NEWARK, NJ—Dytanya Johnson, a post player noted for his on-court toughness, particularly in the areas of defense and rebounding, will bring his game from one of Maryland's strongest high school programs to NJIT, where he will continue his studies in 2010-11, men's basketball coach Jim Engles announced.
Johnson, nicknamed “Bubby”, is a 6-foot-7, 205-pounder who excelled in both basketball and football at Thomas Stone High School in Waldorf, MD, which is about 25 miles south of Washington, DC. He is projected as a 4/5 (power forward/center) in college.
His teams reached the Maryland 4A Final Four in both his sophomore and junior seasons and then they changed classifications and played in the 2010 3A state championship game on the campus of the University of Maryland in March.
According to maxpreps.com, he averaged 10.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and nearly 3 blocks per game, while making 60 percent of his shots from the field and 70 percent at the foul line as a senior on a team that finished 23-2, with the second loss coming in the state championship game.
Maxpreps.com listed him as the second-leading high school rebounder in Maryland. Playing in 24 games, he produced double-figure rebound totals 23 times, with a high of 19 (vs. Leonardtown HS), along with a pair of 18-rebound games and one of 17.
He also had at least one blocked shot in every game and blocked five shots in three games, including the state title matchup against Milford Mill HS, a game in which he also grabbed 12 rebounds. He ranked 12th in the state in blocked shots on the maxpreps.com chart.
He had 14 double-figure scoring games as a senior, with a high of 18 points in his team's state semifinal win.
A defensive end/tight end in football, he received recruiting interest from Football Championship Series (formerly known as Division I-AA) programs such as Delaware and Rhode Island. But basketball won out as his choice of college sports and NJIT was his choice of colleges, as he signed a National Letter of Intent to become a Highlander.
He was the captain of the Stone basketball team and was all-conference in both of his sports, receiving the honor his last two seasons in basketball.
Characteristics that are vital in winning, but intangible, recur when his game is discussed. A feature story in his local newspaper, the Independent, began: “Heart, passion, determination, hard work and the love of the game is what separates Thomas Stone senior big man Dytanya 'Bubby' Johnson from most players on the hardwood.”
Adds Engles of the recruit: “He's a tough kid who plays physically. He relishes the role of rebounding the ball and he plays with a lot of heart. He's one of those guys who gets stuff done on the court.”
At NJIT, he joins a building program that is optimistic moving forward.
The Highlanders, who began facing Division I competition in 2006-07 and achieved full Division I status in 2009-10, a season that saw them post a program-best 10 wins at the highest level.
The Highlanders, who will enter their third year under Engles, hope to continue the improvement they showed in 2009-10, when they won 10 times, up from one win in 2008-09, and stepped up their scoring to 61.5 ppg to 49.5 ppg.
Johnson and his fellow newcomers will join returning players who accounted for 1710 of last season's 1905 points scored (90 percent). Returnees for 2010-11 also accounted for 882 of last season's 1064 rebounds (83 percent).
