Richard Pitino pulled a major coup Thursday when he secured a commitment from Brandon Johnson. The grad transfer from Western Michigan is ranked No. 14 by ESPN among those who will be eligible next season.
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 15.4 points and 8.1 rebounds last season. Johnson chose Minnesota over Cincinnati, Dayton, Houston, Illinois,, Louisville,, South Alabama, Tulane, VCU, Virginia Tech and others.
We spoke to the newest Gopher over the weekend where he went in depth about why he chose Minnesota.
Q: With all of the uncertainty going around because of COVID-19 you weren't able to take any official visits. How did the process go of narrowing a list and eventually picking a school?
Johnson: "It was hard. It was definitely a different type of situation dealing with everything that is going on in the world today and not being able to visit schools once my name went into the portal. I did my own research myself on the schools that contacted me, and that's what I learned on mainly plus my family as well. That's who I leaned on as well to help me make my decision."
Q: Lots of coaches now are doing virtual tours by riding around campus on golf carts. Was there anything different than you expected because of all of this?
Johnson: "Some schools had me on the Zoom calls and they made slide shows of stuff around the campus. They basically showed me how life on campus generally operates. It was the same with the guys at Minnesota. They did the same as well.
Q: Was it helpful?
Johnson: "Yes, definitely. It gave me insight on information I wasn't able to look up myself or I was able to see online. It definitely gave me more information that I needed."
Q: How did the Minnesota coaches go about recruiting you?
Johnson: "Pretty much the same. We were on a FaceTime call. Pretty much they were showing me how they feel I can impact the team, and how I can help win games. They showed me how I would be incorporated in the offensive and defensive ends. They just basically showed me what Minnesota is about, because with me living in Illinois, I'm not too familiar with what is going on in Minnesota, the background of the school and things like that. They brushed me up on that as well."
Q: What ended up convincing you that Minnesota is the place you needed to be?
Johnson: "Mainly with them losing the four man and another guy (Alihan Demir and Daniel Oturu) it felt like a great opportunity for me to be able to come in and show the rest of the world what I can really do in the basketball court. This was the first year I had the freedom to show my skills on the floor, and I felt like I took advantage of it well. I feel like I can take advantage there (Minnesota) for sure."
Q: Did they sell the success they had had with post players? The last couple of years they have had some really good ones. Is that something they showed you as well?
Johnson: "Yes, and they showed me how they incorporated those guys in the offense in the past. They were telling me how they would use me in the same way and they would incorporate me the same way they used those guys in the past at the same position."
Q: In today's game where the floor is spread and the guards dominate the ball, Minnesota is old school. They get the ball inside and go through their posts. Is that something you liked when you saw it?
Johnson: "Yes, because I feel like I'm a three-level scorer. I don't mind catching it in the post. I feel like I can score pretty much anywhere on the floor. Knowing that they look to feed their big men was definitely a plus for me."
Q: You've been a great player in college basketball, but you're from Illinois and you were raised in Big Ten country. When you see you can come in to the league and play right away do you have to pinch yourself a little bit?
Johnson: "Yeah, because growing up and playing in AAU, my goal was to be in the Big Ten. I honestly didn't care what school as long as I was in the Big Ten, and now that I have the opportunity to be a part of a Big Ten team I feel like this is the opportunity I have been waiting on. Now it's time for me to put in the work and show everybody that I belong at this level."
Q: For those who have not seen you play, give us a scouting report of your game.
Johnson: "Like I said, I feel like I'm a great three-level scorer. I feel like if they watch my footage they can tell I'm a great two-way player. If my shot is not falling, I feel like I can impact the game or impact the team on the defensive end. I'm a willing defender, a willing rebounder. I'm willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to win the game."
Q: From your conversations with the coaches, how do you think they will use you?
Johnson: "From how they showed me I would be used in the style of play, how I was used at Western is how I would be used here. At Western they ran a lot of plays for me in the post obviously. Some plays were for me to get outside looks, so they said they were going to be like that, but they are going to sharpen my skills up so I can do it at a higher level."
Q: What do you know about the team next year?
Johnson: "Like I said, I did research on my own, and one thing that stuck out to me was how close they were in certain games that they lost in the conference last year. They're a capable group, and I know even dealing with my team this year there were a lot of close games that we lost. I feel like Minnesota is a capable team in making the NCAA Tournament as well. It looks like they have a good group of guys from watching film on them. They all seem like they are really together. That was the real selling point with me when it comes to that."
Q: Did they indicate to you that there would be anymore roster moves?
Johnson: "They really didn't share many details going into that. They just focused on talking about me, and the role I would fit in with the group, and how I would fit in to the team setting."
The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 15.4 points and 8.1 rebounds last season. Johnson chose Minnesota over Cincinnati, Dayton, Houston, Illinois,, Louisville,, South Alabama, Tulane, VCU, Virginia Tech and others.
We spoke to the newest Gopher over the weekend where he went in depth about why he chose Minnesota.
Q: With all of the uncertainty going around because of COVID-19 you weren't able to take any official visits. How did the process go of narrowing a list and eventually picking a school?
Johnson: "It was hard. It was definitely a different type of situation dealing with everything that is going on in the world today and not being able to visit schools once my name went into the portal. I did my own research myself on the schools that contacted me, and that's what I learned on mainly plus my family as well. That's who I leaned on as well to help me make my decision."
Q: Lots of coaches now are doing virtual tours by riding around campus on golf carts. Was there anything different than you expected because of all of this?
Johnson: "Some schools had me on the Zoom calls and they made slide shows of stuff around the campus. They basically showed me how life on campus generally operates. It was the same with the guys at Minnesota. They did the same as well.
Q: Was it helpful?
Johnson: "Yes, definitely. It gave me insight on information I wasn't able to look up myself or I was able to see online. It definitely gave me more information that I needed."
Q: How did the Minnesota coaches go about recruiting you?
Johnson: "Pretty much the same. We were on a FaceTime call. Pretty much they were showing me how they feel I can impact the team, and how I can help win games. They showed me how I would be incorporated in the offensive and defensive ends. They just basically showed me what Minnesota is about, because with me living in Illinois, I'm not too familiar with what is going on in Minnesota, the background of the school and things like that. They brushed me up on that as well."
Q: What ended up convincing you that Minnesota is the place you needed to be?
Johnson: "Mainly with them losing the four man and another guy (Alihan Demir and Daniel Oturu) it felt like a great opportunity for me to be able to come in and show the rest of the world what I can really do in the basketball court. This was the first year I had the freedom to show my skills on the floor, and I felt like I took advantage of it well. I feel like I can take advantage there (Minnesota) for sure."
Q: Did they sell the success they had had with post players? The last couple of years they have had some really good ones. Is that something they showed you as well?
Johnson: "Yes, and they showed me how they incorporated those guys in the offense in the past. They were telling me how they would use me in the same way and they would incorporate me the same way they used those guys in the past at the same position."
Q: In today's game where the floor is spread and the guards dominate the ball, Minnesota is old school. They get the ball inside and go through their posts. Is that something you liked when you saw it?
Johnson: "Yes, because I feel like I'm a three-level scorer. I don't mind catching it in the post. I feel like I can score pretty much anywhere on the floor. Knowing that they look to feed their big men was definitely a plus for me."
Q: You've been a great player in college basketball, but you're from Illinois and you were raised in Big Ten country. When you see you can come in to the league and play right away do you have to pinch yourself a little bit?
Johnson: "Yeah, because growing up and playing in AAU, my goal was to be in the Big Ten. I honestly didn't care what school as long as I was in the Big Ten, and now that I have the opportunity to be a part of a Big Ten team I feel like this is the opportunity I have been waiting on. Now it's time for me to put in the work and show everybody that I belong at this level."
Q: For those who have not seen you play, give us a scouting report of your game.
Johnson: "Like I said, I feel like I'm a great three-level scorer. I feel like if they watch my footage they can tell I'm a great two-way player. If my shot is not falling, I feel like I can impact the game or impact the team on the defensive end. I'm a willing defender, a willing rebounder. I'm willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to win the game."
Q: From your conversations with the coaches, how do you think they will use you?
Johnson: "From how they showed me I would be used in the style of play, how I was used at Western is how I would be used here. At Western they ran a lot of plays for me in the post obviously. Some plays were for me to get outside looks, so they said they were going to be like that, but they are going to sharpen my skills up so I can do it at a higher level."
Q: What do you know about the team next year?
Johnson: "Like I said, I did research on my own, and one thing that stuck out to me was how close they were in certain games that they lost in the conference last year. They're a capable group, and I know even dealing with my team this year there were a lot of close games that we lost. I feel like Minnesota is a capable team in making the NCAA Tournament as well. It looks like they have a good group of guys from watching film on them. They all seem like they are really together. That was the real selling point with me when it comes to that."
Q: Did they indicate to you that there would be anymore roster moves?
Johnson: "They really didn't share many details going into that. They just focused on talking about me, and the role I would fit in with the group, and how I would fit in to the team setting."
