DeMarco Johnson, a fast-rising prospect in the 2025 class from the west coast, is hoping to take an official visit to Syracuse basketball, according to one of his AAU coaches.
The Orange coaching staff offered a scholarship to Johnson in late July, he disclosed on Twitter. The 6-foot-3 Johnson, a four-star prospect, is a top-100 overall player and a top-20 point guard/shooting guard in the rising-junior cycle, according to several recruiting services.
Besides the ‘Cuse, Johnson has added numerous other offers of late, including from Illinois, Virginia Tech and Saint Louis. He holds around 15 offers in total from a range of high-major programs, per recruiting Web sites.
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Johnson goes to the powerhouse Southern California Academy in Northridge, Calif. In grassroots basketball, he plays for both the Oakland, Calif.-based Oakland Soldiers in Nike’s EYBL league as well as the Los Angeles-based Elev8 Elite, an Adidas-sponsored program.
Syracuse basketball is seeing competition increase for 2025 four-star combo guard DeMarco Johnson.
Per recruiting services and other sources, besides the Orange, Johnson’s offer list includes Illinois, Virginia Tech, Saint Louis, California State University, Northridge, High Point, California, TCU, Mississippi State, St. John’s, Georgia, Arizona State, New Mexico State, Southern Utah and Duquesne.
Cory DeSanti, the head coach of Elev8 Elite, tells me that Johnson is receiving interest from numerous other teams, such as West Virginia, Kansas, Seton Hall, Oregon and Southern California, among others.
DeSanti previously told me that Syracuse basketball assistant coach Allen Griffin is the lead recruiter for Johnson.
DeSanti says that he’s hoping to get Johnson on an official visit to the ‘Cuse, and DeSanti adds that he’s waiting to hear from Orange coaches regarding a possible upcoming trip to Central New York for Johnson, whose grandparents are from New York.
Johnson was a standout at the recently held 2023 Nike Elite 100 Camp. In early July at EYBL’s annual Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, S.C., he averaged 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest for the Oakland Soldiers.
"Tony McNiff, a scouting analyst with MADE Hoops, recently included Johnson in a write-up regarding 2025 prospects on the rise. The scout said in part about Johnson, “He’s a lengthy and quick-twitch athlete who can put constant pressure on the rim. Covers ground quickly for a guard, plus he knows how to leverage his length & flexibility when finishing in traffic. Shifty creator at the point of attack who can put constant pressure on the rim with his mix of speed & counter moves. Capable shotmaker who can hurt defenders when they heavily play the drive, although he still tends to be a streaky shooter. Instinctual defensive playmaker who can ignite fast breaks with his ability to jump passing lanes & apply extensive pressure.”"
When I wrote this article, within the 2025 class, Johnson was rated No. 78 nationally from On3, No. 96 from 247Sports and No. 104 from the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking.