Johnson met with Newport School coach Chris Chaney on Tuesday to tell him how much he appreciated playing for him and attending Newport. We had a nice conversation and in any situation a coach always wants what is in the best interest of the player. He's a terrific kid and his basketball ability is tremendous and we all wish him the best. While at Newport, Johnson guided his team to a 61-10 record and averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The tournament leading scorer was the aforementioned Kevin Gaines, the Clark High School product playing in his hometown.
Gaines becomes the tournament's third all-time leading scorer.
Other notable performers at the Big-Time Tournament were Jonathan Bender, Nick Collison, Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Terrance Ford, Andrew Gooden, Donnell Harvey, Jason Kapono, Garner Meads, Imari Sawyer, Leon Smith, Deshawn Stevenson, Kyle Keever, Lubos Barton, Brian Wethers and Tim Washington. EBO and D.C. Team Assault were two surprise early departures, as D.C. Assault lost to the Madison Broncos 81-66 in the playoff opener. Johnson, interestingly, has a new list of schools with Michigan, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh ranked high. Duke jumped on the Mike Dunleavy Jr. bandwagon at Vegas, and lead for the top junior point guard Chris Duhon of Louisiana. Dunleavy is also attracting attention from North Carolina, but may stay on the West Coast.