Marcus Johnson Joins Oregon State's Men's Basketball Program

Transfer from UConn to be eligible to play in December 2008.

Marcus Johnson

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Marcus Johnson, a 6-6, 195-pound forward/guard from Los Angeles, Calif., has transferred to the Oregon State men’s basketball program from the University of Connecticut and will be eligible to play for the Beavers beginning in December 2008 head coach Jay John announced on Monday.

“He is a tremendous athlete who is a terrific defender and rebounder,” head coach Jay John said. “He brings valuable Big East experience and is a high-caliber player who will help us on the defensive end. He’s the kind of player who can come in and make an immediate impact and enhance the program.”

Johnson, who is enrolled at Oregon State for the Winter term and eligible to practice, will sit out one year due to NCAA transfer rules and will have one year of eligibility remaining when he makes his Beavers debut.

Johnson appeared in 51 games in his two-plus seasons at UConn, starting 24. He had a career average of 4.9 points per game and shot 50.0 percent from the field.

As a sophomore in 2006-07, Johnson appeared in all 31 games, starting at small forward position in 19 contests. He averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game, reaching double-figures seven times and leading the team in steals on eight occasions.

Johnson was one of the most highly-touted players coming out of high school as he was a consensus top-100 recruit out of Westchester High School in Los Angeles. The forward was ranked No. 22 by HoopScoop, No. 59 by Rivals and No. 89 by Scout as he adds to a long list of highly-touted players debuting for the Beavers for the 2008-09 season.

In addition to Johnson, Oregon State will bring in Eshaunte Jones (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Kavon Rose (Detroit, Mich.) and

Utah transfer Daniel Deane for the 2008-09 campaign.

Heading into this year, Jones is rated as the No. 10 fifth-year senior by HoopScoop, a popular recruiting website, and is a four-star rated recruit by Scout.com. In addition, he is ranked as the No. 31 shooting guard in the country by rivals.com.

Meanwhile, Rose, a 6-2 guard from Detroit, Mich. who attends Finney High School, is rated as the No. 2 player in the city and the No. 4 player in Michigan by the Detroit Basketball Report among this year’s recruiting class.

Deane, who is eligible to play for the Beavers following the end of this season, transferred to Oregon State from Utah where he averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds while starting four of the team’s 30 games. He scored in double figures five times, including in four of the final five contests.

The Oregon State men’s basketball team returns to action on Thursday, January 10th, at 6:06 PM as the Beavers host Stanford in a Pac-10 Conference contest.

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