That was quick - John Johnson officially transferring out of Pitt

Got to say, I thought John Johnson deciding to move on was a possibility (even a strong one). But the fact that it happened so soon caught me a bit off guard.

Just yesterday, we'd commented on the news that he was reportedly unhappy with his current role. Then today ... Boom - the news broke that Johnson's out of Pitt and will transfer. Kudos to Josh Verlin for breaking the news - he was the first I saw that reported it when he did yesterday via Twitter.

Johnson, in case you're wondering, has been silent on Twitter for most of today and hasn't addressed it there just yet.

I won't pretend that had Johnson stayed, he would have found minutes. The guard rotation is one of the deepest Pitt has had under Jamie Dixon and with Cameron Wright playing more and the transfer of Trey Zeigler, there just wasn't much room for him on the bench.

But all of that said - one game? Really - this is about one game? Johnson had more than a taste of action last year, playing a whopping nearly 15 minutes a game as a true freshman. He didn't play in the opener against Mount St. Mary's and I suppose he saw the handwriting on the wall. But this still strikes me as panicking a bit soon. Anything can happen. Cameron Wright for one, could play himself out of minutes (he actually didn't have a very good game offensively against Fordham on Monday). As we saw last year, injuries happen. And then there's the possibility that, you know, Johnson actually improves.

I don't know - as I said last year with Birch, criticizing these kids too hard for their decision at such a young age isn't really the way to go in my opinion. And I have no problem with a kid going to a school and then deciding it's not a good fit. But to give up on your team in the middle of a season (no matter how early it is) ... well, let's just say I'm not a fan of it.

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