Meet the New Guy: Logan Johnson

Last fall, we were all focused on whether or not Luke Fickell could salvage anything from the wreck that was left of the Cincinnati Bearcats football program by Tommy Tuberville. In the first few weeks of the football season, however, perhaps the biggest development for UC sports came out of the men’s basketball recruiting world, as Mick Cronin signed four-star point guard Logan Johnson to the cause.

Now that we have fast-forwarded a year, the landscape at UC is quite different. The Bearcats are an undefeated and nationally ranked football program and Johnson is ready to begin his first season as a Bearcat.

Hailing from Mountain View, California, Johnson has solid size for the position (6’2”) although, like many freshmen just breaking in, he may need to add some bulk to his frame to really get into the lane and score against college defenders. We know that he will be eager to do just that, as he was an impressive scorer in high school, averaging 22 points per game at San Francis High School.

However, Johnson isn’t just a one-dimensional player. He projects to be a well-rounded point guard, which the Bearcats don’t exactly have right now. Justin Jenifer is a savvy passer who can defend the position well enough, while Cane Broome is a lightning-quick scorer. But both have flaws. Johnson, at least based on his track record, could be a nice mix of the two. He managed six assists, three steals and eight rebounds per game at Saint Francis and could even work himself into a role as a two-guard in the Bearcats’ system, depending on the personnel on the team in the next few years.

A top-200 recruit for the 2018 class and one of the best player out of California, Johnson may be fighting for limited playing time this year, as Broome and Jenifer — who are both seniors — get the bulk of the minutes at point guard. However, he couldn’t really ask for better mentors as he prepares to take the keys of the offense in the future.