Many of us wanted Diamond Johnson to be drafted by a WNBA team in last month’s draft.
Historically, only seven HBCU players have ever been selected in league history — Angel Jackson (Jackson State) was the last in 2024. Those of us who regularly cover Black college women’s basketball had dearly hoped that Johnson, the former Norfolk State guard, would become number eight.
The 5’5” Johnson, a native of Philadelphia, was a high school star, then first went to Rutgers, then North Carolina State before finishing her last two collegiate seasons at Norfolk State.
A two-time Pennsylvania Player of the Year, she averaged nearly 30 points a game and once scored 54 points in a district championship game.
As a freshman at Rutgers, Johnson torched Minnesota for the first of two 26-point performances in a 27-point win, then later against Iowa in the Big Ten quarterfinals. She won ACC Sixth Player of the Year as a sophomore at NC State. And she was all-MEAC in her two seasons at Norfolk State.
Johnson’s final season concluded with a second consecutive MEAC title and championship MVP. She led the league in scoring (20.2 ppg), won Player of the Year honors, and was named most valuable player at the first-ever HBCU women’s basketball all-star game during the Final Four.
Johnson was crushed when she was bypassed through the three-round draft. “I was more so disappointed and hurt,” she remembers, “especially coming off the season I had.”
I watched her play at the MEAC tournament in March. Johnson plays much bigger than five-foot-five, and as a longtime WNBA reporter I believed that, if given a fair chance, she could help a team.
Asheika Alexander in 2021 was the first HBCU player signed by the Minnesota Lynx. Just days before this year’s training camp, Johnson became the second Black college player the Lynx brought in.
“They called my agent on Wednesday,” recalled Johnson last week after a workout at the Lynx practice facility, “and [the agent] contacted me. ‘Hey, we got you a training camp contract,’ she pointed out. I was excited, and I was like, O.K. where? The Minnesota Lynx.”
“At that moment, I was just super happy. I was super proud. I had to leave on Friday. It was a quick turnaround but super grateful,” Johnson said smiling.
Johnson and I chatted after a three-hour practice, then an extra shooting session with Lynx Assistant Coach Lindsay Whalen: “I want to get shots up,” she stressed afterwards.
The last time we talked, Johnson stressed that all she wanted was a chance to make a WNBA roster. “The WNBA is the only goal that’s always been since I started playing basketball,” she admitted. “A lot of people say I need a plan B. This was A-all.
“I didn’t stop working out,” she pointed out. “I kept going and I was just staying ready.”
“I said, I’m still so mad at you for those 30 points she scored on us when she was a freshman at Rutgers,” joked Whalen on Johnson.
Working with Whalen, a four-year W champion and HOF, Johnson said, “It’s good to have a player that loves to be in the gym with you and then can talk you through plays and stuff like that.”
The Lynx play the second of two preseason games against Chicago at home Saturday. May 10 is the final day by which WNBA teams must finalize their 12-player season rosters, and the 2025 regular season begins on May 14.
Finally, Johnson here in Minnesota got the shot she was looking for. This is what all of us wanted for her too, because she plays much bigger than her size.
“I definitely was happy to see people rooting for me and fighting for me,” said Johnson. “I know y’all [support] definitely was part of the reason why I got this contract. I definitely appreciate that.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.