Jarvis Johnson, a rising sophomore point guard from Minneapolis DeLaSalle, has already landed six scholarship offers to date and has attracted interested from homestate school Minnesota.
Jarvis Johnson, a rising sophomore point guard from Minneapolis DeLaSalle, has already landed six scholarship offers to date and has attracted interested from homestate school Minnesota. Johnson helped lead the Islanders to the Class AAA state title as they finished 26-5, winning their last 14 straight games
Johnson picked the right time to step up his game in the postseason last March. He averaged 6.2 points per game during the regular season with only five double figure scoring efforts, but has scored 15 and 16 points in the Islanders’ two sectional wins over Minneapolis Patrick Henry and St. Anthony Village and 22 points in their first round state tournament 65-46 win over Detroit Lakes.
Jarvis is not the only state champion in the Johnson family. His older sister, Tyseanna Johnson, had 19 points and 11 rebounds, her third straight double-double of the state tournament to lead DeLaSalle to its first-ever girls state basketball title.
She was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 58 points and grabbing 35 rebounds in three DeLaSalle wins. She is being recruited by several top programs, including the Golden Gophers
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Jarvis Johnson to learn the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your recruitment right now?
Jarvis Johnson: I talked to Gonzaga and Purdue and they told me that they are interested, but I have to talk to them more and they are going to come and watch me more.
Gopher Hole: Are you going to try to make any visits before school starts?
Jarvis Johnson: I think that I am visiting Iowa State and Creighton with my sister.
Gopher Hole: Those two schools have offered you already. Who else has extended a scholarship offer?
Jarvis Johnson: I have UNI (University of Northern Iowa), New Mexico State, Buffalo and Wyoming.
Gopher Hole: That has to make you feel awfully proud having six offers before your sophomore season.
Jarvis Johnson: Yes.
Gopher Hole: Does that make you want to work even harder to continue to add even more schools to that list?
Jarvis Johnson: Yes. To get high major D1’s. I want to work every day.
Gopher Hole: What things have you been working on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Jarvis Johnson: My jump shot and conditioning, because I have been out of shape lately.
Gopher Hole: Have you had much of a chance to play with your DeLaSalle teammates?
Jarvis Johnson: We went to the UNI team camp and we didn’t lose any games. I think that we will be pretty good.
Gopher Hole: With you and Reid Travis back and winning a title, a lot of people are expecting you to be the favorite again. Is that something that you like because everyone is going to give you your best game?
Jarvis Johnson: Yes. I like pressure. I’ll be ready. Definitely.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from Minnesota?
Jarvis Johnson: Tubby hasn’t talked to me yet, but I heard that he was interested. I don’t know if he will offer or not, but I hope so.
Gopher Hole: Would you like to stay close to home? I know that you are still far away from any decision that you would make.
Jarvis Johnson: I’m really waiting to see what my sister does. Me and her are really tight, so I am just waiting to see what she does and then from there on, we’ll see.
Gopher Hole: What schools is she hearing from?
Jarvis Johnson: She has N.C. State, Memphis, Minnesota, Iowa State, Creighton. A lot of them. I’m not sure where she is leaning to, though.