Ben Johnson’s First 2022 Commit is Local Kid Braeden Carrington

New Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball coach, Ben Johnson, hasn’t even lead his new team through the bowels of Williams Arena and out onto the raised hardwood floor in front of thousands yet. So while basketball victories are still out of reach, Johnson has claimed his first win on the 2022 recruiting trail..

Braeden Carrington is a 6’3″ wing out of Park Center High School in Minneapolis and his offer list of Florida, Colorado, Missouri, Xavier and Seton Hall is pretty impressive, especially given a pandemic that kept many scouts, coaches and fans out of high school gyms in Minnesota all of last year.

How good is he?

247Sports hasn’t rated Braeden yet, because of the shortage of scouting time, but he is #155 in the nation at PrepHoops.com. If that type of ranking translates to 247Sports, he’d be a high 3-star prospect (around 92/100 overall). Carrington is long and can shoot the lights out. His basketball IQ, according to a former coach with plenty of basketball experience, is off the charts too.

Huge hometown get for Ben Johnson! https://t.co/rBQ24E1oSf

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) August 4, 2021

Carrington’s high school coach James Ware – a former college assistant at Minnesota, Utah State, and Santa Clara as well as a playing standout at Hopkins High School (MN), Texas Tech, and Colorado State – spoke highly of Carrington after Braeden averaged 19 a game while playing dual guard roles.

“Braeden is one of the smartest players I’ve coached at any level,” Ware said to 247Sports. “Besides being a knockdown shooter. He has great size and skill which allows him to play multiple guard positions at an elite level. He routinely makes the right play on offense and his length and nose for the ball allows him to start the break after rebounding.”

247Sports.com – Ryan James

Trend Setter?

When hired, Ben Johnson wasn’t shy about his confidence in landing top Minnesota high schoolers, most of which have avoided Dinkytown like the plague since Richard Pitino took over 8 years ago. He got a late start on recruiting a lot of these local kids so spinning a commitment like Carrington into a few more highly-coveted locals would be a welcomed trend.

Remember, the state of Minnesota has one of the highest rated 2022 high school classes in the nation, currently holding ten recruits who rank at 3-stars or better at 247Sports. Johnson will need all of the reinforcements he can get because recruiting a decent 2021 team out of the transfer portal has been less than successful, setting up what looks like a rough season ahead.

Here are Braeden Carrington’s Hudl highlights.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan