Dior Johnson wasted little time reminding UCF what he can do with the ball in his hands.
In Wednesday’s preseason game against LSU, the Knights came up short, but Johnson was one of the bright spots. The former Tarleton State standout finished with a team-high 18 points, and 16 of them came in the second half as he helped fuel a late push.
It was the kind of scoring burst that fits the profile Johnson built away from Orlando. After a quiet first stint with UCF, when he averaged 8.5 minutes per game and never moved into the starting five across 35 appearances, he came back with a far stronger résumé. At Tarleton State, Johnson put up 24.0 points per game and shot 50/47/85, doing it all as a reserve and emerging as one of the best bench scorers in college basketball memory.
Now he steps into a UCF backcourt that needs offense after the departures of Jordan Burks and Themus Fulks. There have also been encouraging signs around Riley Kugel, last season’s leading scorer, potentially returning, which would give Johnny Dawkins another proven option.
Johnson’s scoring talent has already been getting national attention. In early September, College Basketball Report ranked him as the No. 17 overall shooting guard in the country and projected him to average more than 17 points per game - a strong number in the Big 12.
He had flashes of that kind of impact late last season, too. Johnson played a key role in UCF’s 104-98 overtime win over Villanova in the College Basketball Crown Semifinals, where he scored a season-high 13 points and knocked down three 3-pointers. Darius Johnson stole the headlines that night with 42 points, but Dior’s shot-making and energy mattered in the win.
Even with the scoring resume, Johnson says he wants more than points this season.
"I just want to be a winner," Johnson told Knights 247's Andrew Cherico in July. "I know everybody is high on my offense, wondering how its going to translate or what I'm going to do this year, but my play will speak for itself."
With the season approaching, UCF’s next step is clear: get Johnson comfortable again in Dawkins’ system and let him grow alongside the program’s other Group of 5 transfer additions.
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UCF Fans Get One Early Look At Dawkins New Scoring Core
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The attention is naturally on the scoring additions, especially Dior Johnson and Lewis Walker, who quickly showed why they were brought in during a close loss to LSU. UCF still has one more exhibition to sort through before the games start counting, with Kentucky waiting later this month, but this next chance at home should tell fans plenty about how Dawkins wants the rotation to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
RJ Harvey Just Reached A Broncos Milestone UCF Fans Will Love
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The passing-game work was especially notable for anyone who watched Harvey in Orlando, because it is turning into the part of his NFL profile that separates him from a typical rookie back. He finished with 25 rushing yards on six carries and paced Denvers backfield with three catches for 31 yards, a workload that also pushed him past a franchise legend in one notable category and gave Knights fans another reason to track his every Sunday and Thursday step. [Read more 🡒]