Mr. Basketball Candidate: Ronnie Johnson

Third in our installment of Mr. Basketball candidates is the second point guard who already has a State Championship to his credit. North Central's Ronnie Johnson was underappreciated, unheralded, and somewhat unknown, except as "Terone's little brother" for far too long. After a solid sophomore campaign, he excelled as a junior, bringing major college attention and offers, ending with a commitment to the Purdue Boilermakers. While there, he'll team up with is brother to make up a potentially all-Johnson backcourt (and possibly a trio of them if they both start with unrelated Anthony Johnson). His play has consistently risen over the seasons, making him a top choice for Mr. Basketball. Let's take an in depth look at RJ.

Player
Ronnie Johnson

Position
5'10 Point Guard

High School
North Central Panthers

College Choice
Purdue University

Junior Stats
14 points - 5 assists - 1.3 steals

Past Seasons
Sophomore - 25-3, won 4A State Championship
Junior - 22-3, lost in 4A Semistate

National Rankings
Rivals.com - 4 star - 91st overall
Scout.com - 4 star, 76th overall
ESPN.com - 4 star, 80th overall
247sports.com - 4 star, 88th overall

Mr. Basketball Outlook

This will be a defining season for Johnson. He will finally be looked at as "the man" at North Central. In the past, there was his brother Terone, and the ever-present accompaniment of classmate and superstar D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera. Well, DSR has moved on to greener pastures at Oak Hill Academy (VA), leaving Ronnie as the main option for the Panthers, and no longer a distributor who could score when needed to. He'll still have a stellar supporting cast including Iowa bound Patrick Ingram, Jimmy Miller, big man Daruis Latham, and lanky sophomore Perry Poindexter. With a 4A State Title under his belt, he has a leg up on most of the competition. And now that it's clearly his team, if North Central is able to win another State Championship this year, Johnson will have to be heavily considered for the award, considering how deep and tough the 4A class is this year. He may have some naysayers who attribute potential success to having such a talented group of teammates. Doing so would be a double-standard, however, as most of the other top candidates have serious help as well (Gary Harris has Zak Irvin and Jaccobby Bledsoe, and Yogi Ferrell has Trevon Bluiett, Troy Spears, Paul Bayt, and more). To me, Johnson is the dark horse candidate no one is talking enough about. He has a real chance if North Central can win it all, or make a deep run in which he plays great.