San Diego State transfer forward Keshad Johnson listed Arizona among five choices for his next destination and is expected to visit the Wildcats.
Johnson also listed Texas Tech, USC, Oklahoma and Kentucky. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that he took a visit to USC last month and has also visited Oklahoma, and that he could receive "high-dollar" NIL payments while playing for either program.
A 6-7, 225-pound veteran of four seasons at SDSU who announced his departure on April 12, Johnson started at power forward for the Aztecs during their run to the national championship game last season. He averaged 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds while shooting 53.2% overall and 26.2% from 3-point range.
Johnson's two-point percentage of 59.1% ranked 232nd nationally, according to Kenpom, while his offensive and defensive rebounding percentages both ranked in the top 500.
According to the Union-Tribune, Johnson became a fan favorite for acrobatic dunks and coast-to-coast runs. His 14 points against UConn in the national championship game led the Aztecs.
"It changed the whole aspect of how I’m viewed as a basketball player," Johnson told the Union-Tribune of the impact on him during SDSU's tournament run. "Now everybody knows I’m a winner. They knew I had the heart of a winner and I talk like a winner, but now I proved to them that I’m a winner.
"That’s the most exposure any college player could have, being on that stage. It’s inevitable for the world to know me at this point. I had a pretty good game in the national championship game. The world has seen that."
At Arizona, Johnson could fill the hybrid forward spot vacated by Cedric Henderson. The Wildcats also have two forwards in the NBA Draft pool, Azuolas Tubelis and Pelle Larsson, though Larsson is expected to return to UA next season.
If Larsson returns and Tubelis does not, the Wildcats will have eight scholarship players for 2023-24 in addition to any other players they pick up the rest of this spring. Alabama transfer Jaden Bradley became UA's first springtime pickup this week when he committed to the Wildcats.
Johnson faced the Wildcats last season in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, collecting eight points and five rebounds in UA's 87-70 win.
