- Michigan
Burney’s Michigan hoops notebook: Benton Harbor’s Scooby Johnson picks Butler, Mott’s Isaiah Jackson narrows choices to three
Scooby snacks for everyone in Indy.
Benton Harbor senior small forward Carlos (Scooby) Johnson committed to Butler last week, giving the Bulldogs one bona fide bulldog of a playmaker. The high-motor 6-foot-6 wing with a butter-soft touch is one of the frontrunners in Michigan’s 2020 Mr. Basketball race. He’ll battle it out with Flint Beecher point guard Jalen Terry (Michigan State), Orchard Lake St. Mary’s combo guard Lorne Bowman (Wisconsin) and Waterford Mott five-star forward Isaiah Jackson (uncommitted) in a crowded field this winter.
Johnson logged 26 points and 13 boards per game last season as a junior. During his sophomore campaign in 2018, he averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds a night and nailed the game-winning triple in overtime of the Class B state championship in a head-to-head match-up against current Michigan State sophomore forward Marcus Bingham and his Grand Rapids Catholic Central squad. In his freshman campaign, Johnson led Benton Harbor to the final four.
Both Michigan and Michigan State offered scholarships. Johnson is Butler’s fourth commit in the Bulldogs Class of 2020 recruiting crop.
Butler is located in Indianapolis and competes out of the Big East. The Bulldogs are coached by former Michigan assistant LaVall Jordan, who was an all-state point guard at Albion in the 1990s and a star in the backcourt at Butler in college.
Three is the number
Waterford Mott surefire All-American Isaiah Jackson has narrowed his list of college choices to three schools: Kentucky, Syracuse and Alabama. Jackson is a 6-foot-9 power forward known for being maybe the best defensive player and top rebounder in the nation. He played last season on the prep school circuit at Spire Academy in Ohio alongside potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick LaMelo Ball.
Jackson played at Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest as a freshman in 2017 and at Detroit Old Redford Academy in 2018 before jumping to prep school. Returning to Michigan late last spring, he enrolled at Mott, which is where his sister goes and his brother graduated from.
Tweet of the Week
“Man, Michigan athletes are so slept on right now,” Orchard Lake St. Mary’s junior guard Julian Roper.
— SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN
