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Jalen and Kobe Johnson to leave Sun Prairie and plan to enroll at Nicolet

07/29/2018, 8:15pm CDT
By Mark Miller

Jalen Johnson delivered a high-school basketball bombshell Sunday evening when he took to Twitter to announce his plans to transfer from Sun Prairie High School in the Madison area to Nicolet High School in the Milwaukee area.

Johnson, the state's top-ranked class of 2020 prospect who already owns NCAA Division I scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona, Duke, Florida, Marquette, UCLA and Wisconsin, plans to move to the Nicolet School District with his family, which includes his talented younger brother, Kobe, a 6-foot-1 class of 2021 guard.  

Ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the country in the 2020 class by Rivals.com, Jalen Johnson helped Sun Prairie to the Big Eight Conference championship and the school's first-ever trip to the WIAA State Tournament last season by averaging 18.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

His ability to impact a game with his athleticism, length, ball handling, scoring and passing ranks among the best in the nation. 

And with several key players back at Sun Prairie from last year's club that went 25-2, most expected Johnson and his emerging younger brother to help lead the Cardinals to more success the next two seasons. But all that changed Sunday evening with this Tweet ... 

The news sent shockwaves throughout the state with many high school coaches wondering how the Johnsons could gain eligibility at Nicolet. 

However, since both Jalen and Kobe Johnson plan to move to the Glendale area with their family, both could very well gain immediate eligibility per WIAA transfer rules. 

The addition of the Johnson brothers makes Nicolet one of the state's top teams and comes on the heels of a pair of previous transfers over the past 12 months.

Class of 2019 forward Jarrett Henderson (6-8) transferred from Sheboygan South to Nicolet prior to the start of last season due to a family move, while class of 2020 standout wing guard Desmond Polk (6-5) opted to transfer to Nicolet last spring from New Berlin West. Polk has since moved in with one of his parents who lives in the Nicolet district. 

Nicolet coach Al Hanson guided the Knights to a 16-10 record this past season and returns a first-team all-North Shore Conference performer in 6-foot-9 junior forward Jamari Sibley, a teammate of Johnson and Polk with the extremely talented Phenom University 16U club program. 

Jalen Johnson, Sibley and Polk all own scholarship offers from high major NCAA Division I collegiate programs. 

Also back from a year ago for Nicolet are senior guards Sonny Phinisee (5-10) and David Rosengarden (5-10).

For the latest and most up to date boys' basketball news and recruiting information, follow Mark on Twitter @wisbbyearbook. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Mark by clicking here.

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