Duane Johnson (basketball)

Duane Alexander Johnson[1] (born April 2, 1991)[2] is an American professional basketball player for Black Star Mersch of the Luxembourg Total League. He played college basketball for East Stroudsburg, where he was part of four straight PSAC Final Four teams and three NCAA Division II Tournament teams. He has since played professionally in Australia, Ireland and Luxembourg.

For the professional wrestler-turned-actor, see Dwayne Johnson.
Duane Johnson
No. 12 – Black Star Mersch
PositionForward
LeagueTotal League
Personal information
Born (1991-04-02) April 2, 1991
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolPenn Wood
(Lansdowne, Pennsylvania)
CollegeEast Stroudsburg (2009–2013)
NBA draft2013 / Undrafted
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014Corio Bay Stingrays
2015–2016DCU Saints
2016–presentBlack Star Mersch
Career highlights and awards
  • Premier League All-Star First Pick (2016)
  • Premier League scoring champion (2016)
  • First-team All-PSAC East Division (2012)
  • 2× Second-team All-PSAC East Division (2011, 2013)

High school career

Johnson attended Penn Wood High School in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, where he was a two-time first-team All-Delaware County honoree playing for coach Clyde Jones. As a senior in 2008–09, he led Penn Wood in scoring (13.7 ppg), rebounding (7.0 rpg) and blocked shots (1.9 bpg), and was team captain. He subsequently earned second-team All-District I and second-team AAAA all-state honors as a senior,[3] helping the Patriots finish with an overall record of 28–4.[4] On March 21, 2009, he helped guide Penn Wood to their first state basketball title in school history, defeating York William Penn 72–53.[5] In the title game, Johnson recorded 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.[6][7] Johnson finished his high school career on Penn Wood's 1,000-point scorers list (1,082).[8]

College career

As a freshman at East Stroudsburg in 2009–10, Johnson played in all 30 games for a 24–6 Warriors team that competed in the PSAC Final Four and NCAA Tournament. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game, and earned three PSAC East Freshman of the Week honors.[3] In his third game for the Warriors, he scored a season-high 16 points.[9]

As a sophomore in 2010–11, Johnson earned second-team All-PSAC East honors after leading the Warriors in scoring (12.4 ppg) and ranking third in rebounding (4.9 rpg). He played in 28 games and made 27 starts, and helped the Warriors reach their second straight PSAC Final Four. He also earned Pocono Classic All-Tournament Team honors.[3] In the second last game of the season, he scored a season-high 26 points.[10]

As a junior in 2011–12, Johnson earned first-team All-PSAC East honors and helped the Warriors win the PSAC championship, guiding them back to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. He appeared in 32 games for the Warriors and started 31 of them, averaging 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 32.7 minutes per game.[3] On February 4, he scored a career-high 29 points against Kutztown.[11]

As a senior in 2012–13, Johnson earned second-team All-PSAC East honors after helping the Warriors to a third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years, and a fourth straight PSAC Final Four appearance. He was subsequently named ESU's Male Senior Athlete of the Year and ESU's Coaches Award recipient alongside Terrance King. He started in all 28 games for the Warriors as a senior, averaging 14.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 31.5 minutes per game.[3] During the season, the team recorded a school record-tying 14-game winning streak, and had a nine-game road winning streak, the latter coming to an end one game shy from tying a school record set between 1926–28. Both streaks came to an end on February 16 against Shippensburg, a game which saw Johnson tie his career high of 29 points.[12]

In four years at ESU, Johnson and teammate Terrance King led the Warriors to unprecedented success, including an 82–37 record from 2009–10 through 2012–13. Johnson left ESU seventh in career points (1,347), ninth in rebounds (608), fourth in steals (148) and eighth in blocks (90), and was just the third three-time All-PSAC East selection in program history.[13] In addition, Johnson played 3,267 career minutes, the most by an ESU player since 1990, and led the Warriors in minutes played as a sophomore, junior and senior.[14]

College statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 East Stroudsburg 30017.8.471.417.7013.41.2.7.66.9
2010–11 East Stroudsburg 282728.8.504.341.7444.91.81.5.712.4
2011–12 East Stroudsburg 323132.7.435.254.7526.22.41.4.912.4
2012–13 East Stroudsburg 282831.5.441.314.7876.21.91.5.914.1
Career 1188627.7.459.312.7535.21.81.3.811.4

Professional career

Corio Bay Stingrays (2014)

In December 2013, Johnson signed a professional contract with the Corio Bay Stingrays in Australia for the 2014 Big V State Championship season.[14] He was touted as being one of the most athletic imports ever to play in Geelong,[15] as well as the most athletically gifted player in the league.[16] In his debut for the Stingrays on March 15, he scored 25 points in a 102–86 win over the Ringwood Hawks.[17] On March 29, he recorded his first double-double of the season with 27 points and 12 rebounds in a 98–97 win over the Bulleen Boomers.[18] On June 14, he had 17 points and 18 rebounds in a 94–63 win over the Whittlesea Pacers.[19] On June 28, he recorded a season-high 30 points and 14 rebounds in a 97–90 win over Boomers.[20] He had a second 30-point effort on July 20 in a 100–98 win over the Waverley Falcons.[21] He helped the Stingrays finish the regular season in second place with a 22–2 record before leading them to the grand final series. In game one of the best-of-three series against Ringwood, Johnson recorded 25 points and nine rebounds in a 92–85 win.[22] However, they went on to lose the next two games to the Hawks to finish as runners-up.[23][24] In 27 games, he averaged 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.[25] He was subsequently nominated for All-Star forward selection,[26] but ultimately missed out on the final All-Star Five team.

DCU Saints (2015–2016)

On November 20, 2015, Johnson signed with DCU Saints in Ireland for the rest of the 2015–16 Premier League season.[27][28] He made his debut the following day, recording 16 points and 30 rebounds in a 73–70 win over UCD Marian.[29] In his next game for the team on December 5, Johnson had 18 points and 26 rebounds in an 80–67 National Cup loss to Marian.[30][31] In his third game on December 13, he recorded 40 points and 26 rebounds in a 96–78 regular-season win over UL Eagles.[32][33] On December 20, he scored 39 points in a 100–90 win over UCC Demons.[34] He was subsequently named the league's Player of the Month for December.[35][36] Saints finished the regular season in sixth place with a 7–11 record, going 7–5 with Johnson in the line-up after starting 0–6.[37] In 12 games, he averaged league-leading numbers with 26.2 points and 18.7 rebounds, in addition to 3.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 3.1 blocks in 38.7 minutes per game.[33] He subsequently earned Premier League All-Star First Pick honors.[38][39]

Black Star Mersch (2016–present)

For the 2016–17 season, Johnson moved to Luxembourg to play for Black Star Mersch in the Nationale 2.[40][41] In January 2017, Johnson suffered a broken leg and missed the rest of the season.[42][43] He continued on with Black Star in 2017–18,[44] 2018–19,[45] and 2019–20.[46] In February 2020, Black Star were elevated to the first-tiered Total League,[47][48] where in five games to complete the 2019–20 season, Johnson averaged 30.0 points, 14.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game.[49][50]

References
  1. "Bulletin d'information officiel (BIO)" (PDF). flbb.lu (in French). pp. 16 (18). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  2. Matheson, Andrew (November 1, 2013). "D-League Basketball: 'Crunch time' for Casey Hill, Santa Cruz Warriors as they prepare for Friday's draft". SantaCruzSentinel.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  3. "Duane Johnson - 2012-13 Men's Basketball". esuwarriors.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  4. "Penn Wood 2008-09 Basketball Schedule". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  5. Santoliquito, Joseph (March 25, 2009). "Pennsylvania: Penn Wood Turns Penn State Into A Patriot Party". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  6. Armas, Genaro C. (March 21, 2009). "Penn Wood beats York, takes 1st AAAA title". TimesHerald.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  7. Pompey, Keith (March 22, 2009). "Penn Wood storms past William Penn". Philly.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015.
  8. "1,000-point scorers". delcohssports.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
  9. "Duane Johnson 2009–10 Game Log". esuwarriors.com. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  10. "Duane Johnson 2010–11 Game Log". esuwarriors.com. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  11. "Duane Johnson 2011–12 Game Log". esuwarriors.com. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  12. "Ship ends ESU's win streak at 14". PoconoRecord.com. February 17, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  13. Housenick, Tom (September 26, 2014). "ESU grad King signs pro basketball contract". MCall.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  14. "ESU's Duane Johnson Signs Professional Contract with Corio Bay Stingrays in Australia". esuwarriors.com. December 9, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  15. "DUANE JOHNSON TO BE 'THE ROCK' FOR STINGRAYS". FoxSportsPulse.com. February 17, 2014. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015.
  16. Reynolds, Ryan (March 4, 2014). "US imports promise to leave Corio Bay fans slam dunked". GeelongAdvertiser.com.au. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  17. Zardo, Dean (March 18, 2014). "Big V Round 1: Newcomers struggle as cream rises to the top". PickAndRoll.com.au. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  18. Zardo, Dean (April 1, 2014). "Big V Round 3: Corio stings Boomers in overtime epic as big guns roll on". PickAndRoll.com.au. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  19. Taylor, Adam (June 16, 2014). "Import Duane Johnson produces his best game of the season for Corio Bay". GeelongAdvertiser.com.au. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
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  24. "Ringwood Hawks win two games in Geelong to overcome 1-0 deficit..." HeraldSun.com.au. August 25, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  25. "Player statistics for Duane Johnson". SportsTG.com. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  26. "2014 Big V Award Nominees". BigV.com.au. August 27, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  27. "St Vincent's Basketball Club are delighted to officially announce the signing of..." Facebook.com. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  28. "Johnson inspires second half Saints comeback". TheCollegeView.com. December 2, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2018. Johnson's signing was only officially announced on the Saints’ Facebook page on Friday morning after arriving in Ireland earlier this month.
  29. "Game Stats - DCU Saints v UCD Marian [21/11/15 7 pm]". bi.comortais.com. November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  30. "Game Stats - DCU Saints v UCD Marian [05/12/15 7:15 pm]". bi.comortais.com. December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  31. Coughlan, John (December 7, 2015). "Montenotte dig deep for thrilling victory". IrishExaminer.com. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  32. Coughlan, John (December 14, 2015). "Killester go joint top after easy win". IrishExaminer.com. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  33. "Duane Johnson – Basketball Ireland". BasketballIreland.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  34. Coughlan, John (December 21, 2015). "Duane Johnson inspires DCU Saints to shock win over UCC Demons". IrishExaminer.com. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  35. "DECEMBER AWARDS 2015". BasketballIreland.com. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  36. "Duane Johnson Named Basketball Ireland Premier League Player of the Month". esuwarriors.com. January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  37. "LEAGUE TABLE FOR MENS PREMIER LEAGUE". BasketballIreland.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  38. "BASKETBALL IRELAND 2016 ALL-STARS REVEALED". BasketballIreland.com. March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  39. "Duane Johnson Named to Basketball Ireland Premier League 1st Team". esuwarriors.com. March 17, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  40. "Black Star signs professional player Johnson". BasketLux.lu. July 23, 2016. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016.
  41. "Duane Johnson (ex DCU Saints) signs at Black Star". Eurobasket.com. July 23, 2016. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  42. "Recap of the WE". facebook.com/blackstarmersch. January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  43. "Gavin Thurman signed with Black Star". blackstar-mersch.lu. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  44. "Johnson also signed for a further season". blackstar-mersch.lu. May 8, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  45. "Duane Johnson stays in Mersch". blackstar-mersch.lu. July 23, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  46. "We are happy to confirm that Duane Johnson signed for another season for Black Star Mersch". facebook.com/blackstarmersch. May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  47. "Black Star Mersch 2019–20". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  48. "Black Star Mersch Schedule 2019–20". RealGM.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  49. "Black Star Mersch Stats 2019–20". RealGM.com. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  50. "JOHNSON Duane Alexander". luxembourg.basketball (in French). Retrieved May 4, 2020.
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