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Meechie Johnson Jr. has 17 college appearances to her credit, recording nearly 100 regular season basketball minutes and a Big Ten tournament with 18 shooting attempts to her credit.
But in Johnson’s eyes, 2020-21 was more of a try than a real freshman season. In fact, the Cleveland native sees the upcoming schedule as his true introduction to Buckeye fans, and his first-year roster on the Ohio State roster couldn’t convince you otherwise.
Johnson said he has grown in height, adjusted to the speed of the game and is ready to take on a bigger role for Ohio State in his second “first” season, eager to prove that the player he was a year ago is a shell of what it will become in the Buckeye program.
“I just wanna go over there and show what I can do. I got to show some of it last year, and I feel like this year people are going to be able to see what I can really do, ”Johnson said on September 28. “Honestly, it’s been a really long time since people saw me play – I wouldn’t say a full game, but a lot of minutes – since I tore my ACL in high school. So what they’re going to see this year, this coming season, it’s going to shock a lot of people.
Johnson’s ripped ACL cost him the back half of his sophomore season at Garfield Heights in Cleveland, and his entire freshman year of high school hoops. Johnson returned to AAU action the summer before what should have been his final year, but on November 8, 2020, the four-star rookie relocated to join the Buckeyes a year earlier.
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann calmed him down as Johnson didn’t make his Buckeye debut until January, but the transition was tough nonetheless.
“I arrived late, I did a semester, no conditioning, no time in the weight room. I had to learn 50 pieces in a week, ”Johnson said. “I mean, it was tough. I did my last year in college and consider myself a freshman because that’s what I would have been. I’m young, so that’s what I consider myself to be.
As you might expect, the 6ft 2in guard looked small on the court compared to the Big Ten’s big bodies. Johnson said he weighed just 169 pounds when he arrived in Ohio state, but is now 180 after spending the offseason in the weight room.
The biggest adjustment, however, was the speed of the college game, something Johnson said he caught up on ahead of the 2021-22 season.
“I’ve always seen college like, ‘Oh man, I can go play a game like this.’ But just the rhythm, like being really in the game and being in it is hard, because it goes fast. It goes real fast, and I learned that fast, and I had to do it, “Johnson said.” I didn’t had no choice. I learned it better over the summer, and I think it will help me over the summer for next year. I think that’s the most The important thing that I learned from the last year is the pace of the game and how quickly things can go.
Ready For War Go Bucks pic.twitter.com/fREwtZykWS
– Meechie Johnson (@ MeechieJohnson0) October 3, 2021
Johnson played double-digit minutes four times for Ohio State last season, but none after Feb.4. Nonetheless, Johnson said continuing to gain experience throughout the season, especially in training, helped slow things down last year.
After the season, Johnson competed for a berth on Team USA’s Under-19 World Cup roster and also worked with D’Angelo Russell and other former Buckeyes turned professional hooters during the season. team events. Both of these experiences undoubtedly helped Johnson slow the pace of the game.
“As I started playing more last year it started to get slower just because of the more reps on the pitch the more I trained each day against CJ Walker and Duane (Washington). Johnson said. “And then spending a full summer here with a guy like D’Angelo Russell. If you watch D’Angelo Russell you see how slow he is and how he plays at his own pace. Able to work with him, to learn from him and his knowledge, everything slows down.
The recruit and the vet # 0 pic.twitter.com/bLn9SUKrWJ
– Meechie Johnson (@ MeechieJohnson0) June 28, 2021
Johnson made an impression on Shannon Scott over the summer, as the former Ohio State playmaker named young Buckeye as a player he hopes to have “a big year this year.”
But one thing that slowed Johnson down in a more literal sense this summer was a lower leg injury that the team made official in a September 7 statement. Johnson said the problem was “nothing serious” although he had to wear a boot for a while. Johnson said he had dealt with the issue for the whole of last year and throughout the summer.
“The coach said they are going to need me to have a bigger impact and role for the team, so it’s better to deal with him now, to do what I can now, to attack him for that he doesn’t linger throughout the season and now I’m out of time during the season, ”Johnson said.“ It wasn’t crazy, I didn’t want people to worry about it . ”
When Walker and Washington left the Ohio State program this offseason, it was clear the Buckeyes would need some help in the backcourt. Holtmann has brought in seasoned transfer guards in Jamari Wheeler and Cedric Russell, but Johnson believes his minutes will increase as well, if he’s healthy.
Holtmann said it during Big Ten Media Days Thursday in Indianapolis, when Buckeye’s coach hinted at the bigger role he expects his young guard to play.
“Scoring will be an important part of his role this year,” said Holtmann. “We need him, whether it’s the point guard or the combo position. He’s going to grow into a bigger role, so I think there will be things that, naturally, he will work on. We’re going to need a lot more of him than we needed last year, and that’s just the reality. I think he’s ready for this. I think as long as he stays healthy I think he’s about to have a good freshman year.
But scoring isn’t all Johnson wants to do for the Buckeyes this year. For a keeper who didn’t have enough of the ball in his hands to rack up many assists last season, Johnson wants to show he can facilitate the offense for Ohio State this year.
“No more play. Last year I felt like a lot of people saw me come in and just hit shots, play defense,” Johnson said. “I think people are going to see me being able to make more plays, reach the edge, be a better free throw shooter than I was last year. People are going to see a lot of things that I think are going to shock them. People haven’t really seen me play a lot, and this year there will be a lot to show. I am very excited because I just put in a lot of work.
With the number of seniors in the program and the pair of transfer guards that have entered, it’s likely Johnson will need another full year before he breaks the starting lineup on a regular basis for the Buckeyes.
However, if Johnson’s progress is as evident as he has indicated in the preseason, Buckeye fans should be excited about the future of the Ohio State backcourt in the years to come.
“Things just got a lot easier. Just the fact that when I came here, the things that happened, I didn’t expect it, ”Johnson said. “So now, having this full year and going into the summer with movies and things that I can learn from, I know what to expect.
“Now I know what to do with my game to become a better player. ”
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