Future Kentucky men’s basketball player Keldon Johnson was named to the All-USA Boys Basketball All-America Second Team this week.
USA Today comprises three teams made up of five players each for their All-America teams, highlighting the play of senior men’s basketball players throughout the country each year.
A 6-foot-6 shooting guard out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, Johnson is a consensus five-star player and one of the best in the class of 2018. A native of South Hill, Virginia, he previously played for Huntington Prep in Huntington, West Virginia, before transferring to Oak Hill for the 2017-18 season. Johnson is ranked as high as the No. 6 overall prospect by ESPN. 247Sports ranks him as the nation’s No. 13 overall player while Rivals has him at No. 14.
Johnson led the Warriors to a 42-1 overall record and averaged 22.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game during his senior campaign.
Johnson helped his Boo Williams (Va.) AAU team to the semifinals of the Peach Jam after averaging 20.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists during the Nike regular season. Johnson took home MVP honors at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in June. Johnson averaged 22.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists for powerhouse Oak Hill this season and was one of 54 players selected for the USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp in October. He was tabbed to the Naismith Trophy High School All-America Second Team in March.
Johnson appeared in the McDonald’s All-America Game on March 28. In a game usually defined by highlight-reel dunks and offense, Johnson showed he can impact the game in other areas. Johnson still had a couple of rim-rattling dunks, but it was his defense down the stretch that made the difference in the West’s 131-128 comeback victory over the East.
Johnson locked down on defense in the closing minutes, coming up with a key charge – yes, in an all-star game – and a block on USA Today’s High School Player of the Year R.J. Barrett, the top-ranked player in the class, in the closing minutes. Johnson finished with eight points, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 20 minutes.
UK’s next star will suit up alongside another future teammate in Tyler Herro this week in the Jordan Brand Classic on Sunday in the Baclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. They will then play in the Nike Hoop Summit on April 13.
In every season in the Calipari era, the Wildcats have signed a top-three recruiting class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which tallies major recruiting rankings and plugs them into a formula to calculate a consensus ranking.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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Eric Lindsey