David Rose Memorial Day Classic Previews
5'11' 2018 Jalen Johnson
Durham Hurricanes ' Murphy
By Jamie Shaw

It became quite clear in April that Jalen Johnson was a point guard that college coaches needed to watch immediately. He always had the skill set and toughness, but his confidence had just taken a step to a different, more elevated, level.

Johnson is a point guard in every sense of the word, he is a throwback of sorts, but is able to score the ball just as well. He has a compact and sturdy build with long arms and quick feet. He takes just as much pride in defending the ball for 94 feet as he does distributing to his team mates and scoring in the paint.

Johnson turned it on in April, finishing out as one of the most dominate 2-way players at Phenom's Grassroots Tip Off LIVE. After the event we wrote,''Johnson has come out this travel with something to prove and night in and night out, he has proven it. Possibly the most dominate player in the entire event, Johnson lived in the paint and was able to finish as well as distribute. He is a leader who makes his team better the second he steps on the floor, and college coaches are taking notice. After this April period, expect numerous offers to start flowing in.'

Johnson's recruitment stock has sky rocketed since his play during the April Live Period as well. He now sits atop the recruiting boards of programs like UNC-Wilmington, Charlotte, Longwood, Radford, Wofford, Furman and others.

Johnson also gave a memorable performance at'the prestigious North Carolina Top 80 event. This is an event that puts the best players in the state of North Carolina, regardless of class or classification, under one roof to compete against one another. After that event we wrote,''Johnson is so strong, but his game isn't like a typical strong bodied point guard. He is tough and gets into your face, but he is also very quick and has great length. He is a terror on the ball defender. On offense, Johnson gets where he wants on the floor. He has good vision and the ability to score the ball at all 3 levels. A leader and a team guy, he wins ball games. Johnson ends April on the top of quite a few school's recruiting boards.'

Always a treat to watch, we will be eager to see how Johnson brings it against the top competition this weekend.