Freshmen Darren Moore and Jayden Johnson with Joey and Darek

Garrett Johnson, a Story in Perserverance - and he's pretty darn good at hoops, too

The last of our sitdowns definitely comes with a story - an amazing one, of perserverance and patience. Joey and Darek speak with Garrett Johnson, a transfer from George Washington whose ACL tear two seasons ago was nothing compared what happened in 2021 during his senior year in high school when a hip tumor (fortunately, benign) threatened to end his playing days. Full story on that is available HERE [https://magazine.gwu.edu/courage-beyond-court]. But great news, he's healthy and ready to run with the Bulls.

Zayden High, 6-10 Junior coming to Tampa from UNC

The Texas native had an interesting three years in Chapel Hill, being held out his second season, last year breaking into the starting lineup - and playing a career high in minutes, and scoring career highs (15, 13 points) in those two starts - but is ready to be a bigger part of his team's offense, something High says Chris Mack emphasized will be the case here.

Mike James, who'll get to play for Chris Mack FIVE years after he was recruited to!

The former Orlando prep star (Oak Ridge HS) was recruited by Chris Mack to Louisville but suffered an Achilles injury and never got to play for him. James, a versatile guard, did excel with the Cardinals in the two seasons after Mack departed, starting every game and averaging 11.3 points. James then transferred to NC State only to suffer a career-threatening knee issue (read more on that HERE [https://www.si.com/college/vanderbilt/basketball/my-mom-could-have-lost-a-son-inside-mike-james-career-threatening-year-away-from-basketball]), and last year at Vanderbilt never got on track averaging less than two points in about 10 minutes per contest. Needless to say Mike is thrilled to have the chance to regain his health and production.

Freshmen Darren Moore and Jayden Johnson with Joey and Darek

Hear from two of the three freshmen on the squad, starting with a point guard from the northeast in Moore, and (at the 3:30 mark) a Kentucky kid who knows plenty about Chris Mack being from Louisville, and has some words on the other freshman Jake Feldhaus having competed with him plenty on the hardwood.

Sonny Wilson, who averaged 17 points and 4.6 assists at Toledo last season (1,336 points in three seasons)

Was the High School Player of the Year in Michigan and carried that to college with a very productive three seasons at Toledo - which led Akron by 12 points in the MAC finals this March before losing on a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left. He's definitely looking to get to the NCAA tournament with his new team.