee, Ohio State, and Virginia as his three finalists about a month ago. He will be announcing his decision on August 6th at 6:00 Central at the Bird St. Church of Christ in Shelbyville, TN.
Rick Barnes and his staff have developed a close relationship with Johnson over the last few years, and Johnson has been on Tennessee’s radar for quite some time. His EAB travel team coach, Mark Griffin, is a former Vol himself. Johnson has visited UT several times, and Tennessee’s coaches have checked in on him plenty as well.
The talented guard is listed as a shooting guard by recruiting services, but he has the skills to play at point guard if UT wants to put him there. It’s likely he’ll remain out at shooting guard, though.
Back in June, Johnson participated in the prestigious NBPA Top 100 camp on Virginia’s campus. He caught the attention of several analysts in attendance at the camp, and he’s already showing out at the Adidas Summer Championship as well.
Johnson is a tremendous defender and has a knack for picking off passes and blocking shots. He uses his defense to fuel his offense, and he has a variety of ways he can score. Johnson can nail threes, hit pull-up jumpers, drive in the lane, and has some post moves as well. Johnson has a really impressive vertical and just seems to float higher and higher in the air as he skies for dunks. He’s a very well-rounded player with an extremely high ceiling.
As a junior for The Webb School, Johnson averaged 24.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.0 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game according to MaxPreps. He shot 58.4 percent overall and 38.3 percent from three. In the Adidas Gauntlet back in April, he averaged 21.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in seven games, shooting 49 percent overall according to Exposure Sports News. In the first couple games of the Adidas Summer Championship, he’s averaging 21.5 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Johnson wasn’t the only recruiting target who Tennessee’s coaches were in to watch in Birmingham, though.
Rick Barnes was one of several head coaches sitting courtside to watch four-star small forward Josh Hall out of Moravian Prep in North Carolina. Barnes, Schwartz, and English also watched four-star power forward PJ Hall on Thursday.
Rick Barnes, Frank Martin, Bob Huggins, Patrick Ewing among those courtside for 2020 EM 4️⃣⭐️ wing Josh Hall and Team Loaded as they square off with Iowa Barnstormers at the Adidas Summer Championship. pic.twitter.com/qrMNQ0xvry
— Endless Motor Sports (@endless_motor) July 11, 2019
The Adidas Summer Championship will run through July 14th.
