Totino-Grace's Isaiah Johnson-Arigu is the definition of an underrated talent.
Totino-Grace star Isaiah Johnson-Arigu suddenly showered with basketball scholarship offers
Johnson-Arigu has gone from zero high-major offers to 10, including one from a Miami (Fla.) program that just reached the Final Four.
July 15, 2023 at 2:03AM
The 6-7, 215-pound Minneapolis native didn't know what to expect with his recruiting process, as he entered his final AAU season ranked outside of the top five prospects in the state. He started in the spring with limited Division I interest.
The July recruiting period is when unknowns can turn into hot commodities.
After turning heads at the Adidas 3SSB Championships earlier this month, Johnson-Arigu gained five high-major offers in less than a week, including from Miami (Fla.) on Wednesday. He went from zero to 10 major DI offers and 20 total from the start of the AAU season with D1 Minnesota.
"That's basically from the work I put in," Johnson-Arigu said. "I've been working out three times a day. I feel like that's paying off and going into the games where I'm playing well. And that's why my recruiting is taking off."
His father, Peter Arigu, trained future pros as part of NBA Africa and the Basketball Without Borders program for 15 years. He was given the job by fellow Nigerian and current Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri. They played basketball together at Bismarck State in North Dakota in the early 1990s.
"I taught him the basic fundamentals and not to do too much with the ball," Arigu said of his son. "Play the game the right way. Some people might think his game is not fancy because it's not flashy, but I tell him if he sticks to what I'm teaching him, then sky's the limit."
Johnson-Arigu is one of the fastest rising seniors in the Midwest, but he was a bit overlooked locally. He jumped around to a few different AAU teams over the years. He played with Park Center's Cash Chavis and Chiang Ring early in high school. He played last summer with Wayzata's Jackson McAndrew and Bloomington Jefferson's Daniel Freitag, the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the state's 2024 class, respectively.
"You could see he had potential," his father said. "He was getting worried he didn't get many [college] offers."
This summer, Johnson-Arigu has jumped up from being the No. 9 to the No. 3 senior in the state by Prep Hoops, ranked behind only McAndrew and Gophers recruit Isaac Asuma of Cherry.
"There were ups and downs, and he was emotionally down," Peter Arigu said. "I told him not to worry. Every kid develops differently. People don't develop at the same time. Let's keep working and eventually your time will come."
After transferring from Osseo, Johnson-Arigu helped Totino-Grace coach Nick Carroll win his second consecutive state title this year. Johnson-Arigu took that confidence into AAU. His responsibilities with D1 Minnesota coach and ex-Gophers player Jonathan Williams increased after Grayson Grove was sidelined because of an injury.
In the Adidas circuit this month, Johnson-Arigu was tabbed a top performer on several sites. During a game against a Cleveland team last week, he blocked a shot against a taller opponent with his 7-foot wingspan. He then showed off his speed and handle by quickly taking the ball all the way to other end to finish over a defender with a swooping dunk.
Johnson-Arigu intrigues college coaches with his ability to defend multiple positions and be a threat offensively inside and out. He looks the part with a college-ready body and above-the-rim athleticism.
"I feel like a huge part of my game is my versatility," he said. "I feel like that's what's really going to get you on the floor in college."
The Gophers already have two commitments in the 2024 class in Asuma and Alexandria's Grove, so Minnesota hasn't shown recent interest in Johnson-Arigu. Northwestern and Stanford were the first high-major offers he received in May. Schools from all six power conferences have offered this summer, including Iowa and Nebraska from the Big Ten.
Johnson-Arigu is excited now to have gone from zero to nearly a dozen high-major offers and counting in his last AAU season. His patience and work ethic resulted in several options to reach his goal of playing college basketball at the highest level.
"I'm not going to sit here and lie and say it didn't surprise me," he said. "With the work I put in, some of this is deserved for sure."
Jameson Geers scored the go-ahead touchdown, Dragan Kesich kicked four field goals, Darius Taylor ran for 131 yards and a TD and the Gophers finally beat coach Bret Bielema for the first time in 11 meetings.
