DAKARI JOHNSON
Status: UK signee
C | 7-0 | 250
High school: Montverde (Fla.)
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Twitter: dslowmotion22
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Johnson committed to Kentucky in January.
He is a native of New York City, but he has plenty of ties to Kentucky.
The 7-foot center, who reclassified from 2014, played for Sayre High School in Lexington as an eighth-grader. He then transferred to St. Patrick High in New Jersey, where he was a teammate of UK standout Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Johnson was coached at St. Patrick by Kevin Boyle, who left for Montverde Academy in Florida after Johnson’s freshman season. The UK recruit followed Boyle to the school and had to sit out his sophomore season because of state transfer rules.
Johnson returned to the court this season for his first high school action in more than a year and led Montverde to a National High School Invitational national title. He played over the summer with Each 1 Teach 1, and was leading the prestigious Nike EYBL circuit with 10.7 rebounds per game before missing the Peach Jam finals with an injury.
Boyle, who also coached Kyrie Irving, expects big things in Johnson’s future.
“He’s definitely a future lottery pick,” the coach told USA Today. “He’s really talented and really big. He’ll put up numbers.”
Tracking Johnson
| Date | Opponent | W/L | Stats |
| Nov. 24 | Lake Wales* | W | 24 p. 15 r, 6 b |
| Nov. 28 | Lake Minneola | W | 19 pts, 13 rebs |
| Nov. 30 | Lex. Catholic (Ky.) | W | No Stats |
| Dec. 4 | Dr. Phillips | W | 24 pts, 12 rebs |
| Dec. 7 | North Florida Ed | W | 21 pts |
| Dec. 8 | American Heritage | W | 16 pts, 10 rebs |
| Dec. 18 | Bishop Verot* | W | 23 pts, 10 rebs |
| Dec. 20 | Whitney Young* | W | 9 p, 17 r, 4 b |
| Dec. 21 | Poly (Calif.)* | W | 17 p, 17 r, 7 b |
| Dec. 22 | Lone Peak* | W | 10 p, 11 r, 4 b |
| Dec. 27 | Ensworth (Tenn.) | W | 21 pts |
| Dec. 28 | Deltona | W | 13 pts |
| Jan. 2 | @St. Peters (N.J.) | W | 16 pts |
| Jan. 3 | @Roselle (N.J.) | W | 7 pts |
| Jan. 5 | @Simeon (Ill.) | W | 15 pts, 13 rebs |
| Jan. 10 | Oldsmar Christian | W | No Stats |
| Jan. 12 | @Boone | W | 9 pts |
| Jan. 17 | Hall (Ark.)* | W | 15 p, 8 r, 5 b |
| Jan. 18 | Nixa (Mo.)* | W | 18 pts, 7 rebs |
| Jan. 19 | Paul IV (Va.)* | L | 12 pts, 10 rebs |
| Jan. 21 | Findlay Prep* | L | 17 pts, 8 rebs |
| Jan. 24 | Edgewater* | W | 18 pts, 13 rebs |
| Jan. 25 | Shiloh* | W | 14 rebs |
| Jan. 26 | La Lumiere* | W | 15 pts |
| April 4 | Oak Hill (VA)* | W | 17 pts, 13 rebs |
| April 5 | Prime Prep (Tex)* | W | 16 pts, 11 rebs |
| April 6 | St. Benedict’s (NJ)* | ||
| *-Neutral site games |
“Lexington, Kentucky – for me, it’s like going back home. Someplace that just feels right for me.”
- Dakari Johnson
