Demetrius Meechie Johnson on Committing to Ohio State

Ohio State's class of 2021 just got a big boost by getting a verbal commitment from local high school junior Meechie Johnson. OSU was at the top of Johnson's list of potential schools as they had offered him a scholarship before he played a single game of high school ball. ESPN ranks Johnson as the 40th best prospect and 2nd best in the state of Ohio.

Bio - Meechie Johnson Lebron James

Johnson is 5-11 and 160 pounds and plays combination guard. He projects as an NBA point guard. He is the son of Meechie Johnson Sr. who played for OSU assistant coaches Ryan Pedon and Terry Johnson in his collegiate career. Meechie is also the nephew of Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson. Johnson Jr. played his first 2 years at Garfield Heights before transferring this season, his junior year, to the International Sports Academy located in nearby Willoughby, OH. Johnson is often referred to as "nephew" by NBA star Lebron James as Johnson's father and James grew up balling together. Lebron has been seen at Garfield games alongside fellow NBAers Dwyane Wade and JR Smith.

Other Scholarship Offers

Johnson had received offers from several other schools: Local schools included Cleveland State, Miami of Ohio, and Youngstown State as well as the Big-10's Indiana, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. Other schools included the University of Miami and Florida. His only official visit was to OSU

ESPN Scouting Report

Varying sites have Johnson listed between 5-10 and 6-3. He is a scoring machine having averaged 23.0 points per game as a sophomore and dropping a 50-spot against the 4th ranked local team in just his 2nd game of high school ball. He has never played below the varsity level in high school. He'll be sitting out his junior year at the International Sports Academy while recovering from an ACL injury suffered in March of this year. ISA is prep school where basketball is played year-round. ISA enables players to play 5 years although Johnson remains committed to play for OSU in 2021.

Ohio State Basketball 2021

Ohio State is ranked 25th overall currently. Johnson will be joined by 4-star power forward Kalen Etzler as the current 2021 commits. OSU has offers out to fellow guards Devin Askew (5-star, 10 overall), Khristian Lander (5-star, 12 overall), and Max Christie (5-star, 14 overall). They've also been linked to center Chet Holmgren (5-star, 4 overall). Holmgren made an official visit this week. He is the #1 overall center and his 7-0 frame would go a long way towards increasing the size on the inside game. Also on OSU's radar are local talents CG Malaki Branham (4-star, 25 overall) and a possibly underrated center named Logan Duncomb (4-star, 124 overall). Head Coach Chris Holtmann returns this year for his fourth season and will likely remain through 2021. Holtmann is a big Johnson fan and was instrumental in landing the prospect. Ohio seems committed to local talent after signing the former teammate of Johnson, Alonzo Gaffney. That doesn't mean OSU won't look outside the state for the right prospect. Landing Johnson and Etzler is a great start and Ohio State seems both positioned and devoted to build a strong class in 2021.