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BU recruit- class of 2010- Ricardo Johnson

From ESPN.com's Reggie Rankin:

January, 2009: Johnson is a long armed wing with a great basketball body. He likes to attack the rim and shoot the pull up going to his left. He hangs in the air and draws fouls near the rim and can finish through contact. He can also slash between defenders. He is an excellent defensive rebounder that is a threat to take it coast to coast. Johnson is a good ball handler that can find the open man and remains calm when trapped. Great upside.
 
From Hoopsreport.com's Darnell "Tate" Johnson after Ricardo's soph. season:

The 2010 class maybe the deepest class in Kentucky history. There are over 20 kids in this class that should play high major to mid major basketball in the future. We start at the top with a very talented guard from Covington Holmes, Ricardo Johnson.

Ricardo Johnson (Covington Holmes High, Covington): We have watched Ricardo play for the last two years but the rest of the state wasn’t welcomed to Ricardo's talents till his talent was put on the largest stage at the state championship in Rupp Arena. Ricardo was the catalyst for leading his team to the finals against Mason County. Even though Covington Holmes came up short it wasn’t from lack of effort from Ricardo, who was a star in the game and made the all tournament team. Ricardo can do it all from the point guard, shooting guard or the wing position. This kid is definitely a high major talent.
 
Johnson makes All Queen City High team:

The high school hoops season is over and it's time to hand out the hardware. Holmes brought the state title back to Northern Kentucky for the first time in 28 years. Princeton came up just short on their championship run. Congrats to both teams for keeping all of us entertained this season. Now, let's look at the players that did the same.

Second team:
G ??“ Ricardo Johnson, Holmes, 6-5, Jr.

Ricardo Johnson saved his best for last by winning the MVP of the Kentucky Sweet 16 Tournament as Holmes (36-2) won the state title for the first time. He led the Bulldogs in assists (109) and was second in points (417) and rebounds (212). That balanced game earned him Second-Team All-Kentucky honors. He currently is sitting on 822 career points and has an offer on the table from Bradley along with several others schools expressing interest.
 
Awards that Ricardo received this year:

Second Team All State
Sweet 16 State Tournament MVP
Sweet 16 State All Tournament Team (Second year in a row)
9th Region Tournament MVP
9th Region All Tournament Team (Second year in a row)
9th Region Player Of The Year
9th Region Defensive Player Of The Year
9th Region Division 1 All Star Team (Second year in a row)
 
Eta Rho...who ARE you?

haha

Seriously though...this would be PHENOMENAL for Bradley. This would be a huge coup I think even though we are his only offer I don't expect that to be the case soon. I hope this isn't one of those deals again where Bradley offers early and a kid has us in his top 3 all along but realistically has to choose a BCS school in the end. He would be a star here...plain and simple.

Take a look at how SCARY this would be for the valley:

RJ's freshmen year if he commits to BU:
Sr. Sam Maniscalco
Sr. Andrew Warren
Jr. Eddren McCain
Jr. Taylor Brown
Jr. Will Egolf
Jr. Anthony Thompson (not sure what that means yet)
So. Jake Eastman
So. Milos Knezevic
So. Jordan Prosser
Fr./So. Sean Harris
Fr./So. John Wilkens
Fr. Ricardo Johnson
+ 1 other Sophomore (possibly DSE) or 1 other Freshmen (if we bank this extra scholly)

There is not a name on that list that I didn't like...Anthony Thompson still has upside and could still surprise us.

Honestly, if he commits I could see us being a Sweet 16 team both his freshmen and sophomore years and I like the foundation of the team that is there when he is a Junior as well......and I'm a "realist" sometimes known as "pessimist"
 
Eta Rho...who ARE you?

haha

Seriously though...this would be PHENOMENAL for Bradley. This would be a huge coup I think even though we are his only offer I don't expect that to be the case soon. I hope this isn't one of those deals again where Bradley offers early and a kid has us in his top 3 all along but realistically has to choose a BCS school in the end. He would be a star here...plain and simple.

Honestly, if he commits I could see us being a Sweet 16 team both his freshmen and sophomore years and I like the foundation of the team that is there when he is a Junior as well......and I'm a "realist" sometimes known as "pessimist"

I do work with Queencityhigh.com which is a rivals site in the nky/cincy area, so I'm pretty up to date with the players in that area, especially Ricardo. I was fortunate enough to cover Holmes this year for probably 30 of their 38 games.

Rico is a high character kid who is big on honesty and the coaches being real with him. If the coaching staff is keeping in touch with him and letting him know how important he would be to the program, I'm sure his interest level would continue to grow toward them.

The following is from an article a few months back:

"Right now I'm hearing from Xavier, Cincinnati, Butler, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, Georgetown, West Virginia, South Florida, Ole Miss, Wright State and Virginia Tech," said Johnson.

Johnson has already attended camps at Kentucky, Cincinnati and Xavier, and has made an additional unofficial visit to Xavier.

Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin and assistant coach Tony Stubblefield have been by to see Johnson work out in open gym and Johnson has taken notice. "The coaches at Cincinnati stand out, they keep it real with me and tell me what's right," said Johnson.

As one of the top players in the state of Kentucky in the 2010 class don't expect Ricardo Johnson's recruitment to slow down anytime soon.
 
you are really good with your reporting, thanks...
you are welcome here any time to report on talent from your area
 
you are really good with your reporting, thanks...
you are welcome here any time to report on talent from your area

Thanks Tornado.

I'll be doing an interview with Ricardo here in the next few days and I'll be sure to post it when I finish it.
 
Ricardo Johnson named Ky Enquirer Player of the Year:

From KY Enquirer:

Chelsea Tolliver and Ricardo Johnson both added some impressive accomplishments to their basketball r?©sum?©s during the 2008-09 season. Both led their teams to the state tournament. Both were regional tournament MVPs. Both were named to the Sweet Sixteen all-tournament teams. Both were all-state.

And both are Enquirer players of the year.

Johnson, a Holmes junior guard, averaged 11 points and six rebounds a game. He was one of the area's top defenders. He was an Associated Press second-team all-state selection and helped lead Holmes to a state title.

"Whenever it got into crunch time in the fourth quarter, we wanted the ball in his hands as much as possible," Holmes coach David Henley said.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20090412/SPT0302/904120367/0/SPT0302

(Click on photos for bigger view)

View attachment Rico after semi's.jpg

Ricardo and Coach Henley with Rico's Sweet 16 MVP trophy
View attachment Rico.jpg

View attachment rico lay up.jpg
 
Ricardo was named Courier Journal All State First Team:

Boys First Team:

Player of the year: 6'7 Sr. F Jon Hood- Madisonville North-Hopkins
6'8 Sr. C Richie Phares- Scott Co
6'3 Sr. G Vee Sanford- Lexington Catholic
6'2 Sr. G Jon Ferguson- Elliott Co
5'11 Jr. G Elisha Justice- Shelby Valley
6'5 Sr. F C.J Penny- Anderson Co
6'2 Sr. G Ethan Faulkner- Elliott Co
6'8 Sr. C Darren Ballou- Adair Co
6'7 Jr. F Elijah Pittman- Covington Holmes
6'5 Jr. G Ricardo Johnson- Covington Holmes

The 6-foot-5 Johnson didn't put up gaudy numbers, but he was named Sweet 16 MVP in helping the Bulldogs to the title.

Johnson led Holmes in assists with 2.9 a game and was second on the team in scoring (10.7 points per game) and rebounds (5.6 per game). Holmes coach David Henley said much of the time Johnson also guarded the opponent's top player.

"Ricardo can just do it all, and he's not selfish at all," Henley said. "He guarded Richie Phares at 6-8 when we played Scott County; he guarded Steve McFarland, who is 6-5, when we played Boone County. He ran the point for us some. He can just do anything we need him to."

Johnson averaged 13 points during the Sweet 16 run and was named Northern Kentucky Coaches Association Player of the Year. He was named second-team All-Queen City, honoring the top players in greater Cincinnati.

With 822 career points, Johnson has received an offer from Bradley and other schools, including Kentucky, have shown interest.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090412/SPORTS05/304120023

Ricardo's brother Jeremiah and teammate Jamel Riley were also named honorable mention all state as well..
 
For the record...Ricardo guarded Vee Sanford, Jon Ferguson, and Richie Phares, all three first team all state, and they scored a combined 25 points on him.

Vee was held to 6 points. (16 below his season average)
Richie was held to 4 points. (14 below his season average)
Jon was held to 15 points. (10 below his season average)

Despite being able to play any position on the floor offensively, Ricardo can also defend ANYONE on the floor as well and keep them in check.
 
Ricardo was also named to the Herald-Leader All State Team as well:

Ricardo Johnson

He didn't have flashy numbers — 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds — but Johnson was Holmes' most reliable player and best leader.

The 6-foot-5 senior was named the outstanding defensive player by the Northern Kentucky Coaches Association, and his all-around play earned him the ultimate award — MVP of the Sweet Sixteen — after leading Holmes to the state title.

"During the regional and state tournaments, we made sure Ricardo had the ball in his hands and ran the point coming down the stretch of close games," Coach David Henley said.

Johnson, a junior, has a scholarship offer from Bradley. Indiana and Xavier are also showing interest.

http://www.kentucky.com/813/story/758492-p2.html
 
Holmes duo rated 1-2 college prospects:

Ricardo Johnson and Elijah Pittman, who as juniors led Holmes to the Sweet Sixteen basketball championship, are rated the top two rising prospects in the state by Rick Bolus’ High Potential Recruiting Service.

Johnson, a 6-foot-5 guard, averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds, and Pittman, a 6-7 forward, averaged 14 points and 6.5 rebounds in helping Holmes win 36 of 38 games.

Here’s how Bolus rates the prospects (players are listed with the class they’ll be in next school year):

Top 12

1 Ricardo Johnson, Holmes (6-5 Sr.)
2 Elijah Pittman, Holmes (6-7 Sr.)
3 Chad Jackson, Scott County (6-4 Sr.)
4 Ge-Lawn Guyn, Scott County (6-4 Sr.)
5 George Fant, Warren Central (6-6 Jr.)
6 Donovan Gibbs, Iroquois (6-7 Sr.)
7 Dakotah Euton, Scott County (6-8 Sr.)
8 Vinny Zollo, Clark County (6-8 Jr.)
9 Aaron Cosby, Jeffersontown (6-2 Sr.)
10 Josh Sewell, Trinity (6-4 Sr.)
11 Matt St. John, South Laurel ((6-8 Sr.)
12 Elisha Justice, Shelby Valley (5-11 Sr.)

http://fieldsnotes.bloginky.com/
 
thanks eta--
Vinny Zollo is in limbo now that Calipari is at UK....
several articles say Vinny & his mom want to talk to Calipari but he hasn't returned their calls.
Now that he has all 5-Star recruits, my guess is that he doesn't need Zollo.
http://www.kentucky.com/818/story/754244.html
http://notredame.scout.com/a.z?s=109&p=2&c=856027&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fnotredame.scout.com%2fa.z%3fs%3d109%26p%3d2%26c%3d856027

Zollo won't be at UK...not athletic enough. He's a mid major talent at best though. He's solid in the paint because of his size, but overall, he'd struggle tremendously against either Ricardo, Elijah, or Jeremiah.

A quicker kid of his size or slightly smaller will give him fits all night.
 
Ricardo Johnson of Covington Holmes has been selected as Primetime Performer of the Week for Boys Basketball by tomleachky.com. Johnson, a junior, averaged 13.3 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists a game in leading Holmes to the state championship. He was named MVP of the Sweet 16. Johnson led the Bulldogs to a win over Christian County with 15 points and 11 rebounds. In the second round, Holmes beat Lexington Catholic behind 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three steals from Johnson. In the semifinals, he scored 17 points, dished out five assists, and collected four rebounds in a win over Elliott County. Johnson battled foul trouble in the state championship game against Louisville Central, but scored six points as Holmes got the win in double overtime. Bradley University offered Johnson a scholarship after the state championship game, and several other schools are showing interest.
 
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