Recruiting report: Isaac Johnson (2016)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The first shoe has dropped for the Kickapoo Chiefs as Isaac Johnson became the first player on the talented squad to announce their college choice on Wednesday. A talented 6-foot-1 senior guard, Johnson can handle, shoot and…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingSPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The first shoe has dropped for the Kickapoo Chiefs as Isaac Johnson became the first player on the talented squad to announce their college choice on Wednesday.
A talented 6-foot-1 senior guard, Johnson can handle, shoot and score at all three levels. He is at his best creating mid-range jumpers off the dribble, and has come up clutch several times throughout his high school career, including hitting a key game-winning jumper as the final buzzer sounded against Ozark in the early going of this season.
Johnson first burst on the varsity scene as a sophomore when he averaged 4.9 points and 3.1 assists in limited minutes off the bench on a Kickapoo squad that won 21 games. Then last year, he was part of a deep team that featured seven seniors, as well as many of the key players on this year’s squad. The Chiefs won 24 games last season and Johnson averaged 9.0 points and 3.7 rebounds.
This year, Johnson has helped lead the Chiefs to a 20-2 record and once again is playing on a team loaded with talent and is averaging 9.4 points and 3.5 assists. Kickapoo features several players on college radars including 2017 Jared Ridder and Cam Davis and 2016 guard Niekie Thomas-Fontleroy.
Johnson drew interest from several schools, and also had an offer from former Kansas guard and NCAA Division II Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.
“Drury just really felt like home to me,” Johnson said. “I have all the respect in the world for the Missouri Southern coaches and program and I believe that they are a top of the line program I just felt more comfortable on Drury’s campus.”
Johnson said a big part of his decision to play at Drury was the similarities between his game and that of Drury star guard Kameron Bundy. A native of Nixa, Mo., Bundy has gone on to have one of the most successful college careers in Drury history under head coach Steve Hesser.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to play at Drury the coaches really made me feel like I can be successful in their program and that was a big thing for me,” Johnson said. “Over the years watching Bundy play I saw that we have very similar games and seeing how successful he has been really made me feel good about the decision.
“I definitely think that we have similar playing styles and all the times I’ve watched him (Bundy), he has been fun to watch and it seems like he is always making the right play so getting compared to him is definitely a compliment.”
Johnson readily admits he’s not yet a finished product and says he still has element of his game he hopes to improve before he moves on to the next level.
“A big thing that I will be working on is my body and making sure I can compete with the best at the college level,” he said. “Also working on my jump shot will be another big thing, because you have to be able to knock down shots to be successful.”