May 13, 2011
At the recent Drew Gooden Soldiers Extravaganza in Hayward, the Oakland Soldiers 17U Blue team featured point guard Darin Johnson from Franklin High. When asked how his recruiting was faring, Johnson's answer was more of an embarrassment of riches than anything else as it was a lengthy reply.
This 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds point guard said, "The entire Pac-10 is in contact with me. The whole Big Ten is looking at me too. Cal, USC, San Diego, and Washington came to my school. Arizona, Boise State, and Colorado and have called while Alabama, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Georgetown, LSU, Notre Dame, and Virginia Tech have been recruiting me as well. I plan on taking unofficial visits to Texas, Arkansas, Memphis, and Colorado for now. Texas is my current favorite but my choices aren't narrowed yet. I do not want to be close to home."
This laundry list of close to 30 colleges for the NCP 2013 No. 13 player is no surprise. Johnson is lean and athletic while already possessing fairly polished basketball skills. Despite being listed as a wing, he feels that his best position would be point guard at the next level.
He models his game after Oklahoma City Thunder Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant because Johnson has the size and ball handling ability of Westbrook while also possessing a long frame to score in various ways like Durant. Like these Thunder, Johnson is a slasher who can put the ball in the basket. As a point guard, he would have a significant size advantage while possessing skills that would be hard to defend by either an opposing guard or forward.
When asked what his best basketball skill is and what he is working on the most, Johnson said, "My best move is the behind the back crossover, because my handle is tight and quick enough to keep the defenders off and freeze them for a hot second. I work on my jump shot and strength. My jumper is a tad streaky but needs to change to take my game to the highest level. And I have room to get a lot bigger and stronger."
Big D (what his teammates call him) has been a varsity starter for one year at Franklin. During this summer, Johnson will be showcasing his skills for the Oakland Soldiers, has a 3.0 GPA and would like to major in Sports Medicine. He wants to play for a high tempo school and form a tight relationship with the coaching staff.
Oakland Soldiers 17U Blue Coach Ray Thomas about this 2013 prospect: "Darin's strength is his quickness and explosiveness. Darin is a high flyer type athlete with a picture perfect jump shot. On the court, he is an aggressive scorer whether it is in transition or half court. He is a high motor player. Off the court, he is a quiet but funny kid. He is showing to be a great teammate with his new Soldiers' teammates. Darin has a chance to be high major player as long as he continues the hard work and gym rat mentality that he has now."
Franklin returns Ikenna Iroegbu and Theo Johnson to form a strong nucleus for the Wildcats. Johnson wants to see his Wildcats make a deep run in playoffs and limit the team losses to no more than three. Keep your eyes open for Big D or you may miss him in a hot second in Elk Grove in the upcoming season.
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