UNLV lands transfer guard Jackie Johnson from Duquesne

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, April 9, 2022 | 2:02 p.m.

UNLV basketball has made its first addition of the offseason, as former Duquesne point guard Jackie Johnson committed to the Scarlet and Gray on Saturday.

Johnson entered the transfer portal after logging one year at Duquesne and used his Twitter account to announce his move to UNLV:

Johnson was rated a 3-star point guard coming out of high school in the Class of 2021. He had offers from East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and St. Bonaventure at the time, but the Wichita native eventually chose Duquesne.

Judging by the box score, Johnson could provide UNLV with an offensive upgrade at the point guard position. Johnson was Duquesne’s fifth-leading scorer at 9.5 points per game, but he was the Dukes’ second-most efficient scorer as he knocked down 37.3 % of his 3-point attempts and posted a solid true shooting percentage of 53.5%.

The 5-foot-10 lefty is strong on the ball, as he sported a relatively good turnover rate of 15.0% despite leading Duquesne in usage rate as a freshman. And his shot profile is analytically modern: 3’s and layups accounted for more than 81 percent of his attempts, with very few mid-range shots.

Johnson scored in double figures 11 times last year, with three 20-point performances and a career-high 30 in a loss at George Washington on March 2. In Duquesne’s lone conference tournament game, Johnson played 23 minutes off the bench and contributed 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting in a loss to Rhode Island.

From the outside, the Duquesne program appeared to crater in 2021-22, posting an overall record of 6-24 and a 1-16 mark in conference play.

Johnson has three years of eligibility remaining and will be able to suit up for UNLV in 2022-23.

UNLV has two point guards currently on the 2022-23 roster; returning senior Jordan McCabe started 31 of 32 games last year and averaged 6.4 points and 4.8 assists, while Keshon Gilbert (who is perhaps more of a combo guard at 6-foot-4) gave the team spirited defense in 14.3 minutes per contest.

The addition of Johnson leaves UNLV with three open scholarship spots, assuming wing Donovan Williams returns for his senior season. Williams recently declared for the NBA Draft but has retained his college eligibility for now.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.