How Isaiah Johnson plans to go from underrated to undeniable in year one with Buffs
- Liam Howard
- Oct 29
- 3 min read
Among the many new guards at Colorado this season is freshman Isaiah Johnson. As a three-star recruit out of high school, he aims to go from an underrated prospect to a key contributor in year one with the Buffs.
Johnson was born in Houston, Texas, before his family moved to Los Angeles, California, where he spent the majority of his developmental years.
His father, Chris Johnson, is one of the most notable NBA trainers in the country. He’s trained the likes of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Tyrese Maxey, to name a few. His influence and experience certainly trickled down to his son.
Johnson played his high school basketball at Campbell Hall High School in Valley Village, California. In his time with the Vikings, he averaged 26.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds while also recording 43 points in one of their playoff games.
However, this was still only enough to earn him a three-star rating by 247Sports. He was largely overlooked by power programs, with Colorado providing his only high-major scholarship offer.
“I’ve always felt underrated,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “The coaches took a chance on me, and I just play with that chip on my shoulder.”
Said chip on his shoulder has made him motivated and ambitious for his inaugural season in the Big 12. He’s well prepared for the physicality and high level of play that has been the standard for years in the prestigious conference.
“I’m definitely not shying away from the physicality,” Johnson continued. “I’m going to attack it head-on and each day just apply and get better.”
Despite how ready he feels, integrating into a new team at the highest level of college basketball is no easy task. One of the teammates he cited as a mentor to him in his early days as a part of CU’s program is star forward Bangot Dak. Dak had plenty of praise for Johnson as well. He expects the underrated freshman to impress in his first season.
“He makes great reads, takes care of the ball,” Dak said after practice on Oct. 8. “I feel like he’s going to come into the game and surprise a lot of people with his quickness, he’s small but he’s physical.”
Colorado is searching for answers at the guard positions this season. The program lost the likes of Julian Hammond III, Javon Ruffin and Trevor Baskin during the offseason and heavily focused on the hole they left in the portal and on the recruiting trail.
Johnson has been one of the primary players head coach Tad Boyle has looked to in the early weeks of practice to step up and fill that gap.
The precedent set by other guards like Derrick White, Spencer Dinwiddie and KJ Simpson, who have come through the program during Boyle’s tenure, has Johnson feeling optimistic about his opportunity to succeed.
“I look up to KJ,” Johnson said. “I know KJ personally, so me and him have talked a lot. He was also a big part of why I came here because he told me coach Boyle was going to take me to the next level.”
When the Buffs take the floor for the first time on Nov. 3, Johnson will be looking to make a name for himself early. He’s made it a point of emphasis to prove the doubters wrong and the coaching staff that trusted in him right.
“It’s definitely going to motivate me,” Johnson said. “Some of the [other] coaches [in the Big 12], they didn’t recruit me, so [when] playing those schools, I’m definitely going to get after it.”