The jigsaw is falling into place. In the wake of the 5-in-5 ruling, more players from the class of 2022 are figuring out where they will be spending their final years of newfound collegiate eligibility. While Clemson Tigers guard Dillon Hunter is coming back to play for Brad Brownell for one more season, sharpshooter Efrem "Butta" Johnson will be joining his third college basketball team in as many years.
CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reported on Wednesday that Johnson will now be playing for Virginia Tech. Johnson spent last season at Clemson, where he averaged 6.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game in 21.1 minutes per contest. He appeared in 35 games for the Tigers, making nine starts on a tournament team after transferring from UAB. Johnson made 35.5 percent of his 3-point attempts.
By leaving Clemson for Virginia Tech after one season, Johnson could be looking for more starting opportunities, as well as being a potential catalyst to get the Hokies back into the NCAA Tournament. While it has been a few years since they last went dancing, their head coach Mike Young has been at Virginia Tech for a minute. He has led VT to the tournament twice and was a bubble team last season.
Virginia Tech has signed former Clemson guard Butta Johnson, @chris_hummer and I have learned.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) August 26, 2026
Made nine starts at Clemson last season. Before Clemson, was a two-year starter at UAB. Has 163 career made 3-pointers. pic.twitter.com/MbktcvQqle
Efrem "Butta" Johnson bets on himself by transferring to Virginia Tech
While Clemson may have loved to have Johnson back in their backcourt, especially with Ace Buckner and Zac Foster working their way back from injuries, the class of 2022 returning to school for one more season was always going to be a special case. The 5-in-5 ruling did not come out until after last season ended and the NBA Draft ran its course. Players were left scrambling to find their new homes.
Even with Hunter coming back, that did not stop big man RJ Godfrey from transferring to Arizona. Simply, there may not have been a roster spot available for Johnson to come back to Clemson. However, he goes to an underrated team in the ACC in Virginia Tech that could catch some teams sleeping this year. If the Hokies can pull off a big upset or two, they could become a tournament team.
Right now, Johnson had to take advantage of the opportunities available for him. The best one on the table might have been up in Blacksburg playing for Young. Even if he was a role player with Clemson, Johnson made 46 career starts in 100 games over his first three years of college basketball at UAB. The Blazers might not be a Power Five team, but they do have a rich basketball history on their side.
In the end, this move makes sense for Johnson. He may have more room to blossom at Virginia Tech than he might have had at Clemson with Hunter coming back. While they spent a ton of time in the Clemson backcourt together, there are only so many minutes to be allocated in a basketball game. As painful as it may seem some for Clemson fans, deep down, they may know that Johnson had to leave.
When the Tigers take on the Hokies on the hardwood this season, they must keep tabs on Johnson.
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