Omari Johnson

Omari Johnson

Johnson playing for the Oshawa Power in 2012
No. 24 – Neptūnas Klaipėda
Position Forward
League LKL
Champions League
Personal information
Born (1989-05-26) May 26, 1989
Kingston, Jamaica
Nationality Jamaican / American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school Dorsey (Los Angeles, California)
College Oregon State (2007–2011)
NBA draft 2011 / Undrafted
Playing career 2011–present
Career history
2011–2012 Oshawa Power
2012–2013 Summerside Storm
2013–2014 CB Valladolid
2014–2016 Maine Red Claws
2016–present Neptūnas Klaipėda
Career highlights and awards

Omari Johnson (born May 16, 1990) is a Jamaican-American professional basketball player for Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga (LKL). Johnson played college basketball with the Oregon State Beavers and graduated from high school at Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, California. He has also played professional basketball in Canada and Spain.

High school career

Johnson played high school basketball for Dorsey in Los Angeles.[1] In his junior season, he came off the bench and averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds per game.[1] As a senior he averaged 18.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, being named to the All-CIF LA first team.[1] Led by Johnson, Dorsey reached the sectional semifinals of CIF LA.[1]

College career

Omari Johnson playing for the Oregon State Beavers
Omari Johnson played for Oregon State between 2007 and 2011.

After considering offers from Wyoming, South Florida and Long Beach State, Johnson verbally committed to Oregon State.[2] He stated that the fact that Corvallis is a college town was his motive behind choosing Oregon State, along with him feeling needed by his future teammates and having the opportunity to compete against top talent in Pac-10.[1][2] He achieved a career-high performance in scoring with 19 points as a freshman, as the Beavers lost 76–63 to Arizona.[1][3] He tied that feature as a sophomore, also recording his first double-double, with 10 rebounds, helping his team get past Nebraska with a narrow 64–63 win.[4][5] Although 6-foot-7 when he started college, Johnson grew more than two inches before his junior season to reach a height of 6-foot-9.[6][7]

In his senior season Johnson achieved a career-high with 13 rebounds, also adding 15 points for his second career double-double, as Oregon State lost 83–80 to Seattle.[8][9] A few days later, he had a career-high 6 stelas, also adding 13 points, as Oregon State lost 66–60 to Texas Southern.[1][10] Prior to the game against local rivals Oregon, Johnson commented on his opponents that they are "a feisty little bunch of dudes.".[11] Further commenting on the game he said "They bump us more, you get elbows in the back a little more than other games, it's just physically and verbally more intense.", but he also clarified "I wouldn't call 'em dirty".[11] In four seasons with the Beavers, Johnson appeared in 120 games, starting 67 of them and averaged 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.[12]

Professional career

After graduating from college, Johnson was selected by the Oshawa Power to play in their 2011 pre-season squad.[13] He played in Oshawa's inaugural game in the NBL Canada, posting 8 points and 3 rebounds.[14][15] Against the Halifax Rainmen he finished with career-highs in both scoring and rebounding with 37 and 16 respectively; his scoring performance being a then NBL Canada record.[16][17] In the wake of the loss Johnson commented: "We weren't guarding at all and had too many turnovers".[16] In the D-League 2012 draft, Johnson was selected 74th overall by the Canton Charge, only to be waived a few days later.[18][19] After being named in the All-NBL Canada second-team and an All-Star in the 2011–12 season, Johnson signed with the Summerside Storm in December 2012.[20][21] He posted a season-high 34 points, along with 13 rebounds, to help the Storm overcome his former team Oshawa Power.[22][23] In his two seasons in Canada, Johnson started 43 of his 57 regular season games, averaging 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals per game.[24]

In September 2013, Johnson signed with ACB team CB Valladolid.[25][26] In Spain, Johnson had his best scoring performance against FC Barcelona Bàsquet, scoring a game-high 20 points.[27] Johnson started 24 of the season's 34 games, averaging 11.6 points and 6 rebounds per game in 26 minutes playing time.[28]

Johnson was selected 39th overall in the 2014 NBA D-League Draft by the Maine Red Claws.[29][30] In February 2015, playing against the Westchester Knicks, Johnson had a season-high performance of 30 points, also having 15 rebounds.[31][32] He tied his scoring season-high two weeks later, against the same opponent, grabbing 14 rebounds to achieve a double-double.[33]

On September 25, 2015, Johnson signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[34][35] However, on October 23, he was waived after appearing in four preseason games.[36] On October 31, he was reacquired by the Red Claws.[37]

On November 9, 2016, Johnson signed with Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lithuanian League.[38]

Personal

The son of Jennifer Gordon and Dave Johnson, he hails from Kingston, Jamaica. Both of his parents are former basketball players, his mother at Florida Tech, and his father at Shaw University. Johnson has two brothers, Shakir and Kahlil.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Omari Johnson Biography". OSUBeavers.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 Hicks, Greg (September 24, 2006). "Omari Johnson Reaches Decision". Scout.com. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ Pascoe, Bruce (January 3, 2008). "Final: Arizona 76, Oregon State 63". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Late free throws get Oregon State past Nebraska". Lincoln Journal Star. December 13, 2008. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ "2008–09 Oregon State basketball individual statistics Omari Johnson" (PDF). Oregon State Athletics. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ Buker, Paul (April 16, 2007). "OSU hoops signs point guard Rickey Claitt, assistant Jeff Reinert is leaving program". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ Hampton, Kevin (January 7, 2010). "Johnson's game is growing". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Oregon State at Seattle University – Oregon State Post-Game Quotes". Oregon State Athletics. November 18, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Seattle 83, Oregon State 80: Turnovers, misses cost Beavers in second half". The Oregonian. November 17, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ Schnell, Lindsay (November 21, 2010). "Oregon State men's basketball team still learning how to win, and a 66-60 loss to Texas Southern is proof". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Buker, Paul (January 18, 2011). "The basketball Civil War: Beavers' Omari Johnson calls the Ducks, "a feisty little bunch of dudes". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Omari Johnson Individual career history" (PDF). Oregon State Athletics. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ Ebanks, Drew (October 24, 2011). "Oshawa Power Roster for game vs. London Lightning". Oye! Times. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  14. ↑ Ebanks, Drew (October 31, 2011). "Oshawa Power fall to the Quebec Kebs 104-101". Oye! Times. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  15. ↑ "Boxscores: Quebec Kebekwa–Oshawa Power 104–101". FIBA. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Power Lose 117-93 to Halifax Rainmen". Our Sports Central. January 5, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  17. ↑ Freeman, Brian (January 6, 2012). "Rainmen make it nine straight". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  18. ↑ Weir, Josh (November 3, 2012). "Canton Charge 2012 NBA D-League Draft picks". The Repository. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Charge Waive Three". Canton Charge. November 21, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Storm adds Omari Johnson". The Journal Pioneer. December 24, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Omari Johnson Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  22. ↑ "Summerside Storm clinches division title in NBL of Canada". The Guardian (Charlottetown). March 8, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Omari Johnson Season 2012/13". FIBA. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  24. ↑ "NBL Canada 2013–14 Pre-Season Guide" (PDF). NBL Canada. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  25. ↑ "El Valladolid se refuerza con el jamaicano Omari Johnson" (in Spanish). as. September 30, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Omari Johnson, décimo jugador del CB Valladolid" (in Spanish). Liga ACB. September 30, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  27. ↑ "109-50. El Barça consigue la victoria más abultada de la historia de la ACB" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. December 15, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Omari Johnson 2013–14" (in Spanish). Liga ACB. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  29. ↑ Tokito, Mike (November 3, 2014). "Ex-Trail Blazers guard Elliot Williams is No. 2 pick in D-League draft". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  30. ↑ "2014 NBA D-League Draft Board". NBA. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  31. ↑ Jordan, Glenn (February 7, 2015). "Red Claws cruise past Westchester, 121-108". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Omari Johnson 2014–15 Game Log". D-League. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  33. ↑ Zacchio, Mike (February 21, 2015). "Westchester Knicks give Pomona's JR Inman a second shot". The Journal News. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Trail Blazers Announce 2015 Training Camp Roster, Presented by OHSU". NBA.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Trail Blazers release Training Camp roster, add Omari Johnson for camp". The Columbian Blogs. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Trail Blazers Waive Pressey and Johnson". NBA.com. October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Red Claws Announce Draft Results, Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Neptunas sign Omari Johnson". Eurobasket.com. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
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