Meechie Johnson Jr. (0) shoots from behind the arc during the second half of No. 7 Ohio State’s Round of 32 matchup against No. 2 Villanova at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh Mar. 20, 2022. Ohio State lost 71-61. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern File Photo
He’s coming back home.
Meechie Johnson Jr., who started his collegiate career at Ohio State before transferring to South Carolina for two seasons, is returning to Columbus, he announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tuesday.
“As for basketball, I’m coming home to win, as a team, whatever it takes!” Johnson said. “I’m excited to play for Jake Diebler. You can tell there’s a lot of momentum behind the program with Coach Diebler at the helm and I can’t wait to be a part of this resurgence.”
This past season at South Carolina, Johnson led the Gamecocks to a 26-8 record, while also leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game.
Johnson was one of the top available players in the NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal and will join the Buckeyes’ leading scorer, Bruce Thornton, who announced Tuesday that he’ll be returning to Columbus for his junior season, in the backcourt, along with starting center Felix Okpara.
South Carolina, a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament, was upset by the surging 11th-seeded Oregon Ducks, despite a team-high 24 points from Johnson.
Johnson, a Cleveland, Ohio, native, started his college career as a Buckeye. During his first season at Ohio State, he averaged 1.2 points and 5.8 minutes per game. In his second year, Johnson’s minutes bumped up to 17.7 each game, while averaging 4.4 points.
After one season, Johnson made the decision to transfer to Columbia, South Carolina, where he tallied 12.7 points per game in 33.3 minutes in two years.
Johnson will now join a group of returning players as the Buckeyes look to get their basketball program back on track with head coach Jake Diebler at the helm in his first full year.
