There hasn’t been much to get excited about on the recruiting trail for Washington State in recent years, but when they beat out the likes of UNLV, Washington, Gonzaga and SDSU for top 100 wing Demarquise ‘Que’ Johnson, it created a bit of a buzz in Pullman.
Why?
Because Johnson, who at 6-foot-5 packs a bit of a scoring punch, was supposed to join senior Reggie Moore and Kansas transfer Royce Woolridge in a perimeter attack that would take some of the focus off of potential Pac-12 Player of the Year Brock Motum.
That won’t be happening, however, as Johnson has been ruled a partial qualifier by the NCAA. (Well, technically speaking, he wasn’t actually a partial qualifier but a non-qualifier with a waiver.) What that means, essentially, is that Johnson will be forced to spend this season as a redshirt, going to class and boosting his grades enough that he’ll be eligible next season.
Back in May, CBSSports.com reported that Johnson had received a qualifying SAT score and was waiting for clearance on the classes that he took at Westwind Prep.
With Johnson out of the mix, expect senior Mike Ladd and sophomore DaVonte Lacy to carry a heavier workload on the wing. Or, if you’re like our friends over at Coug Center, you should get excited about freshman Richard Longrus.
Here’s what you’ll be missing this year, Cougar fans:
(Photo credit: Hardwood Elite)
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.