Juco sophomore Geron Johnson (Dayton, OH/Garden City Community College) was in the house when the Kansas Jayhawks defeated then #2 ranked Ohio State on December 1oth, and since then he has continued to put up impressive numbers on the court averaging around 15 points per game to go along with around 5 assists per game for Garden City. Johnson may not be playing at the division 1 level right now, but that hasn’t stopped his motivation to improve his game in order to help his team win.
“The season is going good, but I think I have to cut down my turnovers so that we can be a better team,” said Johnson. ”That’s something that has made us lose two of the games we lost, so that’s the main reason why I want to cut down on them. I want to win, no matter the level,” he added.
Johnson picked a great game to visit Kansas earlier this month. Allen Fieldhouse is known as the best college basketball venue in the country for a reason, and Johnson has the opportunity to see the historic Fieldhouse at its best during his visit.
“That [Kansas] visit was good and everything went as expected,” said Johnson of his visit to Kansas. ”It was big-time! They have a bunch of high-major players playing all on one court, so that’s a big-time game. The coaching staff is very intense and they all want to win,” he added.
According to Johnson, the Kansas staff feels he could come in and play a big role for the Jayhawks next season.
“I talk to Kansas very often. They tell me that they think that I can fit into their system of play and they have senior guards leaving, so there is room and opportunity to become a Jayhawk,” said Johnson about his talks with the Kansas staff.
The Jayhawks aren’t the only school hoping to see Johnson on the court for them next season. A host of schools are currently recruiting Johnson, including another Big 12 school.
“Marshall, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Dayton, and Rice has been calling as well. There are a few schools out there,” said Johnson.
Kansas did have the opportunity to host Johnson for a visit, but according to Johnson, a visit isn’t necessarily something he needs in order to pick a school.
“I really don’t need to visit a school to make a choice, because all of the schools will be what you make of it,” said Johnson. ”I’ve already been at different schools in different states, so I already know what the college life is all about. I know the schools. I know the atmospheres. The school that I commit to could be a school that I haven’t visited. I can adjust to whatever program I choose. I want to graduate for sure. I wouldn’t leave early even it I had the chance. I want to go somewhere that has a winning program and that has a chance to win a conference championship and then a National [championship]. Coaching isn’t really anything I’m looking at because I’ve never had a problem with coaching or a style,” added Johnson about what he’s looking for.
Johnson was a top high school player in the class of 2010 coming out of Dunbar High School in Dayton, Ohio. Unfortunately for Johnson, some bad and costly decision ultimately led him to Garden City Community College instead of a high major Division 1 college basketball program. Johnson certainly would rather those decisions never took place, but the reality is that he did make those decision and he did suffer the consequences from having made them. Those decision, according to Johnson, have led to him becoming a better and more mature person so that he will never find himself in that position again.
“My past mistakes have helped shape me to have better character and to understand how quickly you can fall into bad decisions,” said Johnson. “They helped me because I have more knowledge now. I have to be more careful with the decisions that I make daily. If you make the right decisions consistently it becomes a habit where you are doing the right thing,” he added.
As for a timeline on when he will make his college decision, Johnson says it will be sooner than later because he wants to be sure his academics are all set to transfer to whichever school he chooses.
“I’m not going to say [I'm deciding] for sure soon, but I am for sure going to commit early because I want to get that school over to my academic advisor so they can talk and make sure I can pass the classes I need to get cleared.” said Johnson.
