Breaking: Top Rated In-State Basketball Player Brandon Johns Commits To Michigan

The trend over the last couple of years in college football recruiting is the best players in Michigan go to Michigan. It was definately the case for the 2017 recruiting class when nine of the top 10 rated football players committed to Michigan. They also have secured the overall top rated player in the state over the past two years with Michael Onwenu (2016) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (2017). Well, the same can be said this year for basketball. The decision is in and the top rated player, Brandon Johns, is staying in Michigan, but not close to his hometown of East Lansing. The 6-foot-8/208 pound four-star forward from East Lansing High School announced today he has committed to Michigan.

Johns had both Michigan and Michigan State heavily involved in his recruiting process. He was getting noticed this spring when he started seeing offers from around the country. From May 1-8, he received offers from Memphis, Creighton, Xavier and Missouri. He also recently took unofficial visits to Pittsburgh on June 24 and Indiana on June 12, two other schools that offered. He is rated the No. 1 player in Michigan, No. 18 forward and No. 54 rated player in the 2018 class, according to 247 Sports.

Johns helped his team last season to a 24-1 record and won Associated Press Class A Player Of The Year when he averaged 19.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. While playing on the Nike EYBL circuit, Johns has averaged 12.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game through a total of 16 games. Watch his highlights, here.

The 2018 recruiting class has one other player so far, PG David DeJulius. For anyone who understands the in-state rivalry between Ann Arbor and East Lansing, this was a slam dunk for Michigan and Coach Beilein.