Dior Johnson

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Dior Johnson
Personal information
Born (2004-01-28) January 28, 2004 (age 20)
Kingston, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school
PositionPoint guard
Career highlights and awards

Dior Johnson (born January 28, 2004) is an American college basketball player who was committed to play as a freshman for the Pittsburgh Panthers of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2022–23, but instead redshirted the season without appearing a game and then leaving the school altogether. He currently attends Clarendon College. He was the #1 rated point guard in the country in high school, and he had been a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class.[1]

Early life[edit]

Johnson was born in Kingston, New York. Dior was raised by his single mother and his grandparents.

High school career[edit]

Throughout his high school career, Johnson played for 9 high schools in 5 different states.[2] 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[edit]

Johnson is 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.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dior Johnson
PG
Saugerties, NY Southern California Academy (CA) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jun 13, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 38  247Sports: 47  ESPN: 35
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Pittsburgh 2022 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  • "2022 Pittsburgh Panthers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  • "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.

Arrest[edit]

Johnson pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges in December 2022 for simple assault and strangulation, stemming from a September 5th 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 the Pitt Men's basketball team during this period, but was reinstated after pleading guilty. Johnson was sentenced to a year of probation and required to complete batterer's intervention. Johnson took a redshirt in the 2022–23 season as a result.[3][4][5] Subsequently, the university announced in August 2023 that Johnson was no longer enrolled.[6] Shortly after, Johnson matriculated at Clarendon College, a community college in Texas.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Dior Johnson, Centennial , Point Guard". 247Sports. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  2. ^ "Dior Johnson Has Pro Talent, And He's Just Getting Started". FanBuzzlanguage=en-US. November 25, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  3. ^ Borzello, Givony, Jeff, Jonathan. "Suspended Pitt freshman Dior Johnson pleads guilty to misdemeanor charges". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 8 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Folts, Emma. "Pitt's handling of Dior Johnson domestic violence case sends mixed messages about sport and survivor support". publicsource.org. PublicSource. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  5. ^ Thompson, Stephen. "New Details Emerge About Pitt G Dior Johnson's Case". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  6. ^ Michalowski, George. "Dior Johnson leaves Pitt men's basketball program". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  7. ^ Thompson, Stephen. "Dior Johnson transfers to junior college". si.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.

External links[edit]