Ranks 2nd on DHS All Time Scoring List After Moving Ahead of Older Brother David Last Week
DUNELLEN, NJ—Back in December, just around the time that the 2020-21 season was supposed to have started, Dunellen senior Drew Johnson announced his commitment to play men’s basketball at Penn State-Brandywine of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. Johnson, who will be a four year varsity player for the Destroyers, currently ranks second on the school’s all time scoring list with 1,389 points.
Teaming up with the likes of former teammate and recent DHS graduate, Tyje Kelton, Johnson helped guide the Destroyers to back to back GMC Gold Division titles as well as an overall record of 45-12, a 2020 GMCT Boys Quarterfinal appearance, the school’s first since 1995, a berth in the 2020 North Jersey Section 2 Group 1 Championship, the school’s first sectional final since 1968, and its first holiday tournament title since 2011.
Johnson is now second on the all time scoring list at Dunellen after passing his older brother David Johnson, the former all time leading scorer at the school with 1,350 points, last week with 9 points against Middlesex and 19 versus Highland Park. Only Kelton, the current all time leading scorer at DHS with 1,942 points for the Destroyers ranks higher. Kelton is now playing post-graduate hoops at Covenant Prep Academy in Belmar.
The elder Johnson, who graduated from Dunellen in 2015, went on to play NCAA D2 hoops at Kutztown University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The league is a very solid one that consists of great programs such as East Stroudsburg, California of Pennsylvania, Indiana of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock, Shippensburg, Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Mansfield, West Chester, and Clarion.
At Kutztown, David Johnson played in 53 games with almost half of those games played during his senior season. He had two starts for the Bears as well during his senior campaign. Over his four years, Johnson played 287 total minutes, or about 5.4 minutes per game. He made 23 field goals including 9 three pointers, and 8 free throws for a total of 63 points along with 40 rebounds, 24 assists, 12 steals, and 2 blocks. It was quite a feat for Johnson to go from a Gold Division school to playing all four years at a D2 college.
Despite a shortened season in 2020-21, Drew Johnson will have played in more games than his brother. While his older brother played varsity all four years, Drew played in more games as a freshman by appearing in all 26 contests for the Destroyers in the 2017-18 campaign. Not only that, but the younger Johnson made 92 two point field goals, 49 threes, and 23 foul shots for a total of 354 points, or an average of 13.6 points per game.
As a sophomore, Johnson went even further by playing in all 27 games for the Destroyers, and making 134 two point field goals, 49 treys, and 42 foul shots for a total of 457 points along with 184 rebounds, 56 steals, 45 assists, and 27 blocks. Last year, Johnson, who earned GMC Hoops Junior of the Year honors, played in all 29 games and made 127 two point field goals, 60 threes, and 43 foul shots for a total of 477 points along with 190 rebounds, 84 assists, 57 steals, and 33 blocks.
For his career, Johnson has played in 89 of 90 of games for Dunellen. Over that span, Johnson has tallied 375 two point field goals, 175 three pointers, and 114 foul shots for a total of 1,389 points along with 547 rebounds, 195 assists, 151 steals, and 87 blocked shots, or an average of 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and just under a block per game.
Johnson scored in double figures in 80 of the 89 games he played in his career at Dunellen. He has had 9 double-doubles in his career, and 10 double digit rebounding games. He has scored 30 points twice in his career including a career high 31 points in a 77-49 victory over Perth Amboy Tech on December 19, 2018, and then 30 points including seven three pointers that same year in a 60-54 loss against New Brunswick in the 2019 GMCT Round of 16 on February 15th.
Drew Johnson collected a career high 14 rebounds in his first double-double of his career during a 64-61 victory over Koinonia Academy of Plainfield on January 8, 2018 at The Faber. Johnson also collected 13 boards twice as a junior last year including a 51-29 win over Wardlaw on January 17, 2020 and a 92-61 victory over The People’s Prep in the opening round of the North Jersey Section 2 Group 1 Playoffs on March 2, 2020.
With Dunellen playing at most only 15 games this season, Johnson will likely end up 2nd on the all time scoring list at Dunellen since he trails Kelton by 553 points, and would have to average almost 70 points per game this season to break the all time scoring mark. Nevertheless, Johnson has played an important role in helping re-establish Dunellen as one of the top boys basketball programs in the Greater Middlesex Conference.
Congratulations Drew, and best of luck the rest of this season, and in college.