Justin Blake Johnson (born May 23, 1996) is an American professional

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 ...

player for

Rinascita Basket Rimini Rinascita Basket Rimini (RBR), formerly known as Basket Rimini and Basket Rimini Crabs, is an Italian basketball team based in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna. From the 1978–79 to the 2010–11 season, the team continuously played in professional basket ...

of the Italian Serie A2. He played college basketball for

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

Early life

Johnson grew up in

Inez, Kentucky Inez ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Martin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 546 at the 2020 census. Geography Inez is located at (37.866431, -82.539058). According to the United States Census Bure ...

with his brother Braxton Johnson and initially attended

Sheldon Clark High School Sheldon Clark High School (SCHS) was a public high school in unincorporated Martin County, Kentucky, USA, near Inez. It was a part of the Martin County School System. It was named after Martin County Schools Superintendent Sheldon Clark when b ...

in Inez. He transferred to Perry County Central High School after his sophomore year to follow Sheldon Clark's head coach, Kevin Spurlock. As a senior, Johnson averaged 21.9 points and 17.6 rebounds per game and was named to the first team All-State by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

and the ''

Lexington Herald-Leader The ''Lexington Herald-Leader'' is a newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the ''1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook'', the paid circulation of the ''Herald-Leader'' is the second larg ...

''.

College career

Johnson played four seasons for the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the ...

. He was a key reserve for the team as a true freshman, averaging 4.8 points (fifth on the team) and 4.1 rebounds (third) per game. He became a starter for WKU as a sophomore, leading the team with 14.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in 34 games played (26 starts). He led the team again in points per game with 14.5 and led

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

in rebounding with 9.4 per game and in double-doubles with 14 and was named second team All-Conference USA. After the season, Johnson left the basketball program to join the school's football team as a tight end. He ultimately left the football team during summer training camp to return to basketball for his senior season. In his senior season, Johnson again led the Hilltoppers with 15.7 points per game and also repeated as the conference leader with 9.4 rebounds per game and was named first team All-Conference USA.

Professional career

Dinamo Academy Cagliari

Johnson signed with Dinamo Academy Cagliari of

Serie A2 Basket Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian basketball league system, Italian league pyramid, below the firs ...

on July 16, 2018. In his first professional season, Johnson averaged 16.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 29 games played.

Pistoia

Johnson signed with

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA) on July 11, 2019. The 2019–20 season had a disastrous ending: it got interrupted due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and saw

relegated in the Serie A2 for the 2020–21 season.

Reggio Emilia

Johnson remained in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

also for the 2020–21 season, signing a one-year deal with

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

. He inked a two-year extension with the team on July 21, 2021.

Riesen Ludwigsburg

On July 15, 2022, he has signed with

MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg BG Ludwigsburg, for sponsorship reasons MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (), is a professional basketball club that is based in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The club currently plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier of basketball in Germany. Fo ...

of the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the German basketball league system, highest level Sports league, league of professional club basketball in German ...

(BBL).

References

External links

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers bioRealGM profileEuroBasket profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Justin 1996 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Lega Basket Serie A players Pallacanestro Reggiana players People from Hazard, Kentucky Pistoia Basket 2000 players Power forwards Riesen Ludwigsburg players Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen