Syracuse Basketball: Dior Johnson is likened to NBA star De’Aaron Fox

The praise from national analysts continues to pour in for Syracuse basketball 2022 commit Dior Johnson.

Syracuse basketball 2022 commit Dior Johnson is one of the most prolific and creative scorers in all of high-school hoops, according to a national analyst, and he’s also getting compared to a terrific NBA star.

The 6-foot-3 Johnson, a five-star point guard who is No. 3 in the latest national rankings from 247Sports, recently enrolled at Corona Centennial High School in Corona, Calif., for his junior season after leaving the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., more than a month ago.

Jerry Meyer, a 247Sports analyst and director of scouting, has a new evaluation of Johnson where Meyer compares the Orange recruit to guard De’Aaron Fox of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

Meyer writes of Johnson that he “exudes a similar playmaking prowess as Fox, a former Kentucky star and lottery pick. Sharing similar physical builds, both players have slippery athleticism and are creative scorers and passers as point guards.”

Fox got selected No. 5 overall in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft by Sacramento after one sensational stanza at Kentucky, in which the Wildcats lost a heart-breaker in the Elite Eight of that season’s NCAA Tournament to eventual national champion North Carolina.

In the recently concluded NBA term, Fox proved tremendous, averaging 21.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists per contest. I can certainly see Johnson going on to a similar kind of pro career, and hopefully that entails him first suiting up for the ‘Cuse for at least one campaign.

Syracuse basketball 2022 commit Dior Johnson is a high-level play-maker, a recruiting expert says.

"In his scouting report on Johnson, Meyer writes, “Good length and stature for a point guard. Quick athlete with superb body control. Has tremendous instincts as a driver and passer. Delivers the difficult pass. Finishes the difficult shot. High level lay up maker. Has multiple fade away moves to his right shoulder. Shoots the ball well enough to be considered a three-level scorer. Has potential to rebound his position well and be a dangerous versatile defender. Has bounced around to multiple high school which some view as a yellow flag.”"

I’m glad that Meyer only labeled Johnson’s switching of high schools as a yellow flag, rather than a red flag. While it’s something to keep tabs on, particularly as Johnson inches closer to his planned time in an Orange uniform, he’s also a teen-ager, and Johnson’s personal decisions are his business, not mine.

So long as he is staying on top of his academic work, which will enable Johnson to compete for the ‘Cuse or, alternatively, give him business leverage if he decides to head straight to the professional ranks, that’s all for which I can hope.

One way or another, I can’t wait to watch Johnson on the court – at Corona Centennial High School, at Syracuse basketball and, down the line, playing versus NBA stars such as the Kings’ Fox.