Theo John, a 6-foot-9 rising senior center from Champlin Park (MN) High, is one of the top big men in the Midwest. John recently narrowed his list of schools to six, including Minnesota who offered him a scholarship in the spring of 2015. John also has offers from schools such as Marquette, Florida, Purdue, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech
John averaged 14.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots per game this past year for the Rebels. He scored in double figures in 22 of 28 games with four games of more than 20 points, including a season-best 22 points versus DeLaSalle.
Gopher Hole caught up with John Classic to talk about the latest on his recruitment.
Gopher Hole: You didn’t get to finish the AAU season, due to a broken nose. What happened to cause the injury?
Theo John: I was just fighting for the ball. It was a loose ball. It was up in the air. I went up and got it, collided with a dude, caught his elbow and messed up my nose. Gave me a really bad concussion. It is part of the game, though.
Gopher Hole: You want to think about your safety first, but was it tough to have to miss a couple of key games?
Theo John: I finished the game. I was really drowsy. I went to the wrong bench and the trainers tried sitting me, but I just kept going, but the next game, my coach pulled out and said “It’s not happening,” but it was hard. That was my last AAU game, but we are moving on to the next chapter, so I am really excited about that.
Gopher Hole: What have the doctors said since you came back?
Theo John: The just said make sure you are resting. Stay out of the bright light. Typical concussion stuff.
Gopher Hole: When do you think that you will be able to get back on the court?
Theo John: They said it depends on how I’m feeling. Just kind of going day by day and when the lights stop bothering me and when I can keep my balance and stuff, we’ll see.
Gopher Hole: You cut your list recently. What schools are you looking at?
Theo John: I cut my list to six. The list is Minnesota, Marquette, Illinois, Oklahoma, Purdue and Cal.
Gopher Hole: How hard was it to come to that final six?
Theo John: It was really hard. I was dealing with a lot of very, very high-end programs and the six that I could see myself really at and really dig into, so it was a really difficult decision, but I have another hard decision coming up.
Gopher Hole: Was it hard to tell some of those coaches that had been recruiting you for a while “no?”
Theo John: Yes. Very hard. The relationships that you build in this process is amazing. I thanked every one of them. I told them beforehand. They saw it on social media just because I had that respect for them and like I said, we built relationships that may last after basketball.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about trying to make some visits to some of those schools yet?
Theo John: We actually scheduled a visit to Cal. We have a visit scheduled to Marquette and that means will have one more visit and we are kind of up in the air on that.
Gopher Hole: Let me just ask you about each school. What do you like about Marquette?
Theo John: Marquette, they really believe in me. They are a great opportunity. They are a basketball college. They don’t have a football team. They are kind of close to home. It is just a great opportunity to me to play right away.
Gopher Hole: How about Cal?
Theo John: Cal. It is a beautiful location, for one. I get along with the coaches very well. It is another opportunity to play right away, but they also told me that you have to earn it and that is what I like to hear.
Gopher Hole: Illinois?
Theo John: Illinois. Again, great coaches, great relationships. They just signed a five-star recruit, (Jeremiah) Tilmon (a 6-10 commit from East St. Louis) and they feel that me and him could play really well together.
Gopher Hole: How about Minnesota?
Theo John: Minnesota. It’s home. I would be able to work with my people and people that I have been working with so far and being able to play for your hometown would be pretty cool.
Gopher Hole: Purdue?
Theo John: They are known for developing big men and that really attracts me to them. Again, great relationship with coaches. Their main thing is how they develop big men and how they get big men the ball and that is what I really like.
Gopher Hole: Oklahoma?
Theo John: Oklahoma. They are a great program. They made it to the Final Four last year and they have believed in me from the start and they have really built relationships. The official visit was great and it was a good time.
Gopher Hole: Have you even thought about when you are going to try to decide on a school. Would you try to decide before the season or the early signing period?
Theo John: I was kind of throwing it around, dates around, but when the time comes, I’ll know and when I know what school I’m going to, I’ll pick that date and announce it and really go from there.
Gopher Hole: Is it nice to know that any of those six schools are good schools and that you can’t really go wrong?
Theo John: That is what my father tells me. He says “You can’t really mess up this decision. There may be a better situation, but at the end of the day, these are six great schools and great opportunities.”
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main factors that make you pick School A over the other five?
Theo John: Relationship with coaches is huge. Place that believes in me. Place that is going to develop me, both on and off the court and lead me with a good set in life, whether that be through playing basketball in the NBA, which is my dream or with a good degree.
Gopher Hole: You didn’t get a chance to play here, but you got a chance to see them play and played pretty well without you and D.J. Hunter, who is hurt, too. Does that get you kind of excited for what you can do this season?
Theo John: Yes. I am very excited about this season. We are going to try to make a state run. We were missing me, D.J. Hunter, Brian Smith; two other great players and it is going very interesting this year for us.