Interest in Blair Academy junior Austin Johnson is coming from all angles

Craig Haley, NJHoops.com Columnist
October 4, 2007

Interest in Blair Academy (Blairstown) junior Austin Johnson is coming from all angles, including schools in the Big East, Atlantic Coast Conference and Atlantic-10. Yet Blair coach Joe Mantegna still doesn't believe people have caught on to just how good the 6-foot-8 forward can be.

Mantegna thinks that highly of Johnson, who has transferred to Blair from Cheltenham (Pa.) High. He envisons improving Johnson's skills and conditioning over the next two seasons and making him into one of his many top recruits from Blair. Johnson already is ranked fifth in the Class of 2009 by NJ Hoops.

"We want him not only to be recruited at a high level," Mantegna said, "but our goal is to have him go in at a high level."

Rutgers and Villanova have given scholarship offers to Johnson, whose interest also has come from the likes of Saint Joseph's Temple, Fordham, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Virginia Tech, Mantegna said.

Johnson isn't a flyer like past Mantegna players Charlie Villanueva (the University of Connecticut and the NBA) and Alex Wangmene (the University of Texas), but he is long and athletic, with a soft touch in the paint and the ability to step to the perimeter for shots.

"He scores with his back to the basket real well," Mantegna said. "And he can pass. I didn't realize how good of a passer he is (until after he committed to the Blair program).

"I don't think people know how good he can be."

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