How the Phoenix Suns may have helped Arizona land 2020 recruit Puff Johnson

The Phoenix Suns took 23-year-old North Carolina forward Cameron Johnson with the No. 11 pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, a selection that is widely viewed as a reach by experts in the industry.

You won’t see the Arizona Wildcats complaining about it.

Johnson’s younger brother, Puff, is one Arizona’s top 2020 recruiting targets. And once Cameron’s ticket to the desert was punched, 247Sports recruiting expert Josh Gershon went ahead and punched Puff’s too, using the Crystal Ball to predict he will land with the Wildcats.

A four-star prospect, the 6-foot-7 Puff is the No. 52 player in the 2020 class and No. 1 player in Pennsylvania.

There is a chance he tries to reclassify to 2019 and play college ball this season, seeing that he was ruled ineligible to compete in his senior year of high school because he repeated eighth grade.

Puff, whose real name is Donovan, also has offers from North Carolina, Auburn, Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Xavier, Pitt and Miami among others.

Johnson’s father, Gilbert, was teammates with Arizona head coach Sean Miller at Pittsburgh, another connection that could work in UA’s favor.

Cameron was considering Arizona when he transferred from Pitt after the 2016-17 season, but opted to join the Tar Heels instead, where he blossomed into one of the sport’s best shooters.