Days were going by, the question was getting louder. Who was going to be the last open scholarship for Oklahoma basketball?
That answer came as Eastern Illinois transfer guard Marvin Johnson announced his commitment to the Sooners, meaning all 13 scholarships are officially accounted for with first-year head coach Porter Moser.
It has been quite the journey for Johnson, who averaged 22 points per game at Edmond North to lead the Huskies to their only state championship in 2017.
From there, it was two years at Coffeyville Community College and the last two years at Eastern Illinois. This past season was definitely something that put Johnson on the national map.
He averaged 15.3 points per game to go with 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.9 steals and shot 45 percent from the field.
The Sooners needed a guard with size who can score. At 6-foot-6 and 190 pounds and those numbers, yep, the boxes are checked with Johnson.
“Do they fit what I’m trying to do? If they have one year, then it’s one year,” said Moser earlier this month. “But do they fit? Do they add something to the program as a person, as a player? Their skill set, what we need? I’m looking at that more than I normally would.
“With the transfer portal, you really have to be more about what exactly fits you and then the years come second because you just don’t know.”
Johnson entered the portal March 11. You see so many portal guys choose within days or a couple weeks, but it took more than two months for Johnson and OU to connect.
He initially had a top four of New Mexico State, Mississippi State, Arkansas and Drake before switching to a top four earlier this week of OU, Arkansas, Georgia and Ohio State. A long process, but well worth the wait for all involved.
Johnson, strangely enough, becomes the second in-state transfer from the 2017 class to join the Sooners. Former Tulsa Union star Ethan Chargois signed with OU earlier this month after transferring from SMU.
The roster is set. Moser needed to fill nine spots after the expected chaos and fallout of Lon Kruger retiring. Four players for the 2021 class, five transfers and mission accomplished.
Some experience, some defense, some size, some scoring, a little bit of everything was needed and addressed by Moser and staff, culminating with adding Johnson.
Chargois, Johnson and Duke transfer point guard Anthony Goldwire will all be super seniors, taking advantage of the COVID-19 eligibility rule to play a fifth year.
To go with those three, OU added the Groves brothers, Tanner and Jacob, from Eastern Washington. And OU’s 2021 class is three freshmen guards (Bijan Cortes, C.J. Noland, Alston Mason) and junior college transfer Akol Mawein.
The nine newcomers will be joined by Umoja Gibson, Elijah Harkless, Jalen Hill and Rick Issanza, returning from last year’s team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
