Pitt sophomore guard John Johnson expressed his frustrations with not playing in Friday’s opener against Mount St. Mary’s.
That has led to Johnson no longer being a member of the Pitt team as the Panthers prepared to begin the Preseason NIT against Fordham on Monday night. Johnson didn’t show up for practice or shoot around and Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said during his postgame press conference that Johnson would be transferring from the program.
“I talked to John a few times over the past couple of days,” said Dixon. “He is no longer a member of this team and is looking to transfer. I will sit down with him over the course of the next couple of days and try and find the best situation for him.”
During Friday’s postgame press conference, Dixon said that both John and Durand Johnson weren’t feeling well and that was the reason that neither played in the opener, but Johnson took to Twitter to express his frustrations.
Johnson tweeted after the game ” “I’m not hurt, I’m not sick,” which has since been deleted from his profile.
In addition, the sophomore guard said: “Basketball is more political than the election,” and followed that up with “Hard work doesn’t always pay off.”
Johnson averaged around 15 minutes per game last year as a true freshman, but since has been passed by the likes of James Robinson, Trey Zeigler and even Cameron Wright.
“Pitt isn’t for everyone,” said senior point guard Tray Woodall. “I don’t mean that in a negative way, but not everyone is cut out for Pitt. We won’t really let it affect us though. We will just go to battle with what we have.”
It’s a little early in the season to express frustrations, but not playing in the opener led to Johnson’s unhappiness. The Panthers really could use his shooting, but they have talented depth in the backcourt so many minutes may not have been there for him anyway.
However with both Chris Smith and Aron Nwankwo likely to redshirt, that leaves Dixon with only 10 players, which is fine as long as the Panthers stay healthy.
Johnson played in all 39 games a season ago, starting two and averaged 4.2 points per game, only scoring in double-figures twice, including a career-high 13 points against VMI last December.
Photo Credit: Tribune-Review
