BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- This is the second in a series wherein "FTS" will look at the five new players who will don the Red and Blue for the first time on November 9th at the newly renovated UD Arena. You can find the profile on Ibi Watson here:
http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33353
Next up is Chase Johnson. I was fully intending to save Chase for last, pending the decision on his waiver to be immediately eligible from the NCAA, but since that good news arrived earlier this week, he jumps into the spotlight.
Chase hails from Ripley, WV and as everyone knows by now he transferred here from the University of Florida, after one and a half injury-plagued, concussion-filled seasons with the Gators.
Johnson was a 6'9" 3 star recruit coming out of Huntington Prep and there is a veritable boatload of video on his basketball exploits as a prep. Here are some of the highlights:
From the 2017 Flyin' to the Hoop Invitational:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBc6Z5UkPgA
Chase and teammate Keldon Johnson led Huntington Prep to an easy win over Cincinnati Purcell Marian:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXnaM8ScPBA
Here he is vs. Westerville South:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXAhiI2HHY4
Once he got to Gainesville and kept getting hurt, the videos were not quite as plentiful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsUpyhFBNOA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiGBQC4YG-s
Now that he is a full-fledged Flyer, here is what
Busting Brackets had to say about Chase:
The Florida transfer is currently the highest-ranked recruit on the roster (98th in 2017 per ESPN). He only played six games in two seasons with the Gators, partially due to concussions and the fact he transferred halfway through last season (was ineligible to play due to NCAA transfer restrictions). He has 2.5 seasons of eligibility left.
It’s tough to know what to expect from Johnson due to his limited time on the court, but the potential is definitely there. He might be the highest variance player in terms of forecasting the Flyers’ roster.
This is the UD press release on his gaining immediate eligibility:
https://daytonflyers.com/news/2019/1...20-season.aspx
Here is his Verbal Commits page:
http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/chase-johnson
Jon Rothstein had this to say about Chase when he was granted immediate eligibility:
Dayton's Chase Johnson has received a waiver from the NCAA and is eligible for the entire 2019-20 season, per release. Transfer from Florida. Dayton was a consensus Top-40 team before this addition. The Flyers' first-round tilt against Georgia is the sleeper game at the Maui Invitational.
One unique aspect to Chase Johnson's matriculating at UD is that he has two younger, basketball playing brothers!
Ty Johnson is a 6'8" 2020 recruit while Luke is a 2023 prospect and is already 6'9":
https://twitter.com/BigShotsNation/s...61181262123010
The Flyers have had recent success with high major transfers in the personages of Vee Sanford from Georgetown and Jordan Sibert from OSU. Like Johnson, both were underutilized at their previous schools and the
Flyer Faithful can only hope that Chase thrives like they did in his three full seasons at UD. There is every reason to believe that he will do so.
That's it "From the Swamp."
You can email me at:
swampy@udpride.com