Johnson Chooses to Hoop and Hurl at Gannon

Ron Bailey, Publisher

November 15, 2006 – George Johnson, the 6”4”, 185lb guard from Arlington, VA has chosen the path least traveled; he will not only play college basketball, but compete as a pitcher in baseball as well for the next four years. Gannon University is the lucky school to benefit from his plethora of talents.

The opportunity to play both sports – which he loves equally – proved decisive for Johnson. “Other schools told me I could only play basketball or baseball” he revealed. “I didn’t want to waste one talent”.

That understanding was reached upon a recruiting trip to the Erie, PA based institution. “On my first official visit (which was to Gannon), I was watching them practice. The last day I was up there, they let me pitch” George shared.

The results were apparently to those in attendance’s liking, as a coach said “You can pitch here” after seeing his fast and curve ball”, according to Johnson. “I threw my fastball and he had a wow face”.

On the hardwood, George Johnson is a tough, gritty competitor that can not only score, but defend. When he takes a pitchers mound, he has control of both the fastball and curve, and shared "I'm working on my change up, as we speak".

Before choosing Gannon’s hoops and baseball programs – coached by John Reilly and Rick Iacubucci respectively, George was pursued by several schools, including “New Haven and South Charleston” for hoops, along with High Point and increasingly George Washington for baseball. A number of college were recruiting him this summer, and as such George believes more scholarship offers were coming, but his decision “didn’t give them enough time” to tender them. (for a previous article covering Johnson, click here).

One of the coaches he credited as having “helped me greatly”, Nova United’s (AAU) Randy White, has no pause that his former standout will succeed at Gannon. “George will be an impact player at the D2 level and I expect him to step right in when he arrives on campus” shared Nova United’s founder and coach. “He can play multiple positions and multiple sports”.

Before he hits the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Johnson is gearing up for his senior season at Wakefield High School (Arlington, VA). The season starts with a home scrimmage against Washington area hoops force Gonzaga on November 27th, and George was emphatic when asked if he greatly anticipated its start. “Yes sir, I can’t wait” he exclaimed. “I can hardly sleep”.

The other coach Johnson tagged as instrumental in his career, Wakefield’s Tony Bentley, left no grey area regarding George’s importance to his team. “To sum it up in one word, everything” replied Bentley when asked to state the young guy’s impact.

“He does it all” continued Bentley. “Not only can he score and pass, but he was our District’s defensive player of the year. He’s a two year captain. He makes everybody around him better”.

Congratulations go out to George Johnson. The young guy is headed to Gannon University – where he shared majoring in “something with computers and business” is a distinct possibility given his love of technology – and will play two sports there. Who knows, maybe he can become Gannon’s version of Bo Jackson: The sports and schools may be different, but Jackson was also a talented, determined two sport athlete.