The Virginia Tech Hokies exceeded expectations by a lot this season with Buzz Williams preparing his team to make a deep run in the ACC Tournament as Virginia Tech has given themselves a small chance at getting to the NCAA Tournament this year. However, Williams is also building for the future as well, and the Hokies are in the top 5 for a 2017 point guard from Ohio.
https://twitter.com/kells_2017/status/707000471081369600
Four-star 2017 point guard Markell Johnson of East Technical High School in Cleveland, Ohio revealed his top 5 which included Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Louisville, N.C. State, and local school Cleveland State. Johnson has 14 offers and has excluded a few other top programs from his top list of schools including Florida, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Arizona State while both Michigan State and Xavier are keeping an eye on him but are yet to offer.
Johnson is ranked as the 54th best junior, 14th best point guard, and second best Ohio recruit by ESPN while the 247 Sports Composite ranks Johnson as the 65th best junior, 17th best point guard, and second best recruit in the state of Ohio.
Johnson took an official visit to Virginia Tech on the weekend of the Hokies' game against Florida State followed by a visit to Ohio State. Reports have been that his visit to Blacksburg went very well and after a visit to Columbus, an Ohio State insider for 247 Sports actually made a Crystal Ball prediction in the Hokies' favor.
Johnson is seen as the future heir to Justin Robinson at point guard for the Hokies, but also as someone that could come in and immediately play a lot as a freshman especially with Seth Allen and Devin Wilson graduating opening up a lot of playing time for a point guard behind Robinson.
The fact that Cleveland State even made Johnson's list has to be a good look for the local mid-major's head coach while N.C. State also seems like a big long shot though Anthony Barber's success has to help them some. Louisville seems like a serious contender as a program that has had a lot of success recruiting top guys in Ohio though uncertainty surrounding Rick Pitino definitely hurts.
Virginia Tech and Ohio State seem to be the top two contenders for Johnson with the Hokies having momentum after Johnson's great visit to Blacksburg. However, Thad Matta is a pretty good recruiter and Buzz Williams will have a battle on his hand with Matta, but the Hokies have given themselves a great chance.
Markell Johnson has the potential to be a great recruiting get for the Hokies in a 2017 recruiting class that could end up being a top 20 recruiting class if the Hokies can get some of their top targets.
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