Jaron Johnson

Jaron Johnson (born May 5, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Tyler Junior College and Louisiana Tech.

High school career

Johnson attended John Tyler High School in Tyler, Texas, where as a senior in 2009–10, he averaged 17 points and eight rebounds per game. He was subsequently picked as MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in district-5A, and named All-East Texas MVP by the Tyler Courier-Times. He was also named MVP of the 2010 Azalea Orthopedics Boys all-star game.^[1]

College career

Tyler Junior College (2010–2012)

As a freshman at Tyler Junior College in 2010–11, Johnson averaged 9.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, as the Apache went 19–11 and made an appearance in the Region XIV Tournament.^[1]

As a sophomore in 2011–12, Johnson played in all 30 games and averaged 13.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He was named first-team all-conference and all-region, and led the Apache to an 18–12 record and a quarter-final appearance in the Region XIV Tournament.^[1]

Louisiana Tech (2012–2014)

On April 26, 2012, Johnson signed a National Letter of Intent with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.^[2]

As a junior in 2012–13, Johnson played in all 34 games for the Bulldogs and averaged 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He had his most productive outing against Seattle on January 19, 2013 with a career-high 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting and a career-high eight rebounds.^[1]

As a senior in 2013–14, Johnson played in 34 games with 18 starts, including the last 16 games, while averaging 9.1 points in 21.5 minutes per game. He recorded double-digit scoring games 18 times while being the leading scorer in five games. He also finished 12th in Conference USA in field goal shooting percentage (52.9). He registered a lone double-double against FIU on January 11, 2014 with career highs in points (18) and rebounds (11). He later matched his career high in points with 18 against Tulsa on February 6.^[1]

Professional career

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2014–2016)

2014–15 season

After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Johnson tried out with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League in October 2014.^[3] His try-out was successful and he made the Vipers' 2014–15 training camp roster.^[4] His form during preseason earned him a spot on the Vipers' opening-day roster,^[5] and he made his D-League debut on November 14, 2014 against the Austin Spurs, scoring five points in 15 minutes off the bench.^[6] He quickly emerged as a valuable contributor for the Vipers, evolving from a reserve playing spotty minutes to a reliable starter. Initially, Johnson was slotted as an energy guy off the bench, but with the Vipers' offense struggling a month into the season, coach Nevada Smith turned to Johnson because of his aggressiveness and intensity.^[3] On February 4, 2015, Johnson scored a career-high 35 points on 11-of-17 shooting in a 130–113 win over the Oklahoma City Blue.^[7] The Vipers finished the regular season with a 27–23 record, missing a playoff berth in the Western Conference. Johnson appeared in all 50 games for the Vipers in 2014–15, making 38 starts and averaging 15.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.^[8]

2015–16 season

In July 2015, Johnson joined the Houston Rockets for the Las Vegas Summer League.^[9] In five games for the Rockets, he averaged 9.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. On September 25, 2015, he signed with the Washington Wizards,^[10] but was later waived by the team on October 24 after appearing in six preseason games.^[11]

On November 2, 2015, Johnson was reacquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.^[12] In 2015–16, he established himself as one of the better two-way guards in the D-League, and evolved into an all-around offensive player. He improved his perimeter shooting and became a sound facilitator in his second year.^[13] Johnson and teammate Will Cummings led the Vipers in scoring. On November 27, in just the fifth game of the season, Johnson scored a season-high 30 points in a 123–108 overtime win over the Los Angeles D-Fenders.^[14] On February 6, 2016, he tied his season high of 30 points, this time in a 126–112 loss to the D-Fenders.^[15] The Vipers finished the regular season with a 29–21 record, entering the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, the Vipers faced the Austin Spurs, but despite going up 1–0 in the series, they went on to lose the next two games to bow out of the playoffs with a 2–1 defeat. Johnson had his best effort of the series in Game 2, scoring 19 points.^[16] In 53 games for the Vipers in 2015–16, he averaged 18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.^[8]

On June 28, 2016, Johnson was named in the Indiana Pacers' rookie/free agent camp roster, joining the team for the Orlando Summer League.^[17] In four games for the Pacers, he averaged 6.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He later joined the NBA D-League Select Team for the Las Vegas Summer League, where in four games, he averaged 11.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Perth Wildcats (2016–present)

On July 22, 2016, Johnson signed with the Perth Wildcats for the 2016–17 NBL season.^[18][19] After a less-than-impressive debut for the Wildcats, in which he scored six points off the bench in a loss to the Brisbane Bullets in Brisbane on October 6, Johnson turned it around two days later in Perth's home opener against the Cairns Taipans. While he struggled to make an impact over the first three quarters, Johnson scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and hit a game-tying three-pointer to send the game into overtime. In overtime, he hit another three-pointer to finish the game with 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, as he led the Wildcats to an 84–74 win.^[20] However, after scoring just five points in the following game on October 14, Johnson was released by the Wildcats on October 17.^[21][22] Despite being released, he remained in Perth and continued to train with the team while working out privately with the assistant coaches. His replacement, Andre Ingram, played just two games for the Wildcats before leaving the club after one week. As a result, the Wildcats reactivated Johnson's contract on October 27 ahead of Round 4.^[23] In his second game back on November 5 against the Adelaide 36ers, Johnson scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half of the Wildcats' 106–103 win. He also recorded four rebounds and hit six three-pointers.^[24][25]

Personal life

Johnson is the son of Michael and Cynthia Johnson, and has two older brothers, Jeremy and Justin. Justin played at Tyler Junior College and the University of Iowa, and has played professionally in Canada.^[1]

References

External links

• Jaron Johnson at latechsports.com
• Jaron Johnson at nbadleague.com
• New direction after reactivation