Jalen Johnson's comeback starts tonight.

The senior was cleared by the WIAA to play in Nicolet's game against Slinger on Friday night and he finished with 14 points in a 54-43 victory for the Knights.

Johnson, a 6-foot-9 forward who signed with Duke, started the school year at IMG Academy in Florida but returned home and re-enrolled at Nicolet last month. No waiver of the transfer rule was required in this case, according to WIAA deputy director Wade Labecki, because Johnson never played a game at IMG and did not stay for an entire school year.

Johnson shared the news of his return on his Instagram account Friday morning.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS:Jalen Johnson is back at Nicolet. Here's what it means for both the Knights and the rest of the state this season.

Johnson's return is a huge boost to a Nicolet team that was already beginning to hit its stride with Johnson's brother, Kobe, and James Graham, both juniors, leading the way. Those players are 21-point per game scorers for a team that entered Friday night 13-3 overall and tied for the North Shore Conference lead at 10-2.

Johnson was named the Associated Press and Gatorade state player of the year last season after leading the Knights to the Division 2 state championship.

He averaged 19.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game for the Knights.

Seven times he recorded triple-doubles. He averaged 18 points, 15.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in two state tournament games and finished the year with 20 points, 20 rebounds and four assists in a 67-54 victory over Washington in the state final.

Contact Mark Stewart at Mark.Stewart@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MarkStewartMJS.