Donovan Johnson places Pitt in top seven

Jeff Capel and the Pitt coaching staff have prioritized the recruitment of Pittsburgh-area standout Donovan Johnson, investing a significant amount of time in him and hosting him for a number of visits, including one on Thursday. On Saturday, the blue-chip recruit trimmed his list of potential schools down to seven with Pitt included among the finalists.

The list was released by Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers, as Johnson does not have a Twitter account, and the other six finalists included Arizona, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Johnson drew a total of 19 reported offers over the course of his recruitment, and his notable cuts included Auburn, Cincinnati, Maryland, TCU, Virginia Tech and Xavier.

The 6’7”, 185-pound small forward holds four-star ratings from each of 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals, and the consensus is that he is a top-15 player at his position as well as a top-75 player in the 2020 class. Rivals has the highest opinion of him, ranking him 43rd in the nation. Meanwhile, 247Sports ranks him 48th, and ESPN has him at 61st.

Johnson averaged 22.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game at Moon in the 2018-19 season. However, he has been ruled ineligible to play his senior season at Moon. That led many to believe that he might reclassify to 2019, but he told Weingarten he will remain in the 2020 class on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh-area standout has notable ties to Pitt through his brother Cam Johnson, who played for the Panthers from 2014 to 2017 before transferring to North Carolina, and through his father Gilbert Johnson, who played for the Panthers from 1988 to 1990. With that said, Johnson has yet to set a decision date, and none of the seven teams has emerged as a clear favorite in his recruitment.