Syracuse Basketball: Dior Johnson says not rushing to ‘get the fast money’

Elite point guard Dior Johnson gave a verbal commitment to Syracuse basketball in February 2020 and then re-opened his recruiting process back up last November.

Since February of last year, I’ve read countless comments from my fellow Orange fans on social media and in chat rooms that speak to them thinking that the five-star Johnson will never set foot on a college campus.

That is, many ‘Cuse fanatics are prognosticating that the stellar 2022 point guard is heading straight to the professional ranks from high school, rather than taking a year to shine at the collegiate level.

Of course, this could be what ultimately transpires for the 6-foot-3 Johnson, who is a junior at Corona Centennial High School in Corona, Calif.

As we detailed in a recent column, Johnson has disclosed his five finalists, and they are Mike Hopkins-led Washington, Alabama, Kentucky, Oregon and the National Basketball League (NBL), a professional basketball league based in Melbourne, Australia.

Once that list came out, naturally a ton of Syracuse basketball fans opined that Johnson is likely headed to the NBL. But he provided some interesting comments on this topic in a recent interview with a national recruiting analyst.

Former Syracuse basketball commit Dior Johnson discusses his recruiting process.

Johnson said to Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy that the college teams on his final list are serious contenders to win out for one of the top overall prospects in the 2022 class.

For one, Johnson is a native of Saugerties, N.Y. So I totally get the connection to former long-time Orange assistant coach Hopkins and Washington. The same goes for Alabama, whose head coach, Nate Oats, used to be the boss at Buffalo.

Kentucky, year after year, picks up some of the best high-school prospects around the country, so it’s not a surprise to me that the Wildcats are pursuing Johnson. Per Cassidy’s article, Johnson anticipates announcing his future plans “sometime before the late signing period in 2022.”

But as far as the chatter about the likelihood that Johnson will forgo college for the NBL, that’s certainly a distinct possibility. However, it doesn’t appear to be a foregone conclusion.

"“I’m not really into rushing to any money,” Johnson told the Rivals.com analyst. “I’m level-headed enough to know that I can go to college, wait six more months and get more money than I would have if I rushed to get the fast money. I’m going to take it slow and be smart.”"