Markell Johnson

Markell Johnson (born August 25, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Beşiktaş of the Basketball Super League (BSL). He played college basketball for the NC State Wolfpack.

Markell Johnson
Johnson with NC State in January 2020
Beşiktaş Sompo Japan
PositionPoint guard
LeagueBasketball Super League
Champions League
Personal information
Born (1998-08-25) August 25, 1998
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight174 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolEast Tech
(Cleveland, Ohio)
CollegeNC State (2016–2020)
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–presentBeşiktaş
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Johnson played basketball for four years at East Technical High School in Cleveland, Ohio. As a freshman, he scored 27 points and made a game-winning jump shot with 3.1 seconds left against Lake High School to help his team reach its first state semifinal since 1972.[1] He was considered one of the best freshman in Ohio.[2] In his junior season, Johnson averaged 31.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game, leading East Tech to its third straight league title and a district semifinal appearance. He was named Cleveland.com Boys Basketball Player of the Year and Northeast Lakes Division II All-District Player of the Year by the Associated Press (AP).[3][4] On May 2, 2016, Johnson decided to reclassify to the 2016 class and forgo his senior year.[5] On the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit, he played for the King James Shooting Stars, a team affiliated with NBA player LeBron James.[6] Johnson was a four-star recruit and committed to play college basketball for NC State over offers from Louisville, Ohio State, Washington and West Virginia, among others.[7]

College career

As a freshman, Johnson served as a backup to Dennis Smith Jr., who enrolled a year earlier than expected.[8] On December 16, 2017, during his sophomore season, he was suspended indefinitely and briefly jailed for felonious assault charges but was cleared to return on January 11, 2018.[9] He averaged 8.9 points and an Atlantic Coast Conference-leading 7.3 assists per game as a sophomore.[10] On December 19, 2018, Johnson set career highs with 27 points and five three-pointers in a 78–71 upset of seventh-ranked Auburn.[11] He missed three games as a junior with a back injury.[8] Johnson averaged 12.6 points and 4.2 assists per game as a junior, shooting 42.2 percent from behind the arc. After the season he declared for the 2019 NBA draft but ultimately returned to NC State.[12]

He injured his ankle in practice and missed the first game of his senior season, an overtime loss to Georgia Tech.[13] Johnson hit a halfcourt buzzer beater to defeat UNC Greensboro 80–77 on December 15, 2019.[14] On December 22, Johnson recorded a triple-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 83–63 win over The Citadel. He became the third NC State player to ever achieve the feat, joining Dennis Smith Jr. and Julius Hodge.[15] He was named ACC player of the week on December 23.[16] Johnson scored a career-high 28 points and made a halfcourt shot in a 88–66 upset of sixth-ranked Duke on February 19, 2020.[17] At the conclusion of the regular season, Johnson was selected to the Second Team All-ACC.[18] As a senior, Johnson led the ACC in assists per game (6.8) while also averaging 12.8 points, 4.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game.[19]

Professional career

On August 6, 2020, Johnson signed a two-year contract with Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL).[20]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 NC State 30320.4.377.250.5771.62.3.9.34.0
2017–18 NC State 262429.1.460.409.6093.47.31.7.28.9
2018–19 NC State 333025.3.488.422.7472.64.21.1.212.6
2019–20 NC State 313034.1.405.267.6064.46.81.9.312.8
Career 1208727.2.437.344.6463.05.11.4.39.7
gollark: Nope.
gollark: They'll see anyway.
gollark: Anyway, soon you'll see my challenge this round. You'll *all* see.
gollark: ... why does this random rust coreutils package have a really complex prime factorization implementation?
gollark: Or you can ask ubq to install the compiler and make your entry shell out to it.

References
  1. Cassilo, David (March 15, 2014). "Markell Johnson jumper gives East Tech boys basketball 62-60 overtime win over Uniontown Lake in regional final". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  2. Fleer, Zach (April 27, 2014). "King James Shooting Stars Classic weekend recap". Land-Grant Holy Land. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  3. Goul, Matt (March 2, 2016). "East Tech's Markell Johnson tops AP Division II Northeast Lakes All-District boys basketball picks". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  4. Goul, Matt (April 4, 2016). "Boys basketball All-Stars 2016: East Tech's Markell Johnson is Player of the Year; see more honors". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  5. "Ohio guard Markell Johnson to reclassify, play in college next season". USA Today High School Sports. May 2, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  6. Strelow, Bret (June 20, 2016). "Markell Johnson to provide valuable backcourt depth to N.C. State". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  7. "NC State signs four-star guard Markell Johnson". Sports Illustrated. June 20, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. Friedlander, Brett (October 4, 2019). "Markell 3.0 key to Wolfpack hoop success in 2019-20". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  9. "NC State's Markell Johnson cleared to return after charge dismissed". ESPN. Associated Press. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  10. Smith, R. Cory (May 24, 2019). "Markell Johnson Announces Return to NC State for Senior Season". 247 Sports. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  11. "Johnson, Daniels help NC State stun No. 7 Auburn 78-71". ESPN. Associated Press. December 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  12. Tyree, Ameer (May 24, 2019). "NBA Draft 2019: Markell Johnson withdraws to play senior season at NC State". Sporting News. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  13. Friedlander, Brett (November 6, 2019). "Markell Johnson's season gets off on the wrong foot". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  14. Giglio, Joe (December 15, 2019). "Halfcourt buzzer-beater pushes NC State basketball team past UNCG". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  15. Giglio, Joe (December 22, 2019). "Markell Johnson's triple-double leads NC State past The Citadel". The News & Observer. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  16. "Markell Johnson named ACC Co-Player of the Week". WFMY. December 23, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  17. "Unranked NC State beats No. 6 Duke in 22-point rout". ESPN. February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  18. "2020 ACC Men's Basketball Award Winners Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  19. Bradham, Matthew (March 22, 2020). "Markell Johnson's Senior Year ACCDN Highlight Reel". Pack Insider. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  20. "Markell Johnson Beşiktaş'ta" (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
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