Syracuse Basketball: Underrated 4-star PG DeMarco Johnson heads to powerful Oak Hill

DeMarco Johnson, a 2025 four-star point guard and a top-150 national prospect, holds more than 15 scholarship offers, including one from Syracuse basketball.

Word recently came out that the 6-foot-4 Johnson would transfer for his senior season from the Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., to the juggernaut Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

Oak Hill, where former Syracuse basketball point guard Judah Mintz played before joining the Orange, is part of the loaded 14-member Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic (“EYBL Scholastic”), which is regarded by many high school hoops experts as the premier conference around the country.

Johnson, at Oak Hill, will suit up during the 2024-25 campaign in games on national television broadcasts, and he will also face other 'Cuse recruits.

They include 2025 four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony of Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., 2025 five-star big man Chris Cenac Jr. of the Link Academy in Branson, Mo., and 2025 four-star shooting guard Dante Allen of the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.

Competing in the EYBL Scholastic will provide Johnson with ample opportunities to showcase his skill set and move up in the national rankings. I've maintained for a while now that he remains vastly underrated in the rising high school senior class.

Syracuse basketball is pursuing several 2025 four-star point guards.

The Orange staff offered Johnson in late July of 2023. Per recruiting Web sites, his offer sheet also includes schools such as West Virginia, Arizona State, Texas, St. John's, Mississippi State, California, Georgia, Illinois, TCU and Virginia Tech, among others.

In a recent article from Rivals.com national analyst Jason Jordan, it was noted that other suitors for Johnson include LSU and Virginia, among others.

In May, amid an NCAA live period, the Syracuse basketball staff reportedly checked out Johnson as he played for the 17U team of the Los Angeles-based Elev8 Elite in the New Balance-sponsored Prelude League, which during that evaluation period held a session in Indianapolis.

Cory DeSanti, the head coach of Elev8 Elite, has told me in the past that Johnson has had an interest in visiting the Orange. What level of interest there is between Johnson and 'Cuse coaches, these days, isn't clear to me.

Jordan noted that on the New Balance circuit, Johnson has been stellar, averaging 27 points per contest.

As the current AAU term wraps up soon, per recent social media posts, Johnson will be running with the 17U squad of the Las Vegas Knicks in the PUMA-sponsored PRO16 league, which will hold its season-ending playoffs from July 11 to July 14 in Phoenix.

According to Jordan, Johnson as a junior at Santa Margarita Catholic averaged a solid 13 points, five rebounds and five assists per encounter. At the time of this writing, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite placed Johnson at No. 125 overall and No. 18 at point guard in his class.

Johnson, in his interview with Rivals.com, says he's looking to start taking visits after he gets to the East Coast, so that could be in September or beyond. He says he's likely to make a college decision during the middle of his senior year at Oak Hill.

"The biggest reason for moving was development. I know they’ll get me right for college and it’s against the best competition in the country. I want more offers and I feel like I have a lot more to prove," Johnson says. "I’ve got good offers, but it’s more than the offers; I want to get my name out there and get ranked higher. That’s a big thing for me, too. It’s really all about exposure and letting the work that I’m putting in speak for itself."

Other 2025 four-star point guards who have offers from Syracuse basketball include Tyler Jackson from Baltimore, Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., and Keyshuan Tillery from Albany, N.Y.

Jackson took an official visit to the Orange in late January of this year. In late August of last year, Tillery went on an unofficial visit to the 'Cuse to play in the team's annual Elite Camp. Lewis has said he plans to visit Syracuse basketball at some point.