DerMarr Miles Johnson (born May 5, 1980) is a retired American basketball player and current assistant coach who played seven seasons in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

College career

Johnson was a consensus

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Parade Magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers nationwide in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a read ...

and

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high school

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

as well as Parade's National High School Player of the Year as a senior in 1999. Johnson chose to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

and would play for coach

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953), nicknamed "Huggy Bear", is an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and West Virginia. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial ...

alongside Steven Logan and future NBA players Kenyon Martin and Kenny Satterfield. The 1999–2000 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team were one of the nation's most talented teams, spending the majority of the season ranked No. 1 before Kenyon Martin injured his knee in the conference tournament and cut short what could have been a deep March Madness run by the Bearcats. Johnson was a one and done and declared for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

after his lone season at Cincinnati.

Professional career

Johnson was selected sixth overall by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

in the 2000 NBA draft. His debut game was played on October 31, 2000, in an 82 - 106 loss to the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

where he played for a little under 6 minutes and only recorded 1 steal, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. In two seasons with the Hawks, he averaged 6.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. On September 13, 2002, Johnson's car crashed into a tree and caught fire. It was not known who was driving; Johnson was one of three occupants and cracked four vertebrae in his neck,Johnson expected to recover, season jeopardized – NBA – ESPN
/ref>Hawks cautiously encouraged by Johnson's progress – NBA – ESPN
/ref> nearly causing

paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...

. Fitted to a halo brace during his recovery, Johnson was sidelined for the entire 2002-03 NBA season, and questions surfaced regarding him ever playing again. He returned to the league in October 2003 when he signed with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

only to be waived two weeks later without ever having played a game for them. He then moved on to the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

's Long Beach Jam where he played 19 games, before rejoining the NBA, signing a contract with the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. The following season, in 2004–05, Johnson rejuvenated his career with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, playing in 71 games and averaging 7.1 points on 49.9 percent field goal shooting. During the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, Johnson averaged 5 points on 40 percent shooting in 97 games. Johnson reportedly signed with Italian team Benetton Treviso in August 2007, but quickly jumped back to the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

's San Antonio affiliate

Austin Toros Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

. Johnson averaged 15.8 points and 6 rebounds in 10 games with the Toros. On December 29 he signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

after they waived rarely used rookie combo guard Marcus Williams.Spurs add journeyman guard Johnson, waive rookie Williams
/ref> But on January 7, 2008, Johnson was released from

. He was again re-signed by the Spurs, in April. In total, Johnson only played 5 games with the Spurs. Johnson's final NBA game was played on April 13, 2008, in an 85–106 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his final game, he recorded 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal.

Post NBA

In October 2010 Johnson signed with Hekmeh in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. Johnson then signed with the Colombian League team Bukaros in September 2011. In 2012, he played for

Barako Bull Energy The Barako Bull Energy were a Philippine Basketball Association that began in 2002 as the FedEx Express. From its first season until 2005, the team was dubbed as the FedEx Express before changing to Air21 Express. From the 2009 PBA Fiesta C ...

in the Philippines. He also played for the Osos de Guadalajara in the Mexican

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP), officially known as the Liga Grupo Caliente, Caliente LNBP for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball sports league, league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 1 ...

(LNBP), where he averaged 26.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He then played in Argentina and Venezuela. Johnson competed for Team City of Gods in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

. He was a forward on the 2015 team which made it to the semifinals, losing to

Overseas Elite Overseas Elite was an American basketball team that participated in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team won the tournament four consecutive times: 2015 (prize money $1 million), 201 ...

84–71.

Coaching career

On January 25, 2017, the

hired Johnson as a student assistant coach for the

men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team while Johnson completed his unfinished degree, which he did in 2019. In May 2021, Johnson returned to his alma mater to be director of player development for the men's basketball program under coach Wes Miller. Midway through the 2022–23 season on January 16, 2023, Johnson was announced as an assistant coach under his former college coach

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. Johnson stayed on at WVU as an assistant after the firing of Bob Huggins. His contract was not renewed after the 2023–2024.

Arrests and Off Court Issues

In 2007, DerMarr Johnson was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with police during a disturbance outside a Denver nightclub. Police said they used a taser to calm the 6-foot-9 player. In 2008 Johnson was also arrested for DUI in San Antonio. He was pulled over for going 85 MPH in a posted 65 MPH zone. Police smelled alcohol and Johnson admitted to drinking "a few cups" of wine. Johnson was also seen frequently in Morgantown enjoying Nightlife. Speculation about his commitment to coaching and widely known presence in the bars of Morgantown, may have led to his contract not being renewed by WVU. Some argue that due to his 2002 wreck as well, that Johnson is one of the biggest busts in NBA History.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 78 , , 21 , , 16.8 , , .374 , , .323 , , .736 , , 2.3 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 5.1 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" ,

, 72 , , 46 , , 24.0 , , .396 , , .360 , , .810 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .8 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 21 , , 1 , , 13.7 , , .371 , , .361 , , .903 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.4 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 71 , , 40 , , 17.4 , , .499 , , .358 , , .792 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .3 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" ,

, 58 , , 21 , , 15.9 , , .431 , , .350 , , .810 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .4 , , .4 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" ,

, 39 , , 7 , , 10.7 , , .325 , , .216 , , .762 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .500 , , .333 , , .000 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 344 , , 136 , , 17.2 , , .411 , , .336 , , .789 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , .6 , , .4 , , 6.2

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .7 , , .7 , , .0 , , .3 , , .0 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, align="left" ,

, 4 , , 2 , , 19.5 , , .550 , , .364 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , .5 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 11.3 , , .231 , , .100 , , .000 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .0 , , .3 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 10 , , 2 , , 12.9 , , .368 , , .208 , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , .4 , , 3.6

References

External links