Marcus Johnson coming to OSU from Connecticut

Marcus Johnson, a 6-foot-6 wing, joined the Oregon State men’s basketball program on Monday after transferring from Connecticut.

He arrived in Corvallis on Sunday night, watched practice on Monday and will begin classes today.

He will become eligible for winter term, 2009, He played at Westchester High in Los Angeles before signing with UConn for the 2005-06 season.

“Marcus has always been a phenomenal athlete,” OSU coach Jay John said after Monday’s workout. “As a defender and a tough-guy presence, he’s always been in an elite category. He knows he needs to improve on his 3-point shooting, but he’s always been an effective player and slasher.

“We’ve tried to make our most significant improvement with our defense and our rebounding this year, which we have,” and Johnson will give OSU a player who can stop opponents such as Arizona’s Chase Budinger and Arizona State’s James Harden, who killed the Beavers this past weekend in road losses on the first weekend of Pacific-10 Conference play.

Johnson turns 21 years of age on Feb. 13. He declined comment on Monday.

A prospective liberal arts major, Johnson started 19 of 31 games at UConn in 2007 and averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes. He scored in double figures seven times and led the Huskies in steals eight times. For his 51-game UConn career, he averaged 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds.

Johnson was a consensus top-100 recruit in 2004-05 after his senior season at Westchester and was ranked No. 22 by HoopScoop, No. 59 by Rivals and No. 89 by Scout. He was a two-time all-city and all-state selection.

Westchester is one of the top basketball schools in Los Angeles. Other notable alums include former Arizona star Hassan Adams, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers; Trevor Ariza of UCLA and the Los Angeles Lakers; Amir Johnson of the Detroit Pistons, and ex-USC standout David Bluthenthal, who now plays in Israel.

According to a Nov. 5 release from the UConn Sports Information Department, Johnson asked Huskies’ coach Jim Calhoun for his release shortly after playing six minutes in the 90-75 victory over Assumption on Nov. 1 in an exhibition game.

“Marcus came to see me and told me that he felt it was in his best interests to find another school to attend and to play basketball,” Calhoun said in the release. “I know he has a desire to maximize his playing time and also to get closer to home, so he felt this was the best decision for him at this time.

“I wish him nothing but the best as a person and as a basketball player.”

Said Johnson in the release: “I enjoyed my time here at UConn. I appreciate everything that my teammates and coaches have done for me and hope they have plenty of success this season.”

That one appearance could cost Johnson an entire season of eligibility. According to NCAA rule 14.2.3.1, “Any competition, regardless of time, during a season in an intercollegiate sport shall be counted as a season of competition in that sport.”

However, Johnson and OSU can seek to have that year restored, and a fifth season of eligibility awarded, by appealing to the NCAA’s Committee on Student Athlete Reinstatement.

Johnson will be the fourth new player to join a program that, at present, has only two scholarship openings. The graduation of senior forward Marcel Jones opens one spot, as does the December departure of freshman guard Michael Stovall, who was dismissed from the team. Teams may have a maximum of 13 players on scholarship.

Also expected to join the Beavers for 2008-09 are incoming freshman guards Eshaunte Jones (6-4) of Fort Wayne, Ind., via Hargrave (Va.) Military Academy, and 6-2 Kavon Rose of Finney High in Detroit.

Before the season Jones was ranked as the No. 10 fifth-year senior by the HoopScoop recruiting website, was considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com., and is Rivals.com’s 31st-best shooting guard.

Rose is rated as the No. 2 player in Detroit and the No. 4 player in Michigan by the Detroit Basketball Report.

Forward Daniel Deane, a 6-8 redshirt freshman transfer from Utah, is already on scholarship and will have three years of eligibility after sitting out this year under NCAA rules. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 30 games and scored in double figures in four of his final five games as a true freshman with the Utes.