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Marcus Johnson, four-star Ohio State basketball commit, has ‘unbelievable’ official visit
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- Marcus Johnson, four-star Ohio State basketball commit, has ‘unbelievable’ official visit
Marcus Johnson's official visit to Ohio State provided further clarity into how the Buckeyes plan to use the 2026 commitment when he arrives next summer.
Step one: Keep a football out of the hands of the four-star point guard from Garfield Heights, Ohio.
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"My next goal is to hit any football out of his hand after seeing him throw the ball and making sure he doesn't touch that," Johnson's father, Sonny, said with a laugh.
It was Sonny Johnson who posted video online of his son tossing a football with men's basketball coach Jake Diebler , filmed at one of the practice fields at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
In the clip, Sonny Johnson jokingly called out Marcus Johnson's inability to throw properly. It was just one moment from what the elder Johnson called an "unbelievable visit" for the family.
The visit also included a tour of the dorms where Marcus Johnson will live. He watched his future team practice, and he took in Ohio State's home football game against No. 1 Texas on Aug. 30. The highlight, though, according to Sonny Johnson, was when his son got to interact with the former Ohio State hoopsters on hand for the weekend.
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"I'm a traditional guy," he said. "My son's a traditional guy. Seeing the family atmosphere with all the players coming back, that's a highlight. You always hear, 'Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye,' but seeing everybody come back, all the former players, Michael Redd, Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, Evan Turner and Scoonie Penn at their practices, that's what it's all about, that brotherhood."
Sonny Johnson said Turner and Sullinger, in particular, spent one-on-one time with his son and that the two former Buckeyes are excited about him joining the program.
"Evan Turner was saying how he's been watching his videos and knew a lot about him and told him he's up next," Sonny Johnson said. "It's good to see guys like that who you don't really know are watching but are two Buckeyes who want to see Ohio State doing good and are happy about the players they have coming in."
Johnson is one of two commitments the Buckeyes have for 2026, along with Upper Arlington native Alex Smith . Both are in the top 150 nationally in the recruiting rankings updated Sept. 4 by 247Sports.com, with Johnson checking in at No. 36 after dropping nine spots.
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In talking with Diebler and his assistant coaches, Sonny Johnson said the Buckeyes outlined how they see his son fitting into their program.
"We're committed here, this is where we want to be, but we want to make sure it's the perfect fit because Marcus is a different type of guard than guards who play in the Big Ten," Sonny Johnson said. "If you watch him, he's more shifty. He's more stop-go, herky-jerky. He plays with the ball in his hands a lot. It's making sure that we're all on the same page."
So did he come away believing that all sides are on the same page?
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"Yeah," Sonny Johnson said. "They showed us how the offense will work and how he can move and how he's going to have to learn to move without the ball a little bit more, but yeah, it felt comfortable. It felt fine."
The Johnson family has known Diebler for years. Diebler was Chris Holtmann's associate coach when he first started recruiting Marcus Johnson. Sonny Johnson said he's known assistant coach Dave Dickerson, who was an assistant coach for Thad Matta , for years as well. And they've built a relationship with associate head coach Joel Justus. On this visit, they got to know assistant coach Luke Simons more and were impressed with the work director of basketball operations David Egelhoff puts in behind the scenes.
Watching a men's basketball practice also allowed them to see how Marcus Johnson would fit in the program.
"The practice was really good," Sonny Johnson said. "The guys are playing faster. Just seeing the style of players that he wants, I think he's got certain guys now that are high-IQ players as far as thinking the game, and his big men are able to step away from the basket and make smart decisions and shoot the basketball. It's going to be really interesting to see them play this year off of the players he brought in."
Garfield Heights' Marcus Johnson (right) covers up a rebound as Louisville's Ashton Marshall defends during a Division III state semifinal on March 16.
Sonny Johnson said they were also impressed with seeing Diebler run the program after knowing him as an assistant.
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"Diebler's a great man," he said. "Diebler's a great recruiter, and he has a lot of passion. It was exciting just sitting back watching the joy on his face, and I can tell he's living his dream by being the head coach at The Ohio State."
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @ cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @ AdamJardy .
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball gives Marcus Johnson a glimpse of the future
