Syracuse Basketball: Reality of Dior Johnson not coming is finally here

Syracuse basketball and 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson are parting ways, and virtually no Orange fans are surprised.

The decision by 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson to reopen his recruitment, which he revealed on social media, is a tough pill to swallow for Syracuse basketball and its fans.

However, based on my interactions with tons of Orange fanatics in recent months since I became an editor at Inside The Loud House, this development regarding the 6-foot-3 Johnson is not all that surprising, and many ‘Cuse fans predicted this would occur a long, long time ago.

Still, it stinks. I wish nothing but success for Johnson, who is rated No. 3 overall in the 2022 class according to 247Sports and, had he come to the Hill, would have amounted to the highest-ranked commit for Syracuse basketball dating back to the legendary Carmelo Anthony.

However, pretty much since day one when Johnson announced his commitment to the Orange this past February, a fairly large contingent of ‘Cuse fans opined that Johnson would never suit up in Central New York, but rather, ultimately head straight from high school to the professional ranks.

Five-star point guard Dior Johnson, a Syracuse basketball commit, has reopened his recruitment.

I had held out hope that Johnson would don an Orange uniform for at least one year, as the buzz surrounding his commitment to Syracuse basketball has proven tremendous, particularly since Johnson had said he planned to bring other stellar recruits with him to the Hill.

However, Johnson has also moved around to multiple high schools over the past several years, most recently enrolling 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.

All of this led some ‘Cuse fans to predict, now correctly, that Johnson would eventually move on from his commitment to the Orange program. Johnson said on Twitter that he is reopening his recruitment, but that Syracuse basketball “will remain one of my top schools.”

Multiple media reports on Tuesday night said that Johnson and ‘Cuse coaches mutually agreed to part ways. While it’s possible that Johnson could commit to another college team, I think it’s much more likely that he ends up going from high school directly to the NBA’s G-League or perhaps overseas, prior to getting selected in a future NBA Draft.

Writes Mike Waters of Syracuse.com, “It now appears that Johnson and the Syracuse coaching staff, including head coach Jim Boeheim and assistant Gerry McNamara, were both ready to move on.”

Best of luck, Dior.