BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball signee Shawnson Johnson will not join the LSU basketball program until the spring semester and will not be eligible to play until the 2002-2003 season.
Johnson, from Shreveport, La., will use this year as a redshirt year and still have two years of eligibility.
LSU men’s basketball coach John Brady released the following statement Friday on the Johnson’s status:
“Shawnson Johnson will not be eligible to play at LSU this season even though he has completed all the requirements for graduation from Lee College. For a student to be a summer graduate from Lee, all course work must have been completed and turned in by August 15. Shawnson missed that deadline and therefore, the school could only issue his degree for a December 14 graduation date, even though all the required criteria had been met. We are disappointed his work was not completed at the appropriate time, but respect and understand the Lee College policy,” said Brady.
Brady continues, “Shawnson will enroll at LSU in the spring once his degree from Lee is rendered on Dec. 14. The NCAA does not allow mid-term graduates to play in the same season. With that being the case, our plan is for Shawnson to be at LSU in the second semester, practice with our team, but not play in games. He will then play the following two seasons with this year counting as a redshirt. Without his presence around the goal this year, it will take away some much needed depth, but we will still have 6-8 Brad Bridgewater, 6-8 Thomas Davis and 6-7 Jason Wilson to help absorb the loss of Shawnson. We are excited about the players we have and without question our team will be a much improved one from last year.”
Johnson is from Shreveport, La., and prepped at Green Oaks High School, earning All-City and All-State honors, prior to attending Lee College in Baytown, Texas.