Shadow Mountain High School's 6-foot-4 athletic beast Carlos Johnson is a dominant force in Arizona basketball. In fact, Johnson is the state's most imposing force on the basketball court, as a result of his extreme toughness, athleticism and physical strength. As a result, Johnson is already off to an amazing start during his high school career, pouring in two impressive high school seasons for himself already and coming off an impressive sophomore season where he helped lead his Shadow Mountain high school program to this year's Division-II state championship.
In his sophomore season, Johnson helped lead the Matadors to a 29-3 overall record on the season, while scoring 20.5 points and grabbing 8.1 rebounds per/game, while leading his program to a state title.
Since the end to the high school season, Johnson has continued his terrific play while playing for his club program, Team Bibby, a local club program filled with many of the state's top boys and girls prospects and sponsored by NBA star guard Mike Bibby. Johnson has led his 16U team to several tournament championships, including this year's Double Pump Spring Hoop Fest in California.
As a result of Johnson's dominance on the basketball court, it has been widely publicized by the heavily Nike-sponsored Oakland Soldiers (CA), that Johnson will be playing for their program this summer. While it is still unknown as to how much Johnson will play with both club programs this off-season, the change in club teams by Johnson could also impact his future with the Shadow Mountain HS basketball program, since Mike Bibby is a large part of the Matadors' program. Only time will tell just how much this decision impacts the overall relationship with Johnson and Bibby, and also whether it will affect Johnson's high school future.
Johnson is a glaring talent among Arizona's loaded 2016 class of prospects, and, while his college recruitment has yet to fully take off, look for this young man to quickly become one of the state's most sought after recruiting targets in the very near future.
It is still questionable as to which position Johnson will play in college, but he has shown a nice ability to play as a small forward for the future - possessing a good shooting stroke with range and a strong handle of the basketball. While he has the body of a power forward, Johnson has quick feet and explosiveness that allows him to play much bigger than his size suggests. He is a high-major division-I talent, and his college recruitment should begin to reflect that after a strong summer showing, especially if he finds himself on a dominant Oakland Soldiers' roster for July.
I will continue to follow this story very closely, and bring you any updates as they continue to develop.
