Pittsburgh transfer Cameron Johnson visited Oregon on Thursday. After entertaining 5-star McDonald’s All-American Brian Bowen in the same week, Dana Altman and his staff got to know the second-best transfer in college basketball next to Elijah Brown.
The Ducks are the “it” landing spot for the first time in program history. Following back-to-back Elite Eight appearances and a historic Final Four run, Eugene has become an elite destination for the best and brightest in college basketball.
Oregon signed 5-star Troy Brown Jr. in November and the foundation for this Duck mansion was set. Not only is he the highest-ranked commit in Duck basketball history, but he is bringing his top-tier friends with him.
Entering the offseason, Cameron Johnson was ranked the No. 2 transfer product available. Obviously, Oregon already signed New Mexico’s Elijah Brown who was the No. 1 rated transfer on the market.
Last season with Pitt, Johnson averaged 11.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.3 APG in 32.6 minutes per game. He was medically redshirted during his freshman season, so last year was technically his redshirt sophomore campaign.
He is a two-time ACC All-Academic member. Johnson is very intelligent and will graduate from Pitt before he transfers. Additionally, he has two years of eligibility remaining.
Unfortunately, Altman will NOT use every scholarship prior to the summer. In fact, the head coach stated that he would like to save a few for the fall. Not to mention, the status of Kavell Bigby-Williams is still up in the air, alongside Roman Sorkin. If those two were to leave, Oregon would open up more scholarships.
As the saying goes, “The rich get richer, while the poor get poorer.” Personally, I’ve never been on the “rich” side of things, but this new age of Oregon basketball is giving me an idea of what it feels like.
Every elite prospect is seemingly “on the radar” of Oregon moving forward. The green and yellow find themselves recruiting talent with the likes of North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky and Duke to name a few. Just look at the talent that had the Ducks in their Top 5 schools.
5-star products like Brandon McCoy, Brian Bowen and Jordan Tucker. McCoy chose UNLV and Tucker decided on Duke at noon ET on Saturday. Bowen is still undecided but apparently leaning toward Eugene. However, UO was in the mix for all three. This is unchartered territory for the Duck brand. This should make Duck fans giddy.
The fact that the Ducks are in the Johnson conversation is icing on the cake. This truly illustrates how far the program has come over the last few years. A big debt of gratitude is owed to players like Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell, Chris Boucher, Tyler Dorsey, Elgin Cook, Dwayne Benjamin and Dylan Ennis who helped build the foundation.
I’ve said it before, Oregon is an elite brand in college basketball now. Get used to it. The talent that is heading to UO will solidify a promising future. It’s a new era, as the best amateur basketball players seek a landing spot in Eugene.
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