Former ETSU commit Johnson to visit Freedom Hall with Bears – Johnson City Press (subscription)

Jalen Johnson was almost a Buc. Instead, hell be a member of the opposition on Wednesday.

When Mercer pays a visit to Freedom Hall to take on East Tennessee State, Johnson is expected to play a big role for the Bears. The former Tennessee and Wake Forest guard is averaging 14.6 points a game for Mercer while shooting 46% from 3-point range.

Back in 2020, Johnson had announced he was transferring from Tennessee to ETSU. Before he ever met his prospective new teammates in Johnson City, he changed his mind.

Two weeks after his commitment, ETSU coach Steve Forbes was hired away by Wake Forest. Johnson wound up transferring to Wake instead, where he played sparingly.

After one season with the Demon Deacons, Johnson headed for Mercer as graduate transfer and hell be facing some players who could have been his teammates Wednesday night.

We were looking forward to bringing him to ETSU, Bucs guard Ledarrius Brewer said. But we cant really help it. The guy, he moved on. He did whats good for his career, but I mean, Im definitely looking at it like yeah, he bailed on us. So Im going to make it tough on him.

ETSU coach Desmond Oliver recruited Johnson at Tennessee and hes hoping for a better outcome than the last Vols transfer ETSU faced. UNC Ashevilles Drew Pember lit up the Bucs for 27 points in a 79-64 win.

We havent had much success with that this year, Oliver said. Some players have had their way. We have allowed people to play against ETSU that I am associated with have great games. When does it stop?

ETSU, beginning a three-game homestand, comes in 11-8 overall, 3-3 in the Southern Conference. Mercer is 11-7 overall and tied with Chattanooga for first in the SoCon at 4-1.

Felipe Haase is averaging 15.5 points per game to lead Mercer. Hes making 49% of his 3-pointers to lead the SoCon.

Point guard Neftali Alvarez hasnt played since suffering a leg injury in early December.

Mercer is coming off a 71-64 win over The Citadel. Its lone SoCon loss was a 15-point setback to Furman.

Greg Gary is in his third season coaching the Bears.

Jordan King was surprised to learn of a disparity in his scoring statistics. In games following an ETSU loss, King is averaging 17 points. After a win, he gets just 10.4.

I guess the loss just gets to me, King said. I feel like we have to come out stronger. After wins, I feel like we settle down and not play as hard. I think we have to carry that over after we win games.

I definitely have to look at the film and see what Im doing wrong. I have to figure it out.

Overall, King is averaging 12.4 points a game, tied for second on the team with Brewer. David Sloan still leads the way at 12.7.

Sloan has had 10 assists in two of the last three games and leads the SoCon with an average of 4.7.

I actually did that a lot in Juco, so its nothing new to me, Sloan said. I just want to win and at the end of the day I feel like getting my teammates involved just keeps everybody happy.

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Former ETSU commit Johnson to visit Freedom Hall with Bears - Johnson City Press (subscription)