At the beginning of each new year, Phenom Hoops works to assemble a series of articles centered around unsigned senior prospects. Last season, over fifty players from South Carolina went on to play at the Division I, II, III or NAIA levels, and that number looks likely to continue increasing with the current senior class. Typically, we take a closer look at guys who are overlooked and underrated, and today’s edition will highlight Harold Johnson Jr. of Cardinal Newman and Upward Stars.
There are various indicators to determine the differences between recruiting in North Carolina versus South Carolina. Often times, being able to prove that player “x” would have more interest and offers outside of South Carolina is among the easiest ways. Take someone like Johnson for example, who has the skill, mentality, and physical tools to justify having at least a handful of offers. Naturally a glue-guy with any collection of teammates, Johnson has the ability to affect all facets of the game without forcing the action or requiring a ton of offensive touches.
We’ve seen Johnson in every possible setting, including at our last South Carolina Top 80 camp, where we stated: “Next, we look at a player that made a priority out of the little things on both sides of the ball, Harold Johnson Jr. He’s a long, high-motor wing prospect that does a terrific job of creating havoc on defense and filling in the gaps on offense. Johnson doesn’t force the action offensively, yet still applies terrific pressure as an off-ball scorer. He gets downhill, attacks the rim extremely well and finishes a high percentage of his attempts around the basket. Johnson moves with purpose and truly knows how to make plays without the ball. He rebounded exceptionally well on both ends of the floor and destroyed opponents in transition. Next in his development process is continuing to work on his ball-handling, as it would allow him to create for himself in a pinch. Coach Hall on Johnson: “Harold has an outstanding motor; he stays active the entire time he’s on the court. He has a knack for slashing into the open gap and finishing well with either hand in traffic. If he continues to improve his perimeter shot, Harold will be a difficult matchup for most defenders.” Johnson is an intriguing prospect, since he’s already quite a useful two-way player, but he can become even better with continued work.”
Johnson was sidelined for most of this past season but still possesses a college-ready game and could help out a variety of programs within the next calendar year. He was a primary option for Upward Stars Columbia throughout the last travel ball season and looked poised to have another productive season. There should be an obvious amount of appeal for someone with very few weaknesses and a lot of clear two-way strengths, so it’ll be interesting to track the rest of his recruitment going forward.