It’s now official -- Geron Johnson is now part of the Memphis Tiger’s 2012 recruiting class.
Johnson signed with Memphis a couple of months ago, but due to litany of off-the-court issues, his eligibility status was unclear. Until Thursday:“Geron Johnson is an official member of the 2012-13 Memphis basketball team.” - Josh Pastner .... Story coming.
— L. Jason Smith (@TheCAJasonSmith) August 30, 2012
Now, where this story starts to get interesting is when you look at exactly what Johnson’s off-the-court issues are. In a word: lengthy. From CBSSports.com:
He was arrested for attempted burglary during high school and was an academic non-qualifier upon graduation. He then enrolled at Chipola College in Florida as a freshman but was ultimately dismissed from that team after a marijuana arrest. He then enrolled at Garden City College in Kansas as a sophomore but was also dismissed from that team and school after multiple legal problems, among them allegations that he stole another student’s cell phone.
But Johnson, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Dayton, was a top 100 recruit in the Class of 2010, and if you believe Pastner, than Johnson hasn’t lost all of that talent just yet. That’s why he’ll be playing basketball for the Tigers on a scholarship this year. It’s undoubtedly a risk for Memphis. We’re talking about a kid that was in trouble with the law in high school, couldn’t qualify academically when he finished high school and has gotten kicked out of two JuCos since.
People can change, however, and Pastner is betting that Johnson already has. And we all thought he wasn’t the gambling type.
Johnson becomes the third member of Memphis’ recruiting class, including all-american Shaq Goodwin and Damien Wilson. He’ll have two seasons of eligibility left.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.