2020 Recruiting: Brandon Johnson

[JimHurley]

I like this fit a lot. Would still prefer Sanogo for the last ship but Johnson would pair nicely next to Whaley in the starting lineup without Akok. Allows us to not sacrifice size at the 4 and bring Carlton off the bench as a 12-15 mpg type guy. Either start Jackson at the 3 or play 3 guards with Bouk as the 3.

Cole, Bouknight, Jackson, Johnson, and Whaley would be the best starting lineup. Perfect combo of guard play, wings, and length. That way we also have a reserve at every position. Gaffney at PG, Adams at SG, Polley at SF, Springs at PF, Carlton/Ferguson at C.

 

[lange10]

Yeah, the "we played four guards" thing is a red herring. We didn't play four guards because Hurley is a maniac who wants to play all guards. We played four guards because we were woefully thin up front, and we remain uncomfortably thin there.

Who would you prefer between Sanogo/Johnson?

 

[UconnU]

Who would you prefer between Sanogo/Johnson?

Wut? Sanogo is a high end 4 Star you take Sanogo 1000% of the time. Move Pork Chop over to the 4.

 

[6xChamps]

Some highlights from this year

These highlights are super helpful because at first I had some questions about his FG% but that was before I realized WMU had him playing like Kevin Durant last year with the ball in his hands. Think on UConn he’d be more of a back to the basket/offensive board and putback type scorer with the occasional open look from three like Akok would get.

 

[Rewster]

Like this kids game.
He is going to make you guard him that is for sure.
Wish I saw a few more passes after the motor starts running.
Looks like he may get tunnel vision once he starts (selvie)

love the aggression and how he uses his body. Has a creative use of the rim and will look to score at every angle with both hands.

Nice face up.
Like his poise with the ball when in neutral. Doesn’t seem to get rushed .
Good handle for a 4.

 

[lange10]

Wut? Sanogo is a high end 4 Star you take Sanogo 1000% of the time. Move Pork Chop over to the 4.

Johnson would fit really really well with us offensively and fill a major void. Long term return on Sanogo would be much greater, though. I’m happy with either. I think we’re a better team next year with Johnson than Sonogo.

 

[auror]

Stats say:

One of the focal points of his offense. Took a lot of shots in the paint. Was fed often. Drew a lot of fouls. Respectable at the line. Strong defensive rebounder, just okay offensively. Has the outside shot to keep defenses honest to respect his drive, but not a sniper. Can protect the paint but not a difference maker in that regard. Defended without fouling too much. Team was pretty bad at both offense and defense.

Video clips show:

Face up game along with roll game. Tough driver. Use his muscle to clear space and draws fouls. Not super athletic, but makes up for it with brawn. Definitely has fire. More than a couple taunts. Smart pump fake on a game winner. Probably not actually 6'8. More like an Adrien 6'6".

Key Takeaways:
Very low turnover rate for a big that handles the ball. Ideal trait for a role player.
Medium low efficiency, but took a ton of shots. Lower volume would probably lead to better efficiency.
Can he defend?
If we need an edge or a rebound, he'll deliver.

 

[Watchdog]

Some highlights from this year

Wow, aggressive and plays "angry". Could be a good fit for what we need next year if Sanogo is a noGO.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Johnson is our starting 4 next year until Akok gets back.

 

[T-Squared]

It’s like the Mexican Hat dance this week. The music is stopping and guys take a seat. Hoping the decision sequence and UConn prioritization align up.

It’s called Musical Chairs, bro.

 

[Mooch82]

Not against pursuing this guy, but I might cry if we don't get any of Nolley, Sanogo, or Etienne

I've seen nothing to think Etienne would be any better than Josh next year. Does not look ready to contribute day 1 if he reclassifies. We'll still be in the driver's seat for him come 2021 if he stays there (which seems likely), with at least 2 and maybe 3 big man slots opening up. Hold your tears in for now.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Stats say:

One of the focal points of his offense. Took a lot of shots in the paint. Was fed often. Drew a lot of fouls. Respectable at the line. Strong defensive rebounder, just okay offensively. Has the outside shot to keep defenses honest to respect his drive, but not a sniper. Can protect the paint but not a difference maker in that regard. Defended without fouling too much. Team was pretty bad at both offense and defense.

Video clips show:

Face up game along with roll game. Tough driver. Use his muscle to clear space and draws fouls. Not super athletic, but makes up for it with brawn. Definitely has fire. More than a couple taunts. Smart pump fake on a game winner. Probably not actually 6'8. More like an Adrien 6'6".

Key Takeaways:
Very low turnover rate for a big that handles the ball. Ideal trait for a role player.
Medium low efficiency, but took a ton of shots. Lower volume would probably lead to better efficiency.
Can he defend?
If we need an edge or a rebound, he'll deliver.

Yeah, I think that on a team where people are guarding Bouk, Cole, Whaley, Josh, Polley, Jackson he would probably be a more efficient player.

I prefer Sanogo if we can get him. But Hurley knows way more about our real chance there than we do.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

Want this guy pretty badly.

a 6'8" 225lb stretch 4 who in 19-20 was 138th in defensive rebounding %, 305th in block %, 221st in getting to the line where he hits 74%, hit the 3 at 33%, which is enough to be a threat.

His efficiency isn't great, but he was taking 28% of their shots last year, most times you're not going to have great efficiency numbers with that amount of shots. Likely would be way less in our offense, which should make him more efficient.

I think this kid could be really good as a stopgap for a year.

 

[tcf15]

Johnny Selvie 2.0

 

[Husky15]

 

[UConnStats]

He cut Georgetown, Illinois, Alabama, Louisville, and Virginia Tech from his list. I’m assuming that this means he’s very concerned with PT. Luckily for UConn they have a ton of open minutes at the 4 right now.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

He cut Georgetown, Illinois, Alabama, Louisville, and Virginia Tech from his list. I’m assuming that this means he’s very concerned with PT. Luckily for UConn they have a ton of open minutes at the 4 right now.

Wish his decision came later once we had a clearer picture of Nolley and Sanogo. Hoping the coaching staff knows exactly what’s up with them.

On one hand, would much rather have Nolley (with the assumption of sitting out a year) or obviously Sanogo. But if we don’t hit on those two, then definitely take this guy. Just looking at his stats, seems like he would give hard minutes and be a great back up big. Definitely not in the mold of some of our recent transfer bigs like passing wizard Eric Cobb.

If I was a coach, I’d be so stressed, especially taking into consideration these are still kids and would want to avoid offering and then pulling offers.

 

[UConnStats]

Wish his decision came later once we had a clearer picture of Nolley and Sanogo. Hoping the coaching staff knows exactly what’s up with them.

On one hand, would much rather have Nolley (with the assumption of sitting out a year) or obviously Sanogo. But if we don’t hit on those two, then definitely take this guy. Just looking at his stats, seems like he would give hard minutes and be a great back up big. Definitely not in the mold of some of our recent transfer bigs like passing wizard Eric Cobb.

If I was a coach, I’d be so stressed, especially taking into consideration these are still kids and would want to avoid offering and then pulling offers.

Sanogo isn’t reclassifying up to be on a team with 3 other centers. Nebraska has had more buzz for a while now anyway. Nolley had a virtual visit the day before Martin committed, so I bet the staff told him they couldn’t wait much longer on him. Don’t see either happening.

 

[Mooch82]

Sanogo isn’t reclassifying up to be on a team with 3 other centers. Nebraska has had more buzz for a while now anyway. Nolley had a virtual visit the day before Martin committed, so I bet the staff told him they couldn’t wait much longer on him. Don’t see either happening.

Only 2 (Carlton and Javonte Brown Ferguson) are really "centers"...and Sanogo is much more ready to play than Javonte Brown Ferguson and better than Carlton. Then Carlton (and Whaley) both graduate. Plenty of opportunity for Sanogo to start and play big minutes as a freshman here. Not to say I expect him to come here, but lack of opportunity would not be the reason why he doesn't.

 

[superjohn]

Sanogo isn’t reclassifying up to be on a team with 3 other centers. Nebraska has had more buzz for a while now anyway. Nolley had a virtual visit the day before Martin committed, so I bet the staff told him they couldn’t wait much longer on him. Don’t see either happening.

Why, Sanogo would start here? Half the board has him going to Seton Hall and they have Obiagu and Mamukelashvili.

 

[the Q]

Only 2 (Carlton and Javonte Brown Ferguson) are really "centers"...and Sanogo is much more ready to play than Javonte Brown Ferguson and better than Carlton. Then Carlton (and Whaley) both graduate. Plenty of opportunity for Sanogo to start and play big minutes as a freshman here. Not to say I expect him to come here, but lack of opportunity would not be the reason why he doesn't.

It wouldn’t shock me if the plan is for springs to also get most of his minutes at the 5.

But we’ll see who the last roster spot is before really being able to get into that.

I’m certainly not against getting a top 5 recruit and seeing how it works for a year.

 

[the Q]

Why, Sanogo would start here? Half the board has him going to Seton Hall and they have Obiagu and Mamukelashvili.

Would he? Is he starting over whaley? Or are you moving whaley to the 4?

 

[Mooch82]

Would he? Is he starting over whaley? Or are you moving whaley to the 4?

Whaley started at the 4 last year. You aren't "moving" Whaley to the 4, you are leaving him at the 4. Sure, he'll play some 5, but if Sanogo came here, Whaley is your starting 4, Sanogo is your starting 5, and Carlton is your backup 5.

We don't really have another starting 4 option at the moment unless we play really small with Jackson or Polley there.

 

[superjohn]

Would he? Is he starting over whaley? Or are you moving whaley to the 4?

Either play them together or one comes off the bench. Point is there isn't much to beat here in the frontcourt as currently constructed. Carlton doesn't fit at all with what we're trying to do here, Javonte Brown Ferguson is a project. I love what I saw out of Whaley at the end of the season but it's just one guy. We're a perfect fit for Sanogo, a ton of playing time on a team that could be damn good. Don't really see the other perceived leaders offering that.

 

[the Q]

Either play them together or one comes off the bench. Point is there isn't much to beat here in the frontcourt as currently constructed. Carlton doesn't fit at all with what we're trying to do here, Javonte Brown Ferguson is a project. I love what I saw out of Whaley at the end of the season but it's just one guy. We're a perfect fit for Sanogo, a ton of playing time on a team that could be damn good. Don't really see the other perceived leaders offering that.

Thanks.

I really don’t disagree. Plus having a dude that’s a load helps with the Igbanu types who always seem to give us fits (to be fair many times that happens, see how guys in the last like Roland Roberts or those other 6-6/6-7 houses from mid majors have been major factors in Cinderella’s).

 

[lange10]

I like Sanogo a ton but I think people are underestimating how hard it is for freshmen bigs, especially a reclassified big, to have an immediate impact. One of our two scholarships was used on the future in Martin. The second needs to go to the player that helps us now. That player is Johnson more so than Sanogo.

 

[UConnStats]

Why, Sanogo would start here? Half the board has him going to Seton Hall and they have Obiagu and Mamukelashvili.

I don’t think it’s a given that Sanogo is better than Whaley this year. Whaley is definitely the superior defender. And either way, Whaley and Carlton will still get minutes. They both played way more than Obiagu and SM can actually stretch the floor and play the 4 sometimes. Nebraska is desperate for talent and can definitely make plenty of room.

This isn’t towards you, but Whaley is not a PF. If he was played there the offense would suffer. Akok can shoot it a bit and the offense was still light years better with 6’4 Brendan Adams manning the 4 after Akok was hurt. That shows the value of having threats pull defenders to the perimeter because Adams didn’t exactly light the world on fire himself. I don’t see Whaley getting minutes at the 4 unless we’re forced to.

 

[navery12]

Whaley started at the 4 last year. You aren't "moving" Whaley to the 4, you are leaving him at the 4. Sure, he'll play some 5, but if Sanogo came here, Whaley is your starting 4, Sanogo is your starting 5, and Carlton is your backup 5.

We don't really have another starting 4 option at the moment unless we play really small with Jackson or Polley there.

He started at the 4 for a few minutes and then for the next 36 minutes the majority of his minutes were at the 5 when Carlton was out and then he'd come out and Carlton came in

 

[JimHurley]

I don’t think it’s a given that Sanogo is better than Whaley this year. Whaley is definitely the superior defender. And either way, Whaley and Carlton will still get minutes. They both played way more than Obiagu and SM can actually stretch the floor and play the 4 sometimes. Nebraska is desperate for talent and can definitely make plenty of room.

This isn’t towards you, but Whaley is not a PF. If he was played there the offense would suffer. Akok can shoot it a bit and the offense was still light years better with 6’4 Brendan Adams manning the 4 after Akok was hurt. That shows the value of having threats pull defenders to the perimeter because Adams didn’t exactly light the world on fire himself. I don’t see Whaley getting minutes at the 4 unless we’re forced to.

With Carlton at the 5, Whaley couldn’t start at the 4 because then the offense would suffer. But I think with a more offensive 5 like Sanogo we could use Whaley more often at the 4.

 

[HanDurley]

I like Sanogo a ton but I think people are underestimating how hard it is for freshman bigs, especially a reclassified big, to have an immediate impact. One of our two scholarships was used on the future in Martin. The second needs to go to the player that helps us now. That player is Johnson more so than Sanogo.

You also have to look ahead. What happens when carlton and whaley graduate? Who is our starting center? Javonte Brown Ferguson? We'll see.