Who is Kedrian Johnson? Looking at performance of West Virginia's star guard

The first official March Madness matchup is in the books as Maryland defeated West Virginia 67-65 on Thursday. This 8 vs. 9 seed matchup went right down to the wire with both teams trading leads throughout the game.

While Maryland advanced, it was West Virginia standout Kedrian Johnson who opened the most eyes. The 6-foot-3 guard finished with a game-high 27 points, shooting an efficient 8-for-13, including 4 of 8 on 3-point attempts.

Johnson has been a reliable member of the Mountaineers for the past three seasons. He has been the team's third-leading scorer throughout the season, averaging 11.2 points along with 3.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds. The Texas native performed well above these standards in the matchup against Maryland, but it was not enough for the team to win.

Who is Kedrian Johnson?

While he may have taken center stage in this matchup, it has been a winding road for Johnson to get to this point. He began his college career by redshirting as a freshman for last year's Cinderella story, Saint Peters.

After one season with the Peacocks, he transferred to Temple College in Texas which competes in the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference. He spent two seasons at the JUCO program. Johnson stood out on this level, leading the country in steals per game (3.7), scoring the fifth-most points per game (25.6), as well as adding 5.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in his sophomore season.

After two seasons back in Texas, Johnson transferred to West Virginia and rejoined the Division-I level. He had to pay his dues in the program as well, averaging 1.3 ppg in 7.3 minutes per game in his first year with the team.

He took some strides forward as a sophomore, averaging 5.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and 1.7 apg in his 20.5 mpg. He started 30 of the 32 games for West Virginia and set career highs in just about every statistical category.

However, Johnson has fully put the pieces together this season. His hard-nosed defense and competitive drive are a perfect fit for Bob Huggins' system and style of play. Johnson established himself as a foundational piece of the program and, while it did not work out for the team, he stepped up when it mattered most.

His future plans are not fully set in stone, but Johnson has already graduated with a bacholer’s degree in integrated studies. He is currently pursuing a master's degree at West Virginia. This will be his final time stepping on the collegiate floor as his eligibility is used up, so he will not be returning to the team next year.