St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Men's Basketball Program Signs Durand Johnson
8/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's head coach Chris Mullin received a commitment from highly-touted graduate transfer Durand Johnson (Baltimore, Md.), who joins the program after beginning his collegiate career at Pittsburgh. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound wing has one season of eligibility remaining for 2015-16.
Johnson lettered for two years at Pitt where he appeared in 47 games and averaged 5.8 points per contest. He shot 41.0 percent from the field, 77.6 percent at the free-throw line and sank 47 3-pointers during his time with the Panthers.
"Durand is an experienced player at the high-major level," said Mullin. "He is versatile, plays with energy and can be an impactful scorer. He has the ability to make significant contributions for our team on both ends of the court next season."
Johnson got off to a strong start in 2013-14 putting up career-highs in nearly every statistical category before suffering a season ending injury midway through the campaign. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and nearly one steal per game through 16 contests. Johnson ranked second on the team with 1.4 3s per game, while shooting 40.5 percent from the field and leading the squad with an 85.3 percent free-throw shooting mark. He scored double-figures eight times, including a career-high 17-point effort versus Maryland on Jan. 6, 2014.
The Baltimore native played 31 games for the Panthers in 2012-13 after redshirting his first season at Pitt. Johnson finished the year as one of the team's top long-distance shooters and converted 37.9 percent of his attempts beyond the 3-point arc. He averaged 4.4 points and handed out 36 assists in 11.9 minutes per contest.
Johnson spent the 2010-11 season at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., playing under head coach Jason Smith. He helped lead Brewster to a 31-3 overall record and an appearance in the National Prep Championship semifinals. Prior to Brewster, Johnson attended Lake Clifton High School in Baltimore where he averaged 15 points per game playing for head coach Herman Harried. The Lakers went 15-6 and earned a No. 10 ranking in the state. Johnson played AAU ball for Team Cecil Kirk and head coach Anthony Lewis. Coming out of high school he was rated as high as No. 29 at his position and No. 88 overall according to major national recruiting services.
