By: Darnell "Tate" Johnson from hoopsreport.com

 

The 2010 class maybe the deepest class in Kentucky history. There are over 20 kids in this class that should play high major to mid major basketball in the future. We start at the top with a very talented guard from Covington Holmes, Ricardo Johnson.

 

Ricardo Johnson (Covington Holmes High, Covington): We have watched Ricardo play for the last two years but the rest of the state wasn’t welcomed to Ricardo talents till his talent was put on the largest stage at the state championship in Rupp Arena. Ricardo was the catalyst for leading his team to the finals against Mason County. Even though Covington Holmes came up short it wasn’t from lack of effort from Ricardo, who was a star in the game and made the all tournament team. Ricardo can do it all from the point guard, shooting guard or the wing position. This kid is definitely a high major talent.

 

I don't think Johnson was the catalyst for Holmes in the tourney, it was Arrez Henderson. He was phenomenal against Paintsville in the second half.

Johnson is going to be a nice player though.

I agree. He's already a big prospect and his junior year hasn't even started. I know he has attended Indiana, UK, and UC on unofficial visits for the pre season madness events and Georgetown (Hoyas), Miami (OH), and Xavier are also after him hard.

 

I don't think a lot of us, including myself, truly realize how good this kid is considering we've only seen him one year since last year was his first year at the varsity level in KY. I think we could see him as a Mr. Basketball candidate if he lives up to his #1 ranking for his class.

 

If I had to compare him to someone, it'd be Scotty Hopson of last year, only with a better work ethic and plays better defense.

Don't see the comparison between Johnson and Hopson. Hopson is really a true wing player with his size and length, but will be given a shot at the 2G for Tennessee. Johnson does not compare physically with Hopson. This is not meant to be a shot against Johnson in any fashion, just a poor comparison.

A better comparison for Johnson, potentially could be former Clark County, and present UL player Preston Knowles.

 

Having only seen Holmes a handful of times last year, against Scott, SK, Dixie, CovCath and in the region and at the Sweet 16, I think Elijah Pittman has the highest ceiling of all of the Holmes players. Really long, athletic, and can really shoot it from the perimeter. He really had a breakout tournament last year...he and Henderson were huge for Holmes.

Pittman shot the ball very well the last part of the season. If that continues, he will move up in the rankngs. It is very difficult to tell true improvement from a "blip" on the curve. Only time will tell.

Don't see the comparison between Johnson and Hopson. Hopson is really a true wing player with his size and length, but will be given a shot at the 2G for Tennessee. Johnson does not compare physically with Hopson. This is not meant to be a shot against Johnson in any fashion, just a poor comparison.

A better comparison for Johnson, potentially could be former Clark County, and present UL player Preston Knowles.

 

Having only seen Holmes a handful of times last year, against Scott, SK, Dixie, CovCath and in the region and at the Sweet 16, I think Elijah Pittman has the highest ceiling of all of the Holmes players. Really long, athletic, and can really shoot it from the perimeter. He really had a breakout tournament last year...he and Henderson were huge for Holmes.

 

Have you seen Knowles lately? The way he's looked in open gym all summer was unreal. He's looking like the starting point for a top 5 team in country.

Don't see the comparison between Johnson and Hopson. Hopson is really a true wing player with his size and length, but will be given a shot at the 2G for Tennessee. Johnson does not compare physically with Hopson. This is not meant to be a shot against Johnson in any fashion, just a poor comparison.

A better comparison for Johnson, potentially could be former Clark County, and present UL player Preston Knowles.

 

Having only seen Holmes a handful of times last year, against Scott, SK, Dixie, CovCath and in the region and at the Sweet 16, I think Elijah Pittman has the highest ceiling of all of the Holmes players. Really long, athletic, and can really shoot it from the perimeter. He really had a breakout tournament last year...he and Henderson were huge for Holmes.

 

It's tough to compare Johnson to Knowles though since Knowles is 6'1/6'2 and Johnson is 6'5. By the time Johnson is done growing though he could very well be the same size as Hopson. It's not out of the realm to assume he'll grow atleast an inch to put him at 6'6 by the time he's a senior.

 

While I agree Pittman probably has the highest ceiling because of his length and athleticism, there's also a reason he was the star of the JV team last year and not varsity until the end of the season. As good as he is offensively for his size he needs to learn to play better defense. That's why Henley didn't use him as much during the regular season as he did during the state tournament. Once Pittman got focused he blew up.

 

It sure is scary though to think that Ricardo Johnson is considered the #1 player in his class in KY but he may not even the best player on his team. :scared: