Findlay guard ready for recruiting bustle

If Nick Johnson needed a glimpse of what the college basketball recruiting process is all about, he got an eyeful last season at Findlay Prep.

Johnson spent several months watching the courtship of teammate Cory Joseph, a point guard who was ranked one of the top 10 seniors in the nation. Joseph passed on some advice.

“Cory just told me, 'Take your time, and if you’re not 100 percent sure, just don’t jump on anything,’ ” Johnson said. “Everybody was talking to him and everybody was wanting to know where he was going, and he didn’t let them rush him.”

Joseph whittled his finalists to five before choosing Texas over UNLV, Villanova, Connecticut and Minnesota on April 23.

Similar to Joseph, Johnson, a 6-foot-3-inch guard, is in no rush to commit. And it appears the Rebels won’t get him, either.

“I mean, UNLV still recruits me. I hear from them every now and again,” he said. “But, who knows?

“I really don’t worry about when I’m going to make my decision. I want to take some visits and weigh my options. I’m cutting down my list as we speak.”

Johnson said his list, in no particular order, includes Arizona State, Arizona, St. John’s, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Louisville, Kentucky, Connecticut, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

Rivals.com ranks Johnson No. 45 in the senior class, and his recent play suggests that ranking is legitimate, if not a little low. His strong play this summer has his stock rising.

“I’m getting the looks I need from colleges, and we’re having fun playing in all the tournaments,” he said.

Johnson made two 3-pointers and scored 17 points Friday to lead the Drew Gooden Soldiers to a 102-60 victory over Mac Irvin Fire (Chicago) in the Las Vegas Fab 48 at Bishop Gorman. Johnson went to the bench midway through the second half as the game became a blowout.

“We just came out real strong. That was kind of like a rivalry game,” said Johnson, whose team is 3-0. “They wanted to play us all summer, so they finally got that chance.”

Johnson, who is from the Phoenix area, said the chance to play with Joseph last season was a benefit to his progress.

Johnson averaged 14.2 points for the Pilots, who finished 32-2 and won the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational.

“Playing against Cory every practice, it made me that much of a better player,” he said. “Cory was probably one of the best defensive guards, if not the best, in the country. So with him guarding me every practice, that was good for me.”