Dior Johnson Leaves Pitt Program

The Pitt Panthers have lost one of their top recruits from the class of 2022.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have lost one of their top recruits from the class of 2022 and a player who was expected to be a major part of their 2023 squad after spending last season on the sidelines. 

According to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the former five-star recruit is no longer a member of the Pitt basketball team or enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh. Further reporting states that the decision for Johnson to leave the school was made by university officials, not anyone within the athletic department, including head coach Jeff Capel or athletic director Heather Lyke. 

Multiple sources informed the Post-Gazette that Johnson’s departure from the university was not a decision made by Jeff Capel or any other official in the athletic department but rather by university officials.

More details on Johnson's departure here: https://t.co/RqwUURIx4c

— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) August 25, 2023

Johnson never appeared in a game after joining the Panthers in the summer of 2022. He was a late addition to the recruiting class, choosing Pitt after de-committing from Oregon and then Syracuse. 

He was arrested for his involvement in a domestic violence case that took place in Oakland last September. He was accused of holding a woman against her will at an apart­ment, slapping and punching her and pushing her face into a bed, making it difficult for her to breathe. 

After a nearly month-long investigation, Johnson was charged with aggravated assault, strangulation, unlawful restraint, simple assault and false imprisonment and suspended indefinitely. In December, Johnson pled guilty to two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and strangulation and was sentenced to one year of probation. 

According to Hiles, the decision to not allow Johnson to return to school was made out of a fear of public backlash over his criminal activity. 

Johnson was reinstated following his sentencing and returned to practice, but did not play for the remainder of the season. The program called it a redshirt year. He traveled with the team on their foreign tour to Spain this summer and played in two international contests.

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