Nigel Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 186-pound guard, will transfer to Virginia after graduating from Rutgers and be immediately eligible next season as a fifth-year senior. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
Johnson revealed his decision Saturday on his Twitter and Instagram accounts after taking a visit to Grounds. The announcement is welcome news for the Cavaliers, who need backcourt depth. Virginia lost London Perrantes to graduation and Darius Thompson and Marial Shayok to transfer after the season. Johnson can fill roles as a point guard and shooting guard.
Johnson, who was reportedly also checking out Nevada, N.C. State, and Colorado, averaged 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 26.2 minutes for the Scarlet Knights this past season. He shot 37.7 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3, and 70 percent from the free throw line. He really turned it on down the stretch, though, scoring at least 12 points in five of his last seven games, including back-to-back 21-point efforts in the Big Ten tournament against Ohio State and Northwestern. In his final seven games, he
shot 57 percent from beyond the arc.
Johnson, who is from Ashburn in Northern Virginia but wasn't recruited by UVa out of high school, began his career at Kansas State, where he played for two seasons. He sat out the 2015-16 campaign after transferring to Rutgers. At KSU, Johnson averaged 5.2 points as a sophomore and 4.1 points as a freshman.
Forward Jarred Reuter also transferred after the season. Virginia hosted a forward this weekend who is looking to transfer -- Noah Dickerson, a 6-8 225-pounder from Washington -- as the Cavaliers look to fill that roster spot. Dickerson, who averaged 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds with the Huskies in 2016-17, would have to sit out a year and then have two seasons left, should he choose UVa.
My year-end evaluations are coming soon. After that, I'll do a look ahead to next season. This news brings clarity to what I'll write for that post. And as I stated, Virginia probably isn't done in the transfer market.
Johnson revealed his decision Saturday on his Twitter and Instagram accounts after taking a visit to Grounds. The announcement is welcome news for the Cavaliers, who need backcourt depth. Virginia lost London Perrantes to graduation and Darius Thompson and Marial Shayok to transfer after the season. Johnson can fill roles as a point guard and shooting guard.
Johnson, who was reportedly also checking out Nevada, N.C. State, and Colorado, averaged 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.2 steals in 26.2 minutes for the Scarlet Knights this past season. He shot 37.7 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3, and 70 percent from the free throw line. He really turned it on down the stretch, though, scoring at least 12 points in five of his last seven games, including back-to-back 21-point efforts in the Big Ten tournament against Ohio State and Northwestern. In his final seven games, he
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| Nigel Johnson averaged 11.3 points for Rutgers this past season. He can play right away for UVa but only has one year of eligibility. |
Johnson, who is from Ashburn in Northern Virginia but wasn't recruited by UVa out of high school, began his career at Kansas State, where he played for two seasons. He sat out the 2015-16 campaign after transferring to Rutgers. At KSU, Johnson averaged 5.2 points as a sophomore and 4.1 points as a freshman.
Forward Jarred Reuter also transferred after the season. Virginia hosted a forward this weekend who is looking to transfer -- Noah Dickerson, a 6-8 225-pounder from Washington -- as the Cavaliers look to fill that roster spot. Dickerson, who averaged 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds with the Huskies in 2016-17, would have to sit out a year and then have two seasons left, should he choose UVa.
My year-end evaluations are coming soon. After that, I'll do a look ahead to next season. This news brings clarity to what I'll write for that post. And as I stated, Virginia probably isn't done in the transfer market.
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