Indiana Enters Race for Ohio State Decommit and Top Prospect Marcus Johnson

But, on Monday, a perfect opportunity fell into the Hoosiers’ lap: former Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson. A top-50 guard and No. 4 point guard in the nation, Johnson may be just the solution head coach Darian DeVries and his staff are looking for. 

The 6-foot-2 guard had been committed to Ohio State since April of 2024, but elected to decommit from the program on Monday. An Ohio native, Johnson suits up for Garfield Heights – a high school just outside of Cleveland. Indiana quickly reached out to Johnson after his decommitment from Ohio State, per Sam Kayser.

As of now, the Hoosiers already have a 2026 commit in combo guard Prince-Alexander Moody. Theoretically, adding Johnson would give Indiana one of – if not the best – backcourt recruiting classes in the country. Landing Johnson could be the monumental, program-altering moment Indiana needs to reestablish itself as a college basketball blue blood. 

Scouting Marcus Johnson

So, what would DeVries and Co. be getting in Johnson – if they managed to coax him to Bloomington? A flat-out dominant and pure scorer.

Arguably the best one-on-one scorer in the nation, Johnson can get to his spots at will. He has one of the nastiest step-backs the high school game has seen in a long time, and an equally exceptional midrange pull-up. 

As if that isn’t enough, Johnson also has every floater imaginable, and can attack the basket with the best of them. Few high school players will come to the high-major level with a more polished scoring package than Johnson will enter with. 

As for the rest of his game, Johnson will need to improve in a few aspects. Facilitating isn’t exactly a skill issue for Johnson, it’s more of a willingness. But especially as a public school product, Johnson’s shoot-first mentality is no fault of his own. 

He’s been the guy since Day One, and has surely been encouraged to launch without a second thought. Once he adjusts to playing alongside equally gifted players, he’ll likely be able to thrive as a passer. 

Defensively, his slimmer frame and relative lack of size at 6-foot-2 will make life tough as a true freshman, and given he isn’t an otherworldly athlete, he’s unlikely to ever be an all-conference level defender, but, in time, he should be able to hold his own on that end.