Kentucky’s top-ranked basketball recruit commits to play for Louisville
Louisville Trinity guard David Johnson has committed to play college basketball for the hometown Cardinals.
Johnson — a 6-foot-5 combo guard in the class of 2019 — announced the decision Saturday, one week after his official visit to Georgia, the other finalist in his recruitment.
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Johnson is the No. 72 overall prospect in the nation for 2019 and the top-ranked player in the class from the state of Kentucky. He originally committed to U of L last year before backing out of that pledge and re-opening his recruitment following the departure of head coach Rick Pitino.
The main 247Sports rankings peg Johnson as the No. 47 overall player in the class of 2019. He’s ranked No. 72 overall by ESPN and 98th nationally by Rivals.com.
Johnson joins a Louisville recruiting class — the first full one under new coach Chris Mack — that already included four-star shooting guard Josh Nickelberry, four-star small forward Samuell Williamson and four-star power forward Jaelyn Withers. That class is now ranked by 247Sports as the third-best in the country behind only Southern Cal and Kentucky.
“I chose Louisville because that’s where I want to be and that’s where I feel most comfortable,” Johnson told 247Sports on Saturday. “It’s right here in my backyard and we have a great recruiting class coming in. Hopefully we can pick up so more guys. ... I’m really excited. I want to be a part of my hometown team getting put back on the map, like it was before.”
U of L is also currently the Crystal Ball leader for four-star center Aidan Igiehon, who Mack has been recruiting as a top priority in the 2019 class. Igiehon is scheduled to take his official visit to Louisville next weekend, and he also has UK, Oregon and St. John’s among his final four, though it’s unclear how seriously the Wildcats are pursuing him as they continue to cast a wide net for frontcourt prospects in the class of 2019.
Johnson averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game — and shot 43 percent from three-point range — for Trinity last season, leading the Shamrocks to another 7th Region title and an appearance at the state tournament in Rupp Arena. He’ll be one of the favorites for Mr. Basketball honors this season.
UK hosted Johnson for an unofficial visit to Lexington early in his recruitment, but the Wildcats never extended a scholarship offer to the state’s top-ranked prospect and did not get involved with Johnson following his decommitment from U of L last fall. UK does have an early commitment from Pendleton County wing Dontaie Allen, who is also considered a four-star player.
The Cats also have early commitments from five-star point guard Tyrese Maxey and five-star wing Kahlil Whitney.
This story was originally published September 22, 2018 at 1:59 PM.