2. Kentucky Wildcats
Even after making it to the national championship game, I’m not so sure how many NCAA Basketball outside of San Diego State are aware of who Johnson is. After getting a taste of the postseason, there’s a legit reason for him to go to Kentucky and upgrade his national profile by a ton. There are role players for Kentucky that benefits from the program so it makes sense why Johnson would want that as well.
Plus, there’s a huge need for a power forward for the Wildcats. Assuming that freshman Chris Livingston stays in the NBA Draft, the team doesn’t have any four-men on the roster. They’re currently considering 7’0 five-star big man Aaron Bradshaw to play there if Oscar Tshiebwe comes back. Johnson would get 25+ mpg with Kentucky as a starter and would have a good chance to make another deep run next year.
1. USC Trojans
Talking about “national profile”, there could be a program that will be more talked about than Kentucky next season. And that’s USC, now that they have landed Bronny James, the son of famous NBA player LeBron James and one of the top prospects available in the 2023 class. He, top-3 incoming guard Isaiah Collier and returning leading scorer Boogie Ellis will be one of the top backcourts in the country for 2023-24.
And the Trojans need a power forward, now that Tre White has entered the transfer portal. Johnson can come and be an instant starter in the lineup and have a large role in the frontcourt than at San Diego State. Plus, he can stay close to home and play for what should be a high-profile top-25 team as well.