London Johnson talks – a little – about delaying commitment announcement

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Wahoo Nation among other fan bases were somewhat stunned Friday when 4-star point guard London Johnson decided to delay a scheduled afternoon telecast announcing his college choice.

Johnson, an elite scorer and defender from Georgia state champion Norcross High School, had previously narrowed his list of more than two dozen offers down to six schools: Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Southern Cal.

I didn’t bother to check other fan bases, but Virginia fans were in full panic mode, wondering what caused Johnson’s sudden decision to delay his announcement to April 14. Conspiracy theories were all over the place and who could dispute them, without any evidence to the contrary.

However, I managed to catch up with the Norcross star Friday evening, and while it was a short chat, I was impressed with Johnson’s maturity about the whole thing. He was willing to only go so far, and I respected that, but didn’t add to any of those numerous conspiracy theories out there on social media.

I asked him point-blank if there were specific reasons why he decided to delay his announcement.

“To be honest — I’d love to share with you … it’s actually quite funny — but will be funnier after 4/14,” Johnson told me.

Realizing we’ll all have to wait until the middle of the month to find out the story, I asked him if fans were reading much more into the announcement delay than necessary.

“Absolutely,” Johnson said.

Before we finished our conversation, the blue-chip prospect added:

“I love Coach [Tony] Bennett and am grateful that he is recruiting me.”

Interpret that on your own.

The only other mention of his commitment delay came on Johnson’s Twitter account when he did something rather astonishing for a high schooler when he wrote:

“In lieu of my college commitment, I’d like to utilize my platform to draw attention to the Russian-Ukrainian war. Please join me and #TheNorcrossFamily in raising 10K for humanitarian support. :gofundme/d4a4eec4

“I’d like to make a difference. As a son of an immigrant, and God-brother to a refugee, I’ve learned of the many dangers that they face. That said, please join me and my teammates in making a difference. My goal is to raise $10,000 which will be donated to charity for refugee humanitarian support.”

Don’t know about you, but that amount of caring for others rings of another Norcross native very familiar to Virginia fans in Malcolm Brogdon, who has made it a priority in his life to assist those in need, particularly in Africa.

Guess we’ll all just have to wait until the 14th to find out what Johnson will do.