Dior Johnson
{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Dior Johnson
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| position = Point guard
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lbs = 180
| team =
| number =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2004|1|28}}
| birth_place = Kingston, New York, U.S.
| high_school =
- Saugerties
(Saugerties, New York) - IMG Academy
(Bradenton, Florida) - Findlay Prep
(Henderson, Nevada) - Mayfair
(Lakewood, California) - Oak Hill Academy
(Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
| college =
- Clarendon College (2023–2024)
- UCF (2024–2025)
| highlights =
- Jordan Brand Classic (2022)
}}
Dior Johnson (born January 28, 2004) is an American college basketball player currently in the transfer portal. He previously played for the UCF Knights and the Clarendon College Bulldogs. He was one of the highest-rated point guards in the country in high school, and he had been one of the top players in the 2022 class.{{Cite web|title=Dior Johnson, Centennial , Point Guard|url=https://247sports.com/Player/Dior-Johnson-46056620/high-school-258460/|access-date=June 14, 2021|website=247Sports|language=en-US}}
Early life and high school career
Johnson was born in Kingston, New York. Dior was raised by his single mother and his grandparents.
Throughout his high school career, Johnson played for 9 high schools in 5 different states.{{Cite web|date=November 25, 2020|title=Dior Johnson Has Pro Talent, And He's Just Getting Started|url=https://fanbuzz.com/high-school/dior-johnson-recruiting/|access-date=June 14, 2021|website=FanBuzzlanguage=en-US}}
Johnson started his high school career competing for his hometown Saugerties High School as a 7th and 8th grader. He broke the New York boys basketball state record for the youngest player to reach 1,000 points. After briefly attending IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida during his freshman year, Johnson returned home to play for Saugerties after sustaining an injury. Later on during his freshman season, he would again transfer to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada. However, Findlay Prep's basketball program closed, leaving Johnson to transfer to Hillcrest Prep High School in Arizona. He eventually left Hillcrest before his sophomore season began, and was expected to play his sophomore season at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, but ended up enrolling at Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California. For his junior season, Johnson transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, but left the school after sustaining a leg injury. He then returned to California where he attended Centennial High School in Corona, but did not play basketball. As a senior, Johnson initially attended Prolific Prep in Napa, California before transferring midway through the season to SoCal Academy.
=Recruiting=
Johnson was a consensus four-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class. On February 7, 2020, he committed to playing college basketball for Syracuse before decommitting nine months later. On June 22, 2021, he committed to Oregon before decommitting a year later. On June 13, 2022, he committed to Pittsburgh.
{{College Athlete Recruit Start|40=no|collapse=no|year=2022}}
{{College Athlete Recruit Entry
| recruit = Dior Johnson
| position = PG
| hometown = Saugerties, NY
| highschool = Southern California Academy (CA)
| college = Clarendon College (Texas) (2023–present)
| feet = 6
| inches = 3
| weight = 180
| 40 =
| commitdate = June 13, 2022
| scout stars =
| rivals stars = 4
| 247 stars = 4
| espn stars = 4
| espn grade = 88
}}
{{College Athlete Recruit End
| 40 =
| year = 2022
| rivals ref title = Pittsburgh 2022 Basketball Commitments
| scout ref title =
| espn ref title = 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers Recruiting Class
| rivals school = pittsburgh
| scout s =
| espn schoolid = 221
| 247 overall = 47
| rivals overall = 38
| espn overall = 35
| accessdate = June 13, 2022
| bball = yes
}}
College career
Johnson took a redshirt in the 2022–23 season.{{cite web |last1=Borzello, Givony |first1=Jeff, Jonathan |title=Suspended Pitt freshman Dior Johnson pleads guilty to misdemeanor charges |url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/35219850/suspended-pitt-freshman-dior-johnson-pleads-guilty-misdemeanor-charges |access-date=8 March 2023 |website=ESPN.com |publisher=ESPN}}{{cite web |last1=Folts |first1=Emma |title=Pitt’s handling of Dior Johnson domestic violence case sends mixed messages about sport and survivor support |url=https://www.publicsource.org/university-pittsburgh-pitt-dior-johnson-domestic-violence-assault-survivor-panthers/ |access-date=8 March 2023 |website=publicsource.org |publisher=PublicSource}}{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Stephen |title=New Details Emerge About Pitt G Dior Johnson's Case |url=https://www.si.com/college/pittsburgh/basketball/new-details-emerge-about-pitt-panthers-dior-johnsons-case |access-date=8 March 2023 |website=si.com |publisher=Sports Illustrated}} After being arrested and sentenced to probation, the University of Pittsburgh announced in August 2023 that Johnson was no longer enrolled.{{cite web |last1=Michalowski |first1=George |title=Dior Johnson leaves Pitt men’s basketball program |url=https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2023/08/25/dior-johnson-leaves-pitt-mens-basketball-program/ |access-date=27 September 2023 |website=pittsburghsportsnow.com}} Shortly after, Johnson matriculated at Clarendon College, a community college in Texas.{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Stephen |title=Dior Johnson transfers to junior college |url=https://www.si.com/college/pittsburgh/basketball/pitt-panthers-dior-johnson-transfers-junior-college |access-date=27 September 2023 |website=si.com}} In one season with Clarendon, Johnson averaged 29.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-01 |title=UCF basketball snags commitment from JUCO transfer |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/07/01/ucf-knights-big-12-ncaa-transfer-portal-dior-johnson-johnny-dawkins/ |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Orlando Sentinel |language=en-US}}
On July 1, 2024, Johnson, the top-rated JUCO transfer, announced his decision to transfer to the University of Central Florida to play for the UCF Knights.{{Cite web |last=Michalowski |first=George |date=2024-07-01 |title=Former Pitt Guard Dior Johnson Commits to New School |url=https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2024/07/01/former-pitt-guard-dior-johnson-commits-to-new-school/ |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Pittsburgh Sports Now |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2024-07-02 |title=Dior Johnson, the well-traveled, formerly highly touted recruit, commits to Johnny Dawkins' UCF Knights |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/dior-johnson-the-well-traveled-formerly-highly-touted-recruit-commits-to-johnny-dawkins-ucf-knights/ |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=CBSSports.com |language=en}}
= Arrest =
Johnson pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges in December 2022 for simple assault and strangulation, stemming from a September 5 incident in the same year where he struck a woman multiple times, causing bruising, and forcing her head into a bed, making it difficult for her to breathe. Johnson was suspended from Pittsburgh during this period but was reinstated after pleading guilty. Johnson was sentenced to a year of probation and required to complete batterer's intervention.
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=College=
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://ucfknights.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/player/dior-johnson UCF Knights bio]
- [https://pittsburghpanthers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/dior-johnson/12125 Pittsburgh Panthers bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dior}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from New York (state)
Category:Centennial High School (Corona, California) alumni
Category:Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) alumni
Category:Mayfair High School alumni
Category:Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia) alumni