Last week, Eastern Illinois transfer Marvin Johnson entered the transfer portal. Johnson spent his first 2 seasons at Coffeyville Community College before transferring to Eastern Illinois. This past season at Eastern Illinois, Johnson averaged 15PPG, 5RPG, and 5APG. Upon entering the transfer portal, he gained interest from teams all across the country at both the mid major and high major level.

Johnson discussed his recruitment and broke down his top 4 schools with Hoop Scoop Media:

What led to your decision to enter the portal?

“I would say just me losing my coach and wanting to play for a winning program, and a school with more exposure for my last year.”

When you entered the portal you were one of the biggest names on the market. What was it like hearing from all those schools?

“I come from very humble beginnings so I loved the fact that schools reached out so fast. I had offers from power 5 schools out of high school and JUCO but my grades kept me back.”

Johnson has named a Top 4 of: Drake, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and New Mexico State. He broke down all 4 schools:

Drake: “Drake has a style of play that I would excel in and their family culture is big for me.”

Mississippi State: “Mississippi State is big on guards and I could really have some fun in the backcourt.”

Arkansas: “Arkansas is great at giving grad transfers great opportunities and exposure. They want to run and so do I.”

New Mexico State: “New Mexico State has a winning culture and I am a fan of Coach Jans. He recruited me out of JUCO, we have a great relationship.”