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La Salle gets Syracuse transfer B.J. Johnson; adds 2015 forward

03/23/2015, 12:45pm EDT

By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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La Salle head coach John Giannini has done well in the past few years adding local talent who transfer home, and it continued on Monday. The Explorers will add former Syracuse wing B.J. Johnson, a 2013 Lower Merion graduate, a source confirmed to CoBL.

Johnson, a 6-foot-7 wing, averaged 3.4 ppg and 2.5 rpg in 35 games in two years as a member of the Orange, transferring because he wasn’t getting the playing time he wanted. He’ll have to sit out the 2015-16 season, and will be eligible the following year as a redshirt junior.

His father, Bobby Johnson, played at La Salle from 1986-1990 after a standout career at South Philadelphia HS. And while that wasn’t the most important factor in B.J.’s decision, his father is certainly happy to see his legacy continue at La Salle.

“Having a good sense that he would be able to continue a college career career that would be in the upswing, being able to be an impactful player and help them get back to the Tournament and things of that nature, pretty much were the deciding factors from a basketball standpoint,” Bobby Johnson said.

“I’m really happy that he decided to play at my alma mater–now I can actually wear La Salle stuff without having to cheer for Syracuse,” he added with a laugh.

Temple, Saint Joseph’s, Seton Hall, Rutgers and Penn State were amongst the other schools that reached out, Johnson said.

In the last few years, Giannini has brought aboard local products like Earl Pettis (Neumann-Goretti/Rutgers), Tyrone Garland (Bartram/Virginia Tech) and Philly native Ramon Galloway (South Carolina), all of whom have been big pieces for the Explorers in their years at 20th and Olney.

Johnson should bring a very good shooting presence and great size to the perimeter for the Atlantic 10, giving Giannini a weapon who only shot 24 percent from 3-point range in limited attempts at Syracuse but should see that number jump quite a bit with more playing time and opportunities.

And considering he won’t turn 20 years old until December, he’s still very young for his class; the year spent working on adding weight to his 190-pound frame could be very useful.

“He could be a high school senior this year,” his dad said. “His age has a plus, and it also has a minus…his goal is to play in the NBA, he’s already got people enamored with his upside. His upside is enough where you can hold him back a year and he’s going to be bigger, picture him 6-8 and 220, two years from now.”

When he’s eligible, Johnson will join a talented and experienced La Salle perimeter that will consist of seniors Jordan Price and Cleon Roberts, another 6-5 sharpshooter, plus junior guards Amar Stukes and Johnnie Shuler taking care of the point guard duties.

As a senior at Lower Merion, Johnson helped lead the Aces to the PIAA Class AAAA state title, and was named First Team All-State in the AAAA class for his efforts.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein was first with the news.

Johnson wasn’t the only addition for Giannini and staff in the last week.

On Thursday, the Explorers got a commitment from 6-11 senior Rokas Ulvydas out of Mt. Zion Prep (Md.). The Lithuanian-born big man brings some much-needed size to a frontcourt that loses both seniors in 6-11 Steve Zack and 6-8 Jerrell Wright; he picked La Salle over offers from Towson, Iona, Valparaiso and others.

La Salle just wrapped up a 17-16 (8-10 Atlantic 10) season in Giannini’s 11th year. Though the Explorers will have to find a new frontcourt, they do return the entire starting backcourt of Price, Roberts and Stukes.