Saturday, November 13, 1999
Miami lands a big one
Coles: Johnson best MU signee since Harper
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
You have to go back a ways to find the last time Miami University landed a basketball recruit like Julius Johnson. Back further than the signings of Wally Szczerbiak and Damon Frierson.
“He's more well-known than either of them,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said. “I wasn't here at the time, but I'd say it's similar to signing Ron Harper. Ron was the best player in Ohio, and I think, based on what he's done, Julius will be the best player in Ohio this year.”
Johnson is a 6-foot-5, 205-pound guard from Warrensville Heights. He averaged 28 points and 14 rebounds as a junior.
Miami also got a commitment from Chester Mason, a 6-2 guard from Cleveland South. Eugene Seals, a 6-51/2 forward from Saginaw, Mich., is also expected to sign.
Recruiting expert John Stovall has Johnson rated as the 48th best high school player. Bob Gibbons rates Johnson as the best player in Ohio and the 62nd best in the country. Gibbons has Mason in the top 150 and Seals in the top 200.
The stellar class is the fruit of last year's Sweet 16 run.
“I think that had something to do with it,” Coles said. “My assistants, Jermaine Henderson and James Whitford, did a great job.”
Johnson is clearly the pick of the class. He considered Cincinnati and Connecticut, the top two college teams in the country in preseason polls, before signing with Miami.
“When we first started recruiting him, I thought we were wasting our time,” Coles said. “But talking to him, I found that he was more than casually interested. He's very, very good. He's explosive. He can score. He can pass.”
Mason is an up-tempo guard. He averaged 17 points and eight assists as a junior.
“He's very good at getting to the basket,” Coles said. “He'll shoot a lot of free throws.”
Mason and Johnson are athletic enough that Coles is ready to redesign his offense for them.
“He's very good in transition,” Coles said of Johnson. “We're going to have to get out the book on the fast break. We haven't run that around here for a while.”
Sports Stories
Reds raise ticket prices
Reds' Casey wins Hutch Award
New stadium might bar kids' play
Slow punting leaves Brice on shaky ground
Titans cautious of Bengals' upset
XU set for boarding school
No option for UC: Stop ECU's QB
