Ohio State transfer Meechie Johnson Jr. commits to Gamecocks
Ohio State transfer Meechie Johnson Jr. has committed to South Carolina, giving Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks men’s basketball program their second transfer pledge in the last three days.
“I chose South Carolina because I believe in Coach Paris and what he is building there,” Johnson told On3’s Joe Tipton. “I love the style of play in the SEC and believe it will fit my game! Coach Paris is a coach who’s been on the biggest stages as a coach and has those same goals to do the same thing at South Carolina! He believes in me tremendously, the city of Columbia is beautiful, and I’m excited to be a Gamecock!”
Johnson chose the Gamecocks over offers from LSU, DePaul and Pittsburgh after visiting South Carolina about a week ago.
The 6-foot-2, 172-pound Johnson originally joined Ohio State as a highly recruited guard prospect from Garfield Heights in Cleveland, Oh.
After an ACL injury cut his high school career short, Johnson joined the Ohio State program midway through the 2020-21 to get a head start.
The On3Consensus — a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies — ranked Johnson as the No. 91 overall prospect and No. 21 point guard in the 2020 class.
Johnson started five games as a sophomore this past season but his Buckeyes career never really got going the way he had hoped as a broken facial bone and sprained ankle slowed his progress this season.
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In 2021-22 Johnson averaged 4.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.7 steals in 17.7 minutes per game. He shot 30.8-percent from the field, 32.1-percent from three, and 73.7-percent from the free-throw line.
Johnson also played in 17 games when he enrolled early as a freshman, but that season doesn’t count against his eligibility due to COVID, meaning he has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Johnson is the second scholarship commitment of the Paris era after the Gamecocks picked up a commitment Saturday from The Citadel graduate transfer Hayden Brown just over a week after hosting him on an official visit.
South Carolina is also a finalist for Boston College graduate transfer guard Brevin Galloway, who announced a final two of the Gamecocks and Clemson on Monday. The Anderson, S.C. native said he’d be deciding soon.
The Gamecocks are looking to replace six scholarship players who entered the transfer portal from last season’s roster as well as James Reese V who is out of eligibility.
