Syracuse Basketball: Dior Johnson is heading to powerhouse Oak Hill

Syracuse basketball commit Dior Johnson, a premier prospect in the 2022 class, will play his last two years of high school ball at Oak Hill Academy.

Dior Johnson, who committed to Syracuse basketball back in February and is one of the top players in the 2022 class, will transfer to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., per a Sports Illustrated report.

Johnson, a five-star point guard in his class, recently finished up a stellar sophomore year at Mayfair High School in Lakewood, Calif., but he has elected to move to perennial juggernaut Oak Hill Academy to compete in his final two terms before suiting up for the Orange or possibly going pro.

“I’m trying to be isolated and really focused on basketball and school while playing at the highest level,” Johnson told Sports Illustrated’s director of basketball recruiting, Jason Jordan. “I want to be as prepared as possible for whatever comes next in the future.”

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The 6-foot-3 Johnson, who hails from Saugerties, N.Y., is universally regarded as a top-15 player in the 2022 class. He is viewed as the No. 1 point guard across his class by the 247Sports Web site.

Additionally, both 247Sports and Rivals.com rank Johnson in the top five of all guys nationally within the class of 2022. Assuming he ultimately plays for the ‘Cuse, Johnson would represent the highest-rated freshman at Syracuse since Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony, as we all know, helped guide the Orange to the team’s first and only NCAA title in 2003. However, another interesting nugget here is that Anthony spent his senior stanza in high school at Oak Hill Academy.

This past season, according to Jordan’s article, Oak Hill Academy recorded a mark of 37-3 and placed at No. 7 in ESPN’s final top-25 rankings of high-school basketball squads.

Oak Hill Academy is known for doing an excellent job of developing terrific point guards, and the program has also sent a boatload of players to the NBA.

“I wanted to settle at a good spot around good people for the most important last seasons of high school,” Johnson said in the Sports Illustrated story. “I thought Oak Hill was a great spot to do it and to get me better as a student, a player and as a person.”

As a sophomore at Mayfair High School, Johnson averaged 24 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest, according to Jordan.

Steve Smith, the long-time head coach at Oak Hill Academy, echoed the sentiments of many recruiting analysts in describing Johnson’s strengths for the Sports Illustrated piece.

“He can create shots in the half-court by facilitating for a teammate or by getting the ball in the lane off penetration. He can also create shots for himself off the dribble and is excellent at creating space. He has tremendous three-point range. With all that being said, he might be at his best in transition. He sees the floor with great vision and can really push the ball up-court with his passing ability.”

Johnson has made it clear that if the NBA changes its one-and-done rule, he will weigh his options, but that as far as college goes, the ‘Cuse is it.

Furthermore, the potential for a lucrative G League contract similar to one that Jalen Green recently secured could certainly sway Johnson to bypass Syracuse. If that ends up being the case, no one can blame him for doing what’s best for his career.

For now, though, Johnson is an extremely exciting Orange commit. Maybe he can follow in Anthony’s footsteps by attending Oak Hill Academy and then capturing a national championship at the ‘Cuse.