Demarquise Johnson Commits to WSU: Now What?

Josh Gershon just brok the news on Scout.com that Demarquise Johnson has committed to coach Ken Bone and the Cougars.

That leaves UW without one of their primary targets for the 2012 year. First off, why did he decide to go to Pullman over Seattle, Las Vegas, or Spokane?

The playing time offered at WSU was far greater than any of the other schools.
He really clicked with the coaches, especially former Husky-Curtis Allen.
Immediate impact as a true-freshman seemed to be bigger at WSU than any other school that offered him.
He gets to play with a close friend of his, Richard Peters. (This is a minor reason compared to the others but still a reason)

It wasn’t really a surprise that Johnson chose to be the next Cougar, they were favorites for a while. The things he was looking for in a school, WSU seemed to offer those things perfectly.

Now where does Romar look in 2012? Does he skip this recruiting class all together and just turn all of his focus to 2013?

Romar wasn’t looking for a Shooting Guard per-say in this class. He saw Johnson and he liked Johnson. “Que” Johnson was not a guy to come just fill a spot. This primarily means that UW may not even focus on any other SG and as far as I can tell this is the case.
UW is looking at a few big men but none as serious as Anthony Bennett, a 5-star PF out of Findlay Prep. Who are the others?

Zena Edosomwan– He actually visiting this weekend. USC was the favorite- they just picked up JT Terrell so he may now be leaning towards Cal.
Landen Lucas– Was once a lock to Oregon has now re-opened his recruitment. He is on Stanford’s campus this weekend. He does seem to like UW but he is a curious case because at one point he had eliminated UW only to add the Huskies back.
Jordan Tebbutt– UW may not be chasing him as hard as people think.

Romar may grab a point-guard in this class. This seems to be the other focus for UW recruiting in 2012. I guess the sentiment is that Tony Wroten Jr. or Abdul Gaddy have a legitimate shot at leaving. That would leave 1 of those 2 and then the only other TRUE PG would be Andrew Andrews. Another PG for depth and for Romar’s love of guards would help. These could be guys like:

Anrio Adams– A highly talented PG out of Seattle. He could easily be a 4-star or 5-star recruit but due to his bouncing around to different High Schools and missing some time on the court, he has lost exposure. UW has been to Rainier Beach to see him play.
Sam Cassell Jr.– UW and him have simmered down a little on each other but he is still out there and uncommitted.
Jaylen Beckham– The fiasco of West Virginia Prep turning out to be a fake school hurt Beckham’s recruiting but I have talked with Beckham and he is still interested in UW. The Huskies may re-enter their interest with him after not signing Johnson. Beckham is really talented and would be a great player to have for depth his first couple years and could take off in his final years on the court.

And never rule out others that are out there, it seems as if no one can constantly track who UW is chasing down and/or focused on when it comes to recruiting.
There also is the possibility that a senior in high school or a JUCO comes on strong this season and the Huskies pick up a guy or two in the late signing period.

Stay tuned. As always, I will be hot on the trail whether you read about it here or at Left Coast Recruiting.

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