Pitt and Our Lady of Sacred Heart graduate Cameron Johnson was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 11th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft on Thursday. The Timberwolves will trade Johnson to the Phoenix Suns, per a previously agreed to trade, ESPN has reported.
Johnson, who played his last two seasons of college basketball at North Carolina, finished his NCAA career with 1,130 points and a 40.5 3-point percentage.
His draft stock significantly rose with strong redshirt senior season with the Tar Heels in 2018-19. He shot a career-high 50.6% from the floor and 45.7% from 3-point range.
The 6-foot-9 wing, nicknamed “Slim” for his lanky physique, also averaged a career-high 5.8 rebounds per game.
He was hampered during three years at Pitt by injuries, redshirting after playing eight games in his true freshman year. After the 2016-17 season, Johnson graduated from Pitt in his third year and was a graduate transfer to North Carolina.
Pitt and then-head coach Kevin Stallings attempted to block Johnson’s transfer to a conference opponent, but were overruled by the NCAA, which set a new precedent that schools could not block graduate transfers.
Away From Home: Cam Johnson on His Health, His Family, His Career and Pittsburgh
Johnson becomes the first player from Western Pennsylvania to be drafted in the first round since 1997, when Shaler’s Danny Fortson was taken with the 10th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Johnson’s father, Gil Johnson, also played at Pitt. His younger brother, Donovan Johnson, is a rising high school senior that played at Moon in 2018-19.
Congratulations, a beanpole in his first year, blossomed into a true star.
Wow what a joke and shows you the politics of NCAAB and the NBA. And of going to the blue bloods. Both Sam Young and DeJuan Blair were much better than him and they didn’t get drafted to the 2nd Round, all because they didn’t go to a blue blood.