Johnson chooses Virginia

San Diego prep star James Johnson could have chosen almost any place in the country to play his college basketball.
On Sunday, the redheaded Johnson mildly surprised experts and picked Virginia.
After taking his official visit to Charlottesville over the weekend, the 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward canceled scheduled visits to Arizona and Oklahoma, both of which had offered him scholarships.
Johnson, rated as 4-star recruit by Rivals.com, is one of the most highly sought after players to commit to UVa in recent memory.
“He just seemed to really hit it off with the coaches from the very beginning,” said Ted Johnson, James’ father. “Being back on campus this weekend just really sealed the deal.
“He said, ‘Dad, I just feel like Virginia is the place for me.’ Coach Bennett was just tremendous, as were the other coaches. There was just something about those guys.”
Bennett’s first recruiting class is shaping up to be much stronger than anyone anticipated. In addition to Johnson, the new Virginia coach has landed guards K.T. Harrell and Joe Harris, and forward Will Regan. Harrell is also a four-star prospect.
Ted Johnson said his son just went with his gut.
“What he liked was that Coach Bennett was very honest with him,” Johnson said. “He didn’t promise him he’d get to the NBA someday or that he’d even start as a freshman. He said that he would have to earn his position.
“He said all that he could promise was that he would do everything in his power to help him reach his potential and that he would be coming to a place with some of the finest facilities in the country.”
Johnson said there were other factors, too.
“It was the combination of academics and athletics — the Virginia degree and the network of alums meant a lot,” he said. “Playing in the ACC was also a big draw, though he was also starting to get really wooed by the PAC-10 and Big 12.”
The final check mark in Virginia’s favor was the fact that Johnson’s older sister, whom he is very close with, goes to school just up the road at Liberty University.