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ESPN Staff Writer- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
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ESPN- NBA draft analyst and writer
Joined ESPN.com in July 2017
Founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams
Pitt freshman guard Dior Johnson pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges Friday, for simple assault and strangulation, his lawyer told ESPN.
Johnson was sentenced to one year probation, batterers intervention and a mental health evaluation and treatment if necessary. As part of the plea agreement, the strangulation charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.
In late October, a judge dismissed a felony aggravated assault charge as well as misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint and false imprisonment.
Johnson's attorney, Robert Del Greco, said Johnson will seek to be reinstated by Pitt. He has been suspended since being arrested in early October and is currently prohibited from being on campus or participating in any extracurricular activities.
"Pitt continues to follow University and athletic department protocols regarding Dior Johnson's suspension," the school said Friday in a statement. "All parties continue to work through the process and will not comment until additional steps have been completed."
Johnson has been a nationally-known recruit since setting varsity scoring records in the state of New York as a seventh- and eighth-grader. He bounced around to several different high schools, starting at Saugerties (New York) where he grew up and including stops at national powerhouses IMG Academy (Florida), Findlay Prep (Nevada) and Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) as well as four high schools in California before ending up at Southern California Academy (California).
He initially committed in 2020 to play college basketball at Syracuse, but decommitted and chose Oregon -- before decommitting again last spring and ultimately choosing Pittsburgh. He finished his high school career ranked No. 38 in the ESPN 100.
"Deep down I'm a young man that loves this game of basketball and it's allowed me to do so much early in my career," Johnson told ESPN when he committed to Pitt. "I also understand that to put myself in the best position possible, you need to be led by truth-worthy, high character men and [coach] Jeff Capel is that."