Omari Johnson

Jamaican-American basketball player

Omari Johnson

Johnson playing for the Oshawa Power in 2012

Personal information
Born|  (1989-11-26) November 26, 1989 (age 35)
Kingston, Jamaica
Nationality| Jamaican / American
Listed height| 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight| 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school| Dorsey (Los Angeles, California)
College| Oregon State (2007–2011)
NBA draft| 2011: undrafted
Playing career| 2011–2019
Position| Power forward
Career history
2011–2012| Oshawa Power
2012–2013| Summerside Storm
2013–2014| CB Valladolid
2014–2016| Maine Red Claws
2016–2017| Neptūnas Klaipėda
2017–2018| Memphis Hustle
2018| Memphis Grizzlies
2018–2019| Fort Wayne Mad Ants
Career highlights and awards

* 2× NBL Canada All-Star (2012, 2013)
* Second-team All-NBL Canada (2012)

Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Omari Johnson (born November 26, 1989) is a Jamaican-American professional basketball player. 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 played professional basketball in the NBA, the NBA G League, Canada and Spain.

## High school career

[edit]

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

[edit]

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] Coach Craig Robinson expected Johnson to become Oregon State's focal point in offense, but was mainly used as a reserve player due to his sub-par effort on the defensive end.[8] Johnson had a breakout game in the 2010 Civil War rivalry game versus the Oregon Ducks, scoring a season-high 18 points on 4-of-6 three-pointers.[9]

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.[10][11] A few days later, he had a career-high 6 steals, also adding 13 points, as Oregon State lost 66–60 to Texas Southern.[1][12] Prior to the game against local rivals Oregon, Johnson commented on his opponents that they are "a feisty little bunch of dudes.".[13] 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".[13] 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.[14]

### College statistics

[edit]

Legend  GP  | Games played  |  GS | Games started  |  MPG | Minutes per game

|
|
|
|
|

FG% | Field goal percentage  |  3P% | 3-point field goal percentage  |  FT% | Free throw percentage
RPG | Rebounds per game  |  APG | Assists per game  |  SPG | Steals per game
BPG | Blocks per game  |  PPG | Points per game  |  Bold | Career high

Source:[1][15]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2007–08 | Oregon State | 23 | 13 | 21.5 | .392 | .309 | .667 | 4.3 | .4 | .4 | .5 | 7.3
2008–09 | Oregon State  | 34 | 14 | 19.9 | .432 | .344 | .577 | 3.2 | .8 | .5 | .4 | 6.6
2009–10 | Oregon State  | 32 | 10 | 15.5 | .370 | .267 | .677 | 2.6 | .6 | .5 | .2 | 4.7
2010–11 | Oregon State  | 31 | 27 | 26.7 | .459 | .239 | .519 | 6.2 | 1.0 | .8 | .3 | 7.2
Career  | 120 | 64 | 20.8 | .418 | .293 | .600 | 4.0 | .7 | .6 | .3 | 6.4

## Professional career

[edit]

### Oshawa Power (2011–2012)

[edit]

After graduating from college, Johnson was selected by the Oshawa Power to play in their 2011 pre-season squad.[16] He played in Oshawa's inaugural game in the NBL Canada, posting 8 points and 3 rebounds.[17][18] 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.[19][20] In the wake of the loss Johnson commented: "We weren't guarding at all and had too many turnovers".[19] In the D-League 2012 draft, Johnson was selected 74th overall by the Canton Charge, only to be waived a few days later.[21][22]

### Summerside Storm (2012–2013)

[edit]

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.[15][23] He posted a season-high 34 points, along with 13 rebounds, to help the Storm overcome his former team Oshawa Power.[24][25] 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.[26]

### CB Valladolid (2013–2014)

[edit]

In September 2013, Johnson signed with ACB team CB Valladolid.[27][28] In Spain, Johnson had his best scoring performance against FC Barcelona Baloncesto, scoring a game-high 20 points.[29] Johnson started 24 of the season's 34 games, averaging 11.6 points and 6 rebounds per game in 26 minutes playing time.[30]

### Maine Red Claws (2014–2016)

[edit]

Johnson was selected 39th overall in the 2014 NBA D-League Draft by the Maine Red Claws.[31][32] In February 2015, playing against the Westchester Knicks, Johnson had a season-high performance of 30 points, also having 15 rebounds.[33][34] He tied his scoring season-high two weeks later, against the same opponent, grabbing 14 rebounds to achieve a double-double.[35]

On September 25, 2015, Johnson signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[36][37] However, on October 23, he was waived after appearing in four preseason games.[38] On October 31, he was reacquired by the Red Claws.[39]

### Neptūnas Klaipėda (2016–2017)

[edit]

On November 9, 2016, Johnson signed with Neptūnas Klaipėda of the Lithuanian League.[40] On February 10, 2017, he parted ways with Neptūnas due to disciplinary issues.[41][42]

### Memphis Hustle (2017–2018)

[edit]

On August 23, 2017, Johnson was selected by the Memphis Hustle in the NBA G League expansion draft.[43]

### Memphis Grizzlies (2018)

[edit]

On April 6, 2018, the Memphis Grizzlies announced they had signed Johnson to multi-year contract.[44] He would make his NBA debut before the end of the 2017–18 season. On June 24, 2018, he was released by the Memphis Grizzlies.

### Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2018–2019)

[edit]

On September 21, 2018, Johnson signed with the Indiana Pacers.[45] He was waived on October 11, 2018, by Indiana. Omari will play in 2018/2019 for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (G-League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers) who acquired his G-league rights in a trade with the Memphis Hustle(Memphis Grizzlies G-League team).

Johnson was added to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants training camp roster.[46] On February 23, 2019, Johnson recorded a career-high 8 3-pointers as he recorded 28 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in a 99–100 losing effort to the Canton Charge.[47]

## Career statistics

[edit]

Legend  GP  | Games played  |  GS | Games started  |  MPG | Minutes per game

|
|
|
|
|

FG% | Field goal percentage  |  3P% | 3-point field goal percentage  |  FT% | Free throw percentage
RPG | Rebounds per game  |  APG | Assists per game  |  SPG | Steals per game
BPG | Blocks per game  |  PPG | Points per game  |  Bold | Career high

### NBA

[edit]

Year  | Team  | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

2017–18 | Memphis | 4 | 0 | 18.8 | .429 | .333 | — | 2.8 | 1.8 | .5 | .0 | 5.5
Career  | 4 | 0 | 18.8 | .429 | .333 | — | 2.8 | 1.8 | .5 | .0 | 5.5

## Personal life

[edit]

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

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Omari Johnson Biography". OSUBeavers.com. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
2. ^ a b 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. ^ Buker, Paul (February 9, 2010). "Oregon State's Omari Johnson could be a much-needed zone buster at Arizona State". The Oregonian.
9. ^ Buker, Paul (February 6, 2010). "Oregon State 62, Oregon 42: Beavers get program's first sweep of Ducks in 17 years". The Oregonian.
10. ^ "Oregon State at Seattle University – Oregon State Post-Game Quotes". Oregon State Athletics. November 18, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
11. ^ "Seattle 83, Oregon State 80: Turnovers, misses cost Beavers in second half". The Oregonian. November 17, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
12. ^ 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.
13. ^ a b 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.
14. ^ "Omari Johnson Individual career history" (PDF). Oregon State Athletics. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
15. ^ a b "Omari Johnson Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
16. ^ Ebanks, Drew (October 24, 2011). "Oshawa Power Roster for game vs. London Lightning". Oye! Times. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
17. ^ Ebanks, Drew (October 31, 2011). "Oshawa Power fall to the Quebec Kebs 104–101". Oye! Times. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
18. ^ "Boxscores: Quebec Kebekwa–Oshawa Power 104–101". FIBA. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
19. ^ a b "Power Lose 117–93 to Halifax Rainmen". Our Sports Central. January 5, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
20. ^ Freeman, Brian (January 6, 2012). "Rainmen make it nine straight". The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
21. ^ Weir, Josh (November 3, 2012). "Canton Charge 2012 NBA D-League Draft picks". The Repository. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
22. ^ "Charge Waive Three". Canton Charge. November 21, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
23. ^ "Storm adds Omari Johnson". The Journal Pioneer. December 24, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
24. ^ "Summerside Storm clinches division title in NBL of Canada". The Guardian (Charlottetown). March 8, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
25. ^ "Omari Johnson Season 2012/13". FIBA. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
26. ^ "NBL Canada 2013–14 Pre-Season Guide" (PDF). NBL Canada. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
27. ^ "El Valladolid se refuerza con el jamaicano Omari Johnson" (in Spanish). as. September 30, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
28. ^ "Omari Johnson, décimo jugador del CB Valladolid" (in Spanish). Liga ACB. September 30, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
29. ^ "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.
30. ^ "Omari Johnson 2013–14" (in Spanish). Liga ACB. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
31. ^ 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.
32. ^ "2014 NBA D-League Draft Board". NBA. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
33. ^ Jordan, Glenn (February 7, 2015). "Red Claws cruise past Westchester, 121–108". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
34. ^ "Omari Johnson 2014–15 Game Log". D-League. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
35. ^ Zacchio, Mike (February 21, 2015). "Westchester Knicks give Pomona's JR Inman a second shot". The Journal News. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
36. ^ "Trail Blazers Announce 2015 Training Camp Roster, Presented by OHSU". NBA.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
37. ^ "Trail Blazers release Training Camp roster, add Omari Johnson for camp". The Columbian Blogs. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
38. ^ "Trail Blazers Waive Pressey and Johnson". NBA.com. October 23, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
39. ^ "Red Claws Announce Draft Results, Training Camp Roster". OurSportsCentral.com. October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
40. ^ "Neptunas sign Omari Johnson". Eurobasket.com. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
41. ^ "neptūną"-palieka-du-legionieriai "DĖL VIDAUS TAISYKLIŲ PAŽEIDIMŲ "NEPTŪNĄ" PALIEKA DU LEGIONIERIAI". bcneptunas.lt (in Lithuanian). February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
42. ^ Miknevičiūtė, Gabrielė. "Iš "Neptūno" išmestas O.Kurauskas nesigaili priimtų sprendimų ir atskleidė D.Ewingo sugrįžimo istoriją | Krepsinis.net". Krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). Retrieved April 25, 2017.
43. ^ "2017 NBA G League Expansion Draft Results". NBA.com. August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
44. ^ "Memphis Grizzlies sign Omari Johnson to multi-year contract". NBA.com. April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
45. ^ "Pacers Announce 2018 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
46. ^ Cohn, Justin (October 22, 2018). "Ants announce roster as camp set to open". The Journal Gazette. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
47. ^ "Canton Charge 100 Fort Wayne Mad Ants 99". NBA G-League Stats. February 23, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Oregon State Beavers bio
* Liga ACB profile

* v
* t
* e

NBL Canada season blocks leaders

* 2012: O. Johnson
* 2013: Pierre
* 2014: C. Johnson
* 2015: C. Johnson
* 2016: Stover
* 2017: Muldrow
* 2018: Maxwell

*[GP]: Games played
*[GS]: Games started
*[MPG]: Minutes per game
*[FG%]: Field goal percentage
*[3P%]: 3-point field-goal percentage
*[FT%]: Free-throw percentage
*[RPG]: Rebounds per game
*[APG]: Assists per game
*[SPG]: Steals per game
*[BPG]: Blocks per game
*[PPG]: Points per game
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template