Syracuse Basketball: LeBron James love for Dior Johnson win over commit

A juicy match-up recently transpired at the 2021 Peach Jam tournament, with NBA superstar LeBron James providing some praise in a battle between former Syracuse basketball 2022 five-star commit Dior Johnson and Orange 2022 four-star commit Justin Taylor.

According to statistics provided by basketball.exposureevents.com, Johnson and his AAU group, the Las Vegas-based Vegas Elite, defeated Taylor and the Washington, D.C.-based Team Takeover, 66-61.

I didn’t get to watch this game live, but King James himself sent out a tweet in which he gave a shout-out to Johnson for connecting on two tough shots down the stretch to help seal the victory for Vegas Elite. That’s cool stuff.

Both the 6-foot-3 Johnson, an elite point guard, and the 6-foot-6 Taylor, a stellar wing, put forth strong performances. Johnson compiled 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Taylor generated 19 points as well, and he hit on a solid 9-of-16 from the field.

Former Syracuse basketball pledge Dior Johnson impressed NBA star LeBron James.

As some context, Johnson originally committed to the Orange back in February of 2020. But then last November, he re-opened his recruiting process back up.

More recently, Johnson gave a verbal commitment to Oregon after having Mike Hopkins-led Washington among his group of five finalists. Taylor, meanwhile, committed to Syracuse basketball at the end of June, picking the ‘Cuse over North Carolina, Indiana, Virginia Tech and Virginia.

In a separate tantalizing game at the Peach Jam, Johnson and Vegas Elite fell by a count of 87-70 to the New York City-based NY Renaissance.

Members of the NY Renaissance include Orange 2022 high-priority targets Kyle Filipowski, a four-star power forward, and Chance Westry, a four-star guard. Additionally, Syracuse basketball is showing interest in another NY Renaissance player, under-rated 2022 guard Denver Anglin.

Johnson tallied 13 points, nine boards and six assists in the loss. For the NY Renaissance, Filipowski recorded nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Westry produced 10 points and nine assists.

So far at the prestigious Peach Jam, which is being held in North Augusta, S.C., Westry has accumulated a ton of assists in numerous games. Filipowski, Johnson and Taylor have also proven to be some of the premier high-school prospects suiting up in this annual event.