Arkansas-Little Rock forward Kamani Johnson has committed to Arkansas, becoming the fourth transfer to join Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman’s program since the end of last season.
Johnson, a 6-7, 215-pound junior, chose the Razorbacks over St. John’s and DePaul. He is expected to enroll in January and sit out the upcoming season, unless granted a waiver. Johnson is expected to be eligible to play by the second semester of the 2021-22 season.
“When I was looking at all the schools that showed interest and doing my research and I came down to Arkansas,” Johnson said. “I felt like the program had a lot of great history and the culture that has been created is something that every basketball player wants to play in. The fans are absolutely crazy in the best way possible.”
Musselman and Arkansas associate head coach David Patrick were talking to Johnson.
“Coach Musselman and his whole staff reached out and did a great job recruiting me and laying out a plan for me that I saw myself succeeding in and getting me ready for the next level,” Johnson said. “Also, I felt like Coach Musselman’s energy as a coach matches mine as a player so it was just a perfect match.”
Johnson was in UALR coach Darrell Walker’s first recruiting class in 2018 and reportedly had other offers from Memphis, Central Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. He attended Holy Spirit Preparatory School in Atlanta as a high school senior.
The Brooklyn native played two years at Montverde Academy in Florida prior to attending Holy Spirit.
He played in 27 games with 15 starts as a true freshman for the Trojans and averaged 5.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game. He shot 55.2 percent from the floor.
Johnson, who entered the NCAA transfer portal last Wednesday, was a third-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection as a sophomore after averaging 11 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He started 28 of 31 games and shot 51.3 percent from the floor and 72.7 percent from the free throw line.
His 144 made free throws rank sixth in program history for a single season. He had five double-doubles last season and had career highs of 32 points and 16 rebounds in a victory at Arkansas State.
Johnson had 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 79-64 exhibition loss at Arkansas. He also had three assists and one steal.
He is the younger brother of former Kentucky center Dakari Johnson.
Musselman added graduate transfers Vance Jackson of New Mexico, Jalen Tate of Northern Kentucky and Justin Smith of Indiana in the spring. They will be newcomers in the upcoming season along with ESPN’s No. 5 recruiting class, which brought in Moses Moody, Jaylin Williams, Davonte Davis and Khalen Robinson.