'18 CA PG Logan Johnson (Commit)

[ZCat]

I think Cumberland ended up ranked 43. Pretty nice. To me, his ranking was based upon his play, not potential (like Shaq).

I like to look at the stars and numerical rankings to get an idea. In general, the higher the star, the better. There are exceptions.

I also look at who recruited the player, and who offered. We sometimes get in early on players, before they blossom so they may not have a nice offer list.

 

[Btown Bearcat]

Interesting, Cronin doesn't always get the highest rated recruits but he seems to live off of the 4 star 100-150 guys these days. A lot of times they are underrated like Clark, Evans etc. Good to see hopefully he's got few more up his sleeve

 

[waterhead]

I think Dixon was underrated. He could be frustrating but was also one of my favorites to watch. I don't know if he'd start over cumberland or evans though.

I think the only wing(s) who could start over Evans or Cumberland would be guys like SK or Lance in the Cronin era. I think the only bigs who would start over Clark or Washington would be maybe Gates.

PG is another story because we don't know what we have now but we have had Caupain, Cash, Vaughn.

We currently have 2 of the top 4 wings under Cronin IMO and probably two of the top 3 bigs. Again, PG we will have to wait and see but there is reason for optimism there as well.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Over the summer we knew the PG we got would have to realize that minutes will be tough in the first year. I feel like Johnson must be a mature kid to be able to see the big picture. Bc he will have one hell of an opportunity here. Just the idea that he's willing to go away from home to find the best place to hone his craft also shows maturity. I have a good feeling about this kid. He can be one heck of a playmaker.

 

[waterhead]

Over the summer we knew the PG we got would have to realize that minutes will be tough in the first year. I feel like Johnson must be a mature kid to be able to see the big picture. Bc he will have one hell of an opportunity here. Just the idea that he's willing to go away from home to find the best place to hone his craft also shows maturity. I have a good feeling about this kid. He can be one heck of a playmaker.

Over the next two years we could lose every one of our starters should Cumberland prove to be good enough to leave early. Washington and Clark will be gone next year. Broome, Evans, and Jenifer the year after (if Evans is a 4 year guy). Maybe Cumberland could leave after two more years if he turns out to be the stud we are hoping for.

We will lose some "heavy hitters". We have a nice core group behind them with quality but not sure how many "heavy hitters" we will have from the current bunch of new recruits. I am mainly speaking of offense.

After two years we could be looking at a lineup of guys like

Brooks
Diarra
Williams
Moore
Johnson

I am not sure all of these guys will be at the level we are replacing although I am sure 1 or 2 of them could be. I feel like we have the core group being built for depth but we need to land a couple of top notch recruits to keep the arrow pointing upward. Some guys in that 30-100 range that may not be getting the attention they should.

The problem is it will be a hard sell for playing time outside of a quality scoring big for next year. We may be in somewhat of a "rebuild mode" after 2 years come to pass if we can't land some high quality scoring talent. I think we have all the defense and athleticism we will need though.

It may be too early to say this stuff...but it's just my general feel right now.

 

[juckerrules]

Over the next two years we could lose every one of our starters should Cumberland prove to be good enough to leave early. Washington and Clark will be gone next year. Broome, Evans, and Jenifer the year after (if Evans is a 4 year guy). Maybe Cumberland could leave after two more years if he turns out to be the stud we are hoping for.

We will lose some "heavy hitters". We have a nice core group behind them with quality but not sure how many "heavy hitters" we will have from the current bunch of new recruits. I am mainly speaking of offense.

After two years we could be looking at a lineup of guys like

Brooks
Diarra
Williams
Moore
Johnson

I am not sure all of these guys will be at the level we are replacing although I am sure 1 or 2 of them could be. I feel like we have the core group being built for depth but we need to land a couple of top notch recruits to keep the arrow pointing upward. Some guys in that 30-100 range that may not be getting the attention they should.

The problem is it will be a hard sell for playing time outside of a quality scoring big for next year. We may be in somewhat of a "rebuild mode" after 2 years come to pass if we can't land some high quality scoring talent. I think we have all the defense and athleticism we will need though.

It may be too early to say this stuff...but it's just my general feel right now.

A final four this year will go a long way towards helping fill that pipeline

 

[Bearcat513]

Over the next two years we could lose every one of our starters should Cumberland prove to be good enough to leave early. Washington and Clark will be gone next year. Broome, Evans, and Jenifer the year after (if Evans is a 4 year guy). Maybe Cumberland could leave after two more years if he turns out to be the stud we are hoping for.

We will lose some "heavy hitters". We have a nice core group behind them with quality but not sure how many "heavy hitters" we will have from the current bunch of new recruits. I am mainly speaking of offense.

After two years we could be looking at a lineup of guys like

Brooks
Diarra
Williams
Moore
Johnson

I am not sure all of these guys will be at the level we are replacing although I am sure 1 or 2 of them could be. I feel like we have the core group being built for depth but we need to land a couple of top notch recruits to keep the arrow pointing upward. Some guys in that 30-100 range that may not be getting the attention they should.

The problem is it will be a hard sell for playing time outside of a quality scoring big for next year. We may be in somewhat of a "rebuild mode" after 2 years come to pass if we can't land some high quality scoring talent. I think we have all the defense and athleticism we will need though.

It may be too early to say this stuff...but it's just my general feel right now.

I really think Williams could turn into that "heavy hitter" you mention. Last year Cumberland was our "stud" freshman, the year before that it was Evans. I think the trend continues and Williams is our stud new guy. He'll find minutes behind Cumberland and Evans both, and I think he'll make the most of them.

 

[waterhead]

A final four this year will go a long way towards helping fill that pipeline

Continued success should help for sure!

 

[waterhead]

I really think Williams could turn into that "heavy hitter" you mention. Last year Cumberland was our "stud" freshman, the year before that it was Evans. I think the trend continues and Williams is our stud new guy. He'll find minutes behind Cumberland and Evans both, and I think he'll make the most of them.

Right...so if he is one of those guys...we will still need 2-3 others to fill the scoring void being left. Washington and Clark can score from inside and they can make a 3 if needed. Brooks won't likely be the scorer Washington is on the inside and also likely not be shooting 3's. Will his D and rebounding make up for the difference? Diarra doesn't seem to have much of a back to the basket game but has a nice outside stroke. Gary can score buckets inside and at least make 3's at a reasonable rate for a big. Defensively and rebounding Clark is going to be tough to top but Diarra is very athletic so maybe not a big deal. They can both get out in transition and/or slash the lane. In terms of versatility we lose some scoring on the inside from both Brooks and Diarra vs Washington and Clark and we lose the ability of Washington stretching the floor for a 3. Offensively I am not sure where to say we gain with the new bigs.

Will T. Moore be a good replacement for Evans or Cumberland? Too early to tell. Logan could very well be a solid PG in the line of a Cash or Caupain but who knows. It's early I know...but I am concerned if we don't land more obvious offensive fire power.

 

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recruiting

I'm a bit surprised at the class coming in this year, especially considering we have Clark and Washington leaving. Currently on the roster behind them, we have no one with any developed offensive skills. Is it the conference or can Mick just not land top tier talent? I really do like Keith Williams but after that I'm a bit disappointed in the players who I think will be projects. I know he knows much more than I do so I'll have to trust that these kids will show up and show out.

 

[UCalum08]

I'm a bit surprised at the class coming in this year, especially considering we have Clark and Washington leaving. Currently on the roster behind them, we have no one with any developed offensive skills. Is it the conference or can Mick just not land top tier talent? I really do like Keith Williams but after that I'm a bit disappointed in the players who I think will be projects. I know he knows much more than I do so I'll have to trust that these kids will show up and show out.

Conference is a major factor. I don't have the numbers but have seen them before, the AAC for the 2017 class have zero kids in the top 100. These league isn't moving on needles. Specifically in UC situation, playing time and having a full roster has left our coaches to be selective with the kids who want to come here.

 

[ThomasMac]

I'm a bit surprised at the class coming in this year, especially considering we have Clark and Washington leaving.

We are so deep in the front court that it's tough to get big men to commit when we can't guarantee any time. Heck, even Quadri saw the writing on the wall and he transferred. Plus the 2018 class isn't very strong when it comes to forwards and centers.

Currently on the roster behind them, we have no one with any developed offensive skills.

I think we'll be happy with the progress Nysier and Tre made in the off-season. Both will be serviceable backups to Kyle and Gary. When they graduate, Nysier and Tre will have had plenty of experience going into their Junior years... and should be further along offensively.

Is it the conference or can Mick just not land top tier talent? I really do like Keith Williams but after that I'm a bit disappointed in the players who I think will be projects.

Noseme is the only "project" in my opinion. Diarra was committed to Washington, so we aren't the only ones who think he can play. Trevor Moore will be a solid 4 year player who can shoot (you can never have too many of those guys). And I agree with what you said about Keith.

 

[ThomasMac]

Here is a more recent video of Logan... not sure if it's been posted yet. The more I watch, the more impressed I become.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fOY_oJ4uIQ

 

[jds513]

He is extremely good at using both hands to finish. That is what i am really impressed by

 

[coachpipe]

He is extremely good at using both hands to finish. That is what i am really impressed by

Yea watching video of him you don’t even realize he’s left handed until he starts shooting jumpers. He’s very good at finishing with his right

 

[waterhead]

Yea watching video of him you don’t even realize he’s left handed until he starts shooting jumpers. He’s very good at finishing with his right

Yah...in this last video here he finished all shots around the rim with his right hand or with both. All of his dunks were either with right hand or both and it appears by design as some lone right hand dunk attempts were in warmups or open court. It looks like he actually PREFERS finishing around the rim with his right although he shoots outside with his left. In the first video I saw it was almost the same exact thing. Predominantly a right hand finisher by an overwhelming majority in the highlight videos.

I am not sure I can remember a guy who shoots lefty but prefers to finish with his right. It's strange but I think it's a huge asset to be that good with both hands. It appears he favors his left when dribbling and penetrating the lane but he doesn't mind assisting with his right at all.

Very ambidextrous! Tough to guard when going to the bucket because of that.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

One of my cousins was an incredible shooter and shot lefty, but was right-handed in all other aspects of life (except random things like shooting pool or throwing frisbee). Might be similar here. Either way, Logan Johnson's natural abilities are off the charts.

 

[waterhead]

Yah...in this last video here he finished all shots around the rim with his right hand or with both. All of his dunks were either with right hand or both and it appears by design as some lone right hand dunk attempts were in warmups or open court. It looks like he actually PREFERS finishing around the rim with his right although he shoots outside with his left. In the first video I saw it was almost the same exact thing. Predominantly a right hand finisher by an overwhelming majority in the highlight videos.

I am not sure I can remember a guy who shoots lefty but prefers to finish with his right. It's strange but I think it's a huge asset to be that good with both hands. It appears he favors his left when dribbling and penetrating the lane but he doesn't mind assisting with his right at all.

Very ambidextrous! Tough to guard when going to the bucket because of that.

His shooting hand is left but his power dunk hand is right. How many players either can do that or prefer to do that? Maybe 1 out of 100?

He seems like a very solid PG in general...but with the reality that he can use both hands extremely well kind of pushes this recruit over the top for me.

 

[waterhead]

One of my cousins was an incredible shooter and shot lefty, but was right-handed in all other aspects of life (except random things like shooting pool or throwing frisbee). Might be similar here. Either way, Logan Johnson's natural abilities are off the charts.

Yah...I know some kids who could switch hit in baseball and maybe preferred to do most things right hand but 1 certain thing left hand (like golf or something unrelated). In basketball I don't know many, if any, who shoot left but have a power right hand dunk (or vice versa). Or dribble left and can zip the ball for an assist with the right. In one of the videos you can see him make a hard baseball pass style assist with his right hand even though his preferred dribble hand seems left.

It's just weird but it's definitely a huge positive for a PG to be so comfortable either way!

 

[waterhead]

Yah...I know some kids who could switch hit in baseball and maybe preferred to do most things right hand but 1 certain thing left hand (like golf or something unrelated). In basketball I don't know many, if any, who shoot left but have a power right hand dunk (or vice versa). Or dribble left and can zip the ball for an assist with the right. In one of the videos you can see him make a hard baseball pass style assist with his right hand even though his preferred dribble hand seems left.

It's just weird but it's definitely a huge positive for a PG to be so comfortable either way!

He's college basketball's "most interesting man".

"I don't always prefer to dribble and shoot with my left...but when I do...I prefer to power dunk and finish with my right."