Jarvis Johnson is a 2015 point guard at DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis. The Brooklyn Park native's greatest strength is his speed and ability to change directions quickly. The 6-1, 185-pound Johnson is currently working on improving his jumper.
For Jarvis Johnson, this latest sliver of his Minnesota recruitment has zipped by.
He first spoke with new coach Richard Pitino and Co. in the middle of last week, attending a Gophers team meeting with a few of his AAU teammates. The Minnesota staff watched him play in a Los Angeles EYBL tournament, where he performed impressively. A few days later, on Monday, Pitino offered the DeLaSalle sophomore a scholarship.
It's a notable change of pace from Tubby Smith and the previous coaching staff, which hadn't offered Johnson at all, and barely communicated with him, the guard said.
"Not very often," Johnson said. "I mean, I already know the new coaching staff this year better than I knew the coaching staff last year. They've been pretty cool."
Johnson, who currently has offers from nine programs, started getting a lot of interest as a freshman. So it was a little frustrating to him that he hadn't caught the eye of his home town school.
"It affected me," Johnson said. "I mean, [Smith] came to a lot of games, but I guess he never really thought I was that good."
Johnson has already formed a bond with new assistant Ben Johnson, who was recruiting him last season at Nebraska. And Pitino has made a good first impression with the Brooklyn Park native, who called the coach "laid back" and "a cool guy."
