Vols land Keon Johnson, the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee

Keon Johnson, a 6-5 shooting guard from the Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tenn.) and the mostly highly coveted player in the state, committed to Rick Barnes and the Vols on Tuesday evening.

Johnson is rated 4-stars according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s the No.27 player overall, the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee and the No. 5 shooting guard in the class of 2020.

Johnson chose Tennessee over Ohio State, but also had offers from other schools such as Auburn, Vanderbilt, Florida, Ole Miss, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

“It is my home state. Coach (Rick) Barnes is a great coach. He is very hard on his guys but he also loves his guys as well. Distance really doesn’t play a factor in my recruitment. It’s basically up to me to make my decision,” Johnson said last week to Steve Helwagen of Bucknuts.

The in-state star averaged 24.6 points and 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3 steals last season. Last month, he was named MVP of the USA Junior National Team mini camp in Colorado.

According to Jerry Meyer of 247Sports, Johnson is a future NBA first-rounder.

“A well-built, physical and explosive athlete. A well-rounded and versatile offensive player. Primarily a slasher who can both finish and find open teammates. Capable and improving outside shooter. Room for improvement as a full court ball handler. Quality rebounder for position and versatile defender. Should hear his name called in the first round of the NBA draft whenever he declares.”

Small forward Corey Walker, also a 4-star and top-35 player nationally, is the Vols other commit in the class of 2020.

Forum discussion: ’20 TN SG Keon Johnson