UCF guard Dior Johnson named national player of the week after 41-point opener
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The gist
UCF guard Dior Johnson was named Lute Olson national player of the week, leading the country at 34.5 points per game.
The former blue-chip recruit has revived his career after several college stops.
Background
Dior Johnson is a UCF (University of Central Florida, in Orlando) guard and former blue-chip high school recruit who has played for several programs. He spent 2024-25 at UCF averaging about 2.9 points, then transferred to Tarleton State, where he was named WAC (Western Athletic Conference) sixth man of the year and Second Team All-WAC. He returned to UCF as coach Johnny Dawkins' highest-ranked transfer-portal addition, aiming to contribute to winning beyond scoring. He is trending now after a 41-point season opener and a 28-point follow-up earned him national weekly honors.
How it unfolded
- 2020 -02Johnson committed to Syracuse.
- 2021 -06He instead picked Oregon.
- 2022A year after choosing Oregon, he decommitted and chose Pittsburgh.
- date unknownHe redshirted at Pitt, then was arrested for simple assault and strangulation and was announced as no longer enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh.
- date unknownAt Clarendon College, a junior college in Texas, he averaged 29.7 points per game.
- 2024 -25 seasonAt UCF he played limited minutes, averaging about 2.9 points per game.
- Nov 24, 2025As a Tarleton State junior guard, he was named WAC Player and Newcomer of the Week for the second straight week.
- Nov 2, 2026He scored 22 of his 41 points in the second half as UCF beat Florida Gulf Coast 96-95 in overtime, hitting 13 of 15 field goals and 11 of 15 free throws.
- Nov 6, 2026He scored 28 points with seven rebounds as UCF beat Yale 87-75 in Orlando, extending his streak of 20-point games to six.
- Nov 9, 2026He was named the Lute Olson award National Player of the Week, leading the country in scoring at 34.5 points per game.
- Nov 10, 2026UCF hosts South Alabama at 7:00 p.m.
Key terms
- blue-chip recruit
- A highly sought-after athlete, especially a high school player, targeted by college teams as a top prospect.
- redshirted
- A delay of a college athlete's participation to extend their period of eligibility.
- transfer-portal
- An NCAA database that lets student-athletes publicly signal their desire to transfer between member schools.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Official
- UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said it was fun watching Johnson grow over the summer and called him an uncommon young man for returning to the place he left.
- Caution
- Florida Gulf Coast coach Patrick Chambers said his team let Johnson crush them and that he knows how to get the referees' calls, while calling him a great player who made big shots.
- Support
- UCF player Elijah Hulsewe said the team's chemistry and energy completely shifted and that they showed they were the tougher, more physical team.
Still unverified
Sources differ on Johnson's points total against Yale: 28 points in the AP report versus 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting in the News-Journal recap. Sources also differ on his 2024-25 UCF scoring average: 2.9 points per game versus 2.5 points per night.