Keon Johnson, the top-rated recruit in the state of Tennessee in the 2020 recruiting class, has been turning heads all summer. That remained true this weekend at the Adidas Summer Championship.
Johnson — who plays for The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN — and his travel AAU team, EAB Tennessee, participated in the last leg of the Adidas Gauntlet this weekend. Play began on Thursday, and almost all of Tennessee’s coaching staff was in to see Johnson when he took the court.
According to national recruiting analysts who were in attendance, Johnson was one of the most impressive players through the first couple days of the event.
Evan Daniels, Brian Snow, and Josh Gershon of 247Sports all watched games at both the Adidas Summer Championship event in Birmingham, Alabama and the Nike Peach Jam event in South Carolina. There were dozens of highly-rated prospects participating in both, but Johnson stood out as one of the top players.
Per the analysis of the 247Sports crew, Johnson impressed with his diverse offensive game and his stellar effort.
“It is coming down the home stretch of his recruitment, and Johnson is showing why he is one of the most wanted recruits in the country,” the article states. “An absolutely freakish athlete at 6-foot-5, Johnson was fantastic all day on Friday. He got to the rim, he rebounded the ball, and also his outside shot continues to really improve. Add in that his motor is second to none, and it is clear that he has a huge upside. While he is asked to do a lot for his team, Johnson handles it all in stride, and has been one of the most consistent players on the entire adidas circuit.”
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Johnson is the No. 31 overall player and No. 6 shooting guard in the 2020 class. The regular 247Sports rankings list him as the No. 27 overall prospect and No. 5 shooting guard. Both rankings have him rated as the No. 1 overall player in the state of Tennessee.
Back in May, Johnson announced his three finalists in his recruitment, and the Vols were one of the teams. Tennessee was joined by Ohio State and Virginia on Johnson’s list. Johnson also stated that he will be making his commitment announcement on August 6th at 6:00 PM Central at the Bird St. Church of Christ in Shelbyville, TN.
Johnson took an official visit to Tennessee in October of last year, made his official visit to Virginia in November, and took his official visit to Ohio State in late June last month.
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 former 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, including at the Adidas event this weekend.
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.
Griffin, who recently stepped down as the head coach of EAB, informed me that Johnson will finish in the top three in overall scoring for the Adidas summer circuit. Along with his 21.1 points a game he averaged in April, Johnson averaged 23.8 points a game in five games in the Adidas Summer Championship according to Griffin.
The Vols currently have one player committed to them in their 2020 class. Borderline five-star small forward Corey Walker is UT’s lone 2020 commit as of now.
