There have been plenty of guard news in the last 24 hours concerning Pitt basketball.
Jeff Capel landed a commitment Tuesday from Top 100 recruit guard Trey McGowens and on Monday, hosted 2018 point guard Xavier Johnson.
Earlier this month, Johnson decommitted from Nebraska and is in the process of determining his next basketball home.
247 Sports rates Johnson (6-foot-3, 170 pounds) as a three-star recruit with offers from Nebraska, Creighton, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, UMass, NC State, Providence and Washington.
Johnson spent the day Monday in Pittsburgh and drove home to Arlington, Virginia last night. This afternoon, Pittsburgh Sports Now caught up with Johnson to get his reaction to the visit and to find out where Pitt stood with him in his recruiting. What stood out to Johnson?
“The coaching staff, athletic director and when I went to go see Penny Semaia (Pitt’s Career and Life Skills Coordinator for Student Athletes),” Johnson said. “What he said really stood out. He talked about reality, life and first impressions.
“I like the Pitt coaching staff and their background. I know that Coach Capel has the background to help me out and get me better. Coach Capel told me that he wants me and that he would not only help me be a better basketball player but would help me become a better man.”
The departure of Marcus Carr, Parker Stewart and Jonathan Milligan has Pitt extremely thin at the guard position and Johnson said the realistic opportunity for early playing time is something that’s appealing to him.
When asked to describe his game, Johnson said he believes believes his compete level is his biggest strength.
“I’ll never give up and I always play hard on the court,” he said.
What’s next for Johnson?
He told PSN that he’ll be making a visit shortly to South Carolina and others could follow. Johnson wants to make his college decision before graduation, which is on May 31. He put Pitt near the top of his list.
“Right now, it’s a tie between Pitt and Nebraska,” he said.
