5-star AJ Johnson sets commitment date

On3 Consensus five-star recruit AJ Johnson has set his commitment date for Monday, November 21st at 1 PM EST. The 6-foot-5 point guard recently transferred from recently closed down Donda Academy out to SoCal Academy (Calif.).

Johnson has taken only two official visits (LSU, Texas). The G-League has also been rumored to be involved. He also received offers from NC State, Louisville, USC, among others.

The California native ranks as the No. 16th overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus — the average ranking from all four major recruiting media companies. On3’s evaluators are even higher on him, ranking him 7th overall in the class.

Johnson talks schools

In a previous interview with On3, AJ Johnson discussed a handful of the programs involved in his recruitment.

LSU: “I like their offense. I didn’t know it was that good. I know he used to coach at Murray State, and he used to coach and developed Ja Morant. So I saw how they played there, but their offense is pretty good.

“The love that they’re giving me stands out. It feels like they really want me. It feels like there could be somewhere that could just be home, you know?”

Texas: “I just knew about Texas my whole life. Like Kevin Durant went there, they have had so many pros that went there. Their NIL is crazy right now, like just their marketing of players and everything. Texas is such a big school.

“When I visited, I saw I like their offense for sure. I lived out about their, their stuff too. I saw they didn’t really run that much practice. They have one little thing they do once a month where they do a little running drill up and down, and they got to make it in a certain amount of time, then they’re done. So I didn’t know that they just play a lot.”

Louisville: “It’s Kenny Payne, really, and the whole staff. When they got the new staff, they didn’t really offer a lot of guards in my class. They ended up offering me, that meant something.

“I watched a lot of their play style last year, I know it’s going to be different with new coaches, but I saw how those old coaches played, and I liked it. I could see myself playing more at Louisville, early on.”

Scouting Summary

AJ Johnson is a jet-fast point guard with elite end-to-end speed. He has great length and good size as a lead guard. Johnson will need to add weight; he is very skinny at this point. But his burst and explosion get him to his spots. Johnson is decisive in getting downhill, using his dribble to attack the paint. Johnson has upside on defense with his length and quick twitch. The pull-up jump shot is a weapon in the mid-range. He is an above-average shooter that could continue to tighten. His natural tools are impressive, and as he continues to add weight, his ceiling is as high as any player in the 2023 class. – On3’s Jamie Shaw