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Let me start out by saying that most fans and Big Ten reporters aren’t giving Purdue much of a shot to land Brandon Johns, and I agree with their assessment. He is a great player and could be a huge get for Matt Painter, but most signs point toward him staying in his home state. He is from East Lansing, he attend team camp at UM earlier this month, and everyone north of Michigan City (IN) seems to be tweetng him to either become a Spartan or a Wolverine.
The rumor mill on Twitter and the Michigan message boards kicked into high gear this week with story about Johns committing to John Beilein while in Ann Arbor this weekend. However, I have yet to hear anything definitive from a source that I trust. The recruiting buzz around high-caliber players is often right, but it seems that just as often it is wrong. Remember how many places Biggie was supposed to go to before he finally ended up here? Every recruit and every story behind the scenes is different, so you never know.
Purdue has been in the hunt for Johns for a long time, and I really hope the rumors prove to be false and we can get him. He has a rare combination of skill and athleticism that makes him very tough to guard with just one player. Just watch some of his most recent highlights:
He makes the difficult things look almost effortless at times, and it’ll be frustrating to see him go to either Michigan State or Michigan, but he is one of those players that is so good I’m going to love to watch him no matter where he goes. He’d be a major coup for the Boilermakers and could be the second recruit in a row that we pulled out of a Big Ten rival’s backyard (Nojel Eastern is from Evanston). I don’t think we have a great shot here, but even the czar of recruiting hasn’t ruled us (or IU) totally out yet.
Michigan trending in the Crystal Ball for 4-star Brandon Johns. Indiana, Purdue & Pitt in hunt. Announcing tomorrow. https://t.co/lb5RxEjue4
— Jerry Meyer (@jerrymeyer247) June 28, 2017
Look for Johns to announce tomorrow at 1pm Eastern on his twitter here. If Purdue misses on Johns, some of the next names to watch for in the class of 2018 include Emmanuel Dowuona, Keyshawn Embery, Eric Hunter Jr., and Marcus Bingham Jr..