When last seen on a basketball court in the Twin Cities, Isaiah Johnson-Arigu scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Totino-Grace to its third straight Class 3A state championship in March of 2024.
It was the 6-foot-7 Johnson-Arigu’s farewell party, as the four-star recruit decided to take his talents to Miami to play for the Hurricanes and heralded coach Jim Larranaga.
Isaiah Johnson-Arigu goes up for a dunk during practice this month on campus. A former star at Totino-Grace, Johnson-Arigu is excited to play for a Tommies program with a new arena and their first chance to make the NCAA tournament. (Collin Boyles / St. Thomas Athletics)
Twenty months later, a circuitous route has led him back home.
Johnson-Arigu will make his debut with St. Thomas on Monday at St. Mary’s (Calif.) as one of the marquee players for a program boasting a new arena, its most talented roster to date and a legitimate chance of reaching the NCAA tournament in its first year of eligibility by claiming the Summit League championship.
And Johnson-Arigu is thrilled to be a part of it.
“There’s just a tremendous upside here,” he said. “The new arena, being eligible for March Madness. It feels amazing to be home. Its’s been a wild journey so far.”
‘Higher’
Johnson-Arigu, who saw limited playing time in eight games with the Hurricanes last season, entered the transfer portal shortly after Larranaga announced his retirement in late December. He signed to play for Iowa in the new year but did not see any action.
When Iowa fired longtime coach Fran McCaffery after the season, it was back to the portal for Johnson-Arigu.
“I had been through it already; it was going to be a whole new roster,” he said of the Hawkeyes’ coaching change. “I didn’t want all the uncertainties, especially with a team back home who really wanted me.”
The Tommies and coach Johnny Tauer were the first to offer Johnson-Arigu a scholarship when he was in high school. But as his national offers continued to mount, their chances of landing him all but disappeared.
“We were in a different spot then,” Tauer said. “We didn’t have this arena, we weren’t eligible for the NCAA tournament. Now, there are going to be more kids like Isaiah, both locally and regionally, who have offers from high major schools, who look at St. Thomas and are going to be able to check off every box in terms of their experience.”
While he felt a connection to Tauer and his staff, Johnson-Arigu, in the end, was swayed by the allure of Miami, as well as the chance to move out of his comfort zone.
“I knew I wanted to go ‘higher,’ ” he said. “Now, with the upside we have, I honestly think we are ‘higher’ right now.”
Johnson-Arigu is one of four Division I transfers joining the Tommies this season, a list that includes Tommy Humphires Jr., Johnson-Arigu’s high school teammate and good friend who spent the past two seasons at Furman.
“We were in close contact throughout when this whole transfer portal thing was happening,” Johnson-Arigu said. “We were like, ‘Might as well; big things are going to be happening here, so we might as well be a part of it.’ ”
Son of a coach
Johnson-Arigu is the son of a basketball coach. Peter Arigu, who has been teaching basketball for nearly 30 years, operates a basketball skills business — The Peter Arigu Training Corner — out of the Lifetime Fitness Center in St. Louis Park. The native Nigerian also is an instructor for NBA Africa, teaching the game and spreading its reach.
Father and son have spent countless hours in the gym together, something Arigu says has resumed now that Isaiah is home. The focus has always been on proper footwork, with added attention on improving Johnson-Arigu’s three-point shot.
“He’s old school,” Arigu said of his son’s game. “Simple basketball. Not too much dribbling; one or two dribbles and get to the basket, shoot or pass. The young generation, most of the kids dribble the ball too much.
“I emphasize that with my son, and he understands. I sat with him and showed him Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, David Robinson. The efficiency is important, and that’s how he plays. He’s not fancy, he just gets the work done.”
Likewise, Tauer sees a very coachable player who plays the game the right way. And one with the talents and attributes the Tommies are looking for as they continue their ascension in Division I basketball.
“I always felt he was really skilled in terms of his passing and his shooting, combined with his dynamic athleticism,” Tauer said. “More people see athleticism; they don’t necessarily see his vision.
“One of the things that I think makes us special — not just our guys’ unselfishness — (is) their ability to pass. That’s something we really target in recruiting. That was one of the traits we liked about Isaiah’s game, his ability to pass, and to play virtually any position on offense.”
Four-star additions
Tauer said that Johnson-Arigu has the potential to be a big-time scorer, but his approach to the game is perfect fit for a team that is built on passing up a good shot for an even better one.
“A lot of our offense is predicated on having a lot of skilled players,” Tauer said. “So, in that sense he fits us very well. We play position-less basketball, so he’s open to playing any role. He’s a good three-point shooter, he can put the ball on the floor, he’s an unbelievable passer and a good finisher around the basket.
“He’s one of those guys who’s really into making the right basketball play over and over and over. We recruit that type of player, and if you have enough of those guys, sooner or later you’re going to find an open shot.”
Johnson-Arigu and Wisconsin native Nick Janowski, a transfer from Nebraska, are the first four-star recruits to play for the Tommies. A natural transition for the still-growing program is to reach the point that it can sign those types of players out of high school.
Tauer believes it will happen sooner than later.
“We’re going to continue to be very selective,” he said. “We don’t recruit a lot of guys because the fit is so important. It doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes, but we spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find guys who are going to love being here.”
Totino-Grace’s IsaiahÊ Johnson-Arigu (4) goes up for a shot as Mankato East’s Amari Nobles (1) and Ganden Gosch (12) look on during the second half of the Class 3A championship game in the State Boys Basketball Tournament at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Totino-Grace won 73-64. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)
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