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Louisville lands verbal commitment from 2014 forward Jaylen Johnson

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adidas

Already holding verbal commitments from elite perimeter prospects Shaqquan Aaron and JaQuan Lyle, the Louisville Cardinals have been hard at work on the recruiting trail in search of front court reinforcements. One week after having big men Trey Lyles and Chinanu Onuaku on campus for official visits, the school received a verbal commitment from 6-9 power forward Jaylen Johnson. The news was first reported by Paul Biancardi of ESPN.com.

The Ypsilanti, Mich. native made an unofficial visit to Louisville over the summer, and according to Steve Jones of the Louisville Courier-Journal he’ll make his official visit in two weeks.

As a junior at Ypsilanti HS, Johnson averaged 13.8 points and eight rebounds per game on a team that reached the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Johnson’s versatility and basketball IQ were on full display this summer with the Dorian’s Pride AAU program, resulting in his becoming a consensus top 100 prospect. Basketball runs in the family, as Johnson’s mother Janetta still holds the Wisconsin school record for blocked shots in a season (130).

Louisville will certainly lose one big man at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season since Stephan Van Treese is a fifth-year senior. The “wild cards” are junior Chane Behanan and sophomore Montrezl Harrell, with the latter coming off of an impressive summer with the United States U-19 national team.

If one (or both) were to see their stock rise to a point where it would be wise to make a move to the next level, the Cardinals would need additional reinforcements as they make the move to the ACC. So even with the addition of Johnson, Rick Pitino and his staff aren’t done in their quest to add more bodies to the front court rotation.

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