Top-100 G Dior Johnson Signs NLI With Pitt

The highest-rated recruit of the Jeff Capel era is locked in with the Pitt Panthers.

PITTSBURGH -- The country's No. 7 point guard, Dior Johnson shocked the college basketball world when he decided to decommit from Oregon and commit to a new school a week later. Johnson chose to give his verbal to Jeff Capel and the Pitt Panthers on Monday, injecting new life into a program that hadn't boasted a player with his kind of talent in years. On Thursday, the Panthers announced that he had signed his national letter of intent.

“Dior is an outstanding prospect and one of the top guards in the class of 2022,” Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said. “We were able to develop a quick connection when he reopened his recruitment. He is talented, competitive, and eager to be challenged to reach his full potential on and off the court."

Johnson's winding road through high school basketball raised concerns about how solid his commitment to the Panthers was. Johnson attended 10 high schools and committed to Syracuse and the Ducks before ultimately landing with the Panthers. Signing a national letter of intent makes it that much more difficult for Johnson to change teams. He would have to convince Pitt to release him from his now official national letter of intent before unenrolling and finding a new school. 

"I was looking for a coach to challenge me and hold me in high account," Johnson told ESPN.com when he committed. "I still have some things to work on and another level to tap into, in all phases of the game. Coach Capel has a great track record and was a great player himself. I honestly feel like he's going to pour into me as a person and player. Having an elite leader like himself, after us talking I knew Pitt is where I needed to be."

Johnson will also be eligible to play this season, according to reporting from Nick Farabaugh of the Locked On Pitt podcast and Pittsburgh Sports Now, who interviewed the final addition to Pitt's 2022-23 roster this week. Johnson added that he will be on campus to begin taking classes and working out with his teammates in two weeks.

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