Speedy Johnson gives flexibility

USC possessed an elite shooter in Lodrick Stewart and a strong defender in Gabe Pruitt last season, but the Trojans’ cast of guards somehow seemed incomplete.

“Now I’m here,” said freshman Angelo Johnson, who practiced with his teammates for the first time Saturday morning at the Galen Center.

Johnson, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Simi Valley Stoneridge Prep, gives the Trojans a pure ballhandler for the first time since Ryan Francis patrolled the court two years ago and provides the kind of “quick jet” Coach Tim Floyd has sought to defend the likes of UCLA’s Darren Collison and Oregon’s Tajuan Porter.

“Last year they really struggled guarding guys like Aaron Brooks, Tajuan Porter,” Johnson said. “They didn’t have a little guy to guard them, but now they do.”

Johnson could also free fellow freshman guard O.J. Mayo to handle more of the scoring after the departures by Stewart, Pruitt and Nick Young, who combined for 43.8 points a game last season.

“It’s a tremendous thing for our program to get him in here,” Floyd said of Johnson. “We feel like he’s a young guy who’s got a lot of talent.”

Floyd said the addition of Johnson, who was certified by the NCAA Clearinghouse only last month, could allow the Trojans to feature a two-point-guard lineup, though the loss of sophomore Daniel Hackett for at least the next month because of a broken jaw might temporarily postpone those plans.

“It gives us depth at that position, but it also gives us the flexibility to play him and others with him because he is a guy who understands that position,” Floyd said of Johnson.

Johnson, a native of Minneapolis who spent his first two years of high school in his hometown before moving to Atlanta for a year and then Stoneridge Prep for his senior season, said he was nervous while waiting to learn whether the NCAA had cleared him.

“I had transferred to three different schools, so they wanted to look at everything and analyze all my transcripts,” he said. “I’m so happy to be here it’s not even funny. I was very worried about not getting in, about having to come in December. But now I’m here and can play at the beginning of the season.”

Kasey Cunningham said his strong performance during “Midnight Madness” on Friday -- the redshirt freshman forward won the dunk competition and scored 16 points during the Trojans’ 20-minute scrimmage -- reinforced his confidence in his surgically repaired left knee.

“I feel like my knee’s back to 100%,” Cunningham said. “It’s not even in the back of my mind.”

Mayo’s first shot inside the Galen Center was an airball Friday night during a two-ball competition in which he was paired with a female student, but the freshman redeemed himself by scoring 17 points during the scrimmage. “Everyone had fun,” Mayo said. “That was the main thing, to make sure we had fun.”. . . Sophomore guard Dwight Lewis, recovering from a bruised quadriceps, participated in the early portion of practice Saturday but probably won’t resume full-contact drills for another few days. . . . Compton senior forward DeMar DeRozan has committed to the Trojans. . . . The parents of San Diego High sophomore standout forward Jeremy Tyler attended practice and had a lengthy conversation with Floyd afterward.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com