Syracuse Basketball: Dior Johnson on to Kamari Lands former prep home

Dior Johnson, Syracuse basketball (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Dior Johnson, Syracuse basketball (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Throughout his high-school career, former Syracuse basketball commit Dior Johnson has suited up for numerous teams, and it looks like he will spend his senior year at the former prep home of Kamari Lands.

In recent weeks, there have been numerous developments involving high-school prospects with one Orange tie or another where these players are transferring on to new prep schools.

The latest news involves the 6-foot-3 Johnson, a 2022 five-star point guard who committed to Syracuse basketball in February of 2020, de-committed from the ‘Cuse last November and gave a verbal commitment to Oregon this past June.

Johnson, the No. 1 point guard and a top-10 overall player in the 2022 cycle according to some recruiting services, will head to Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., for his senior campaign. That’s according to a tweet from Paul Biancardi, who is the national recruiting director for ESPN.

Former Syracuse basketball commit Dior Johnson has landed at the former prep school of Kamari Lands.

Until recently, the Prolific Prep roster included Lands, a 2022 four-star wing. The 6-foot-8 Lands verbally committed to the Orange this past April, but then over the weekend, he re-opened his recruiting process back up.

Interestingly enough, word recently came out on Twitter that Lands is transferring from Prolific Prep to Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Ariz., whose line-up also features long-time ‘Cuse target Chance Westry, a 2022 four-star guard who has Syracuse basketball among his 10 finalists.

Johnson’s new team, Prolific Prep, finished the 2020-21 season ranked No. 10 in the MaxPreps top-25 poll. This past April, when MaxPreps put together an early look at a possible top-25 ballot for the upcoming campaign, Prolific Prep checked in at No. 5 overall.

It will prove intriguing to see how Prolific Prep fares this coming season, with Lands gone but Johnson now a member of this roster.

In recent years, other high-school groups that Johnson has suited up for include Mayfair High School in Lakewood, Calif., the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and most recently, Corona Centennial High School in Corona, Calif.

Other transfers of late involving Syracuse basketball connections are 2022 four-star target Chris Bunch moving from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., to the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah.

Additionally, Orange 2022 commit Justin Taylor, a four-star wing, has gone from the St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he will team up with another ‘Cuse 2022 commit, four-star point guard Quadir Copeland.