South Mountain Junior College (12-9, 8-5) is one of the hottest teams in the ACCAC Conference - winners of their last (3) games on the season. The team has had consistent and strong play this season from several players, but much of the reason for the team's resurgence has been the play of 6-foot-4, 195-pound freshman wing Terrence Johnson. Johnson has been on a tear as of late, and has moved into the conference's league leaders among scorers in the conference.
Johnson was recently selected as the ACCAC's Player of the Week after a huge 36 point, 6 rebound performance in the Cougars' big win over Arizona Western JC. This week, Johnson led South Mountain to two more narrow wins over Scottsdale JC (84-82) and also Glendale JC (83-80) on Saturday. In the win over Glendale, Johnson poured in 20 points and 8 rebounds.
This season, Johnson is averaging 17.2 points and 4.9 rebounds, while shooting an impressive 49% from the field on the season, and also 40.8% from the three-point line - very impressive numbers from a former two-sport star athlete in high school.
Johnson was one of the state's elite football prospects in high school, and had numerous high-major division-I scholarship offers on the table for himself as a wide receiver - including the University of Arizona. While it had been believed that Johnson would head to play big-time college this fall, Johnson surprised everyone - choosing to play basketball in college.
Throughout his high school career, Johnson received strong recruiting interest from such college programs as Weber State, Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado - with each school offering him a scholarship at one time. Look for each of these schools to continue to recruit Johnson and also honor their previous scholarship offers, as Johnson has been on a tear this junior college season.
This week, Johnson also received a scholarship offer from Central Arkansas and head coach Russ Pennell and his staff. Central Arkansas has done an excellent job in recruiting the state of Arizona, and now they are looking to gain another top prospect in Johnson, although many more schools have shown recent interest as well. Such schools as Gonzaga have shown interest in Johnson as of late.
As a senior for Cienega, Johnson led the team to a strong 25-4 overall record on the season, while averaging 16.5 points and 5 rebounds per/game. After a successful high school career where he ranked among the elite overall prospects in the state, Johnson has now developed into one of the elite talents in the ACCAC as well.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: A two-sport athlete in high school (basketball, football), Johnson is a tremendous athletic talent. Johnson is a freak of an athlete, but really developed his overall feel for the game and shooting touch throughout his high school career. Johnson is a nice 2/3 prospect with a sharp shooting stroke and a quick release on his shot with range. He really improved the range on his shot in his final two seasons of high school, and is currently able to score the basketball from deep three-point range or off the dribble from mid-range and around the basket. Johnson is also a good ball handler and passer, and is capable of handling the basketball in the open floor and helping run a team. He is an active rebounder and a strong finisher around the paint, where he utilizes his athleticism and quick lift off the floor to make and finish plays. He is also an aggressive shotblocker for his size with good timing. A superb athlete with excellent toughness and a knack for scoring the basketball.
