Oliver Johnson (born December 25, 1942) is a retired American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He was an All-American forward at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

and a first-round draft pick in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) in 1965. Johnson, A 6'7

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, was a 3-time All Interhigh and 2-time All MET playing for William Roundtree at Spingarn HS. Johnson teamed with

Dave Bing David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring a ...

to win the DC Interhigh Titles in ‘60 and ‘61 and a City Championship vs DeMatha in 1961,in front of a sold out crowd (10,500) at the U of Maryland's Cole Field House. Johnson averaged 19.9 pts and 17.5 rebounds for his senior season. Johnson played college basketball at the University of San Francisco from 1962 to 1965. At USF, Johnson was a first team All-

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

pick each of his three years there (freshmen were ineligible) and was named WCC player of the year as a junior and senior.2010-11 USF men's basketball media guide
accessed October 8, 2011 Johnson led the Dons to WCC championships and NCAA tournament appearances in all three of his seasons. The Dons lost in the West regional final in consecutive years to eventual champion

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. In the 1965 NCAA tournament, Johnson led all players in scoring in rebounding average as he tallied 36 points and 18.5 rebounds per game. For his career, Ollie Johnson scored 1,668 points (19.9 per game) and grabbed 1,323 rebounds (15.8 per game), ranking him in the school's top ten all-time in both categories. In addition to his conference accolades, Johnson was named an All-American in 1964 and 1965. Johnson was drafted in the first round of the

1965 NBA draft The 1965 NBA draft was the 19th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1965, before the 1965–66 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

(8th pick overall), but he never played in the NBA. Before being cut by the Celtics, he played for the San Francisco Athletic Club in the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

, where he was named an AAU All-American in 1965.History of the Amateur Athletic Union
accessed October 8, 2011 He then played overseas in the

Basketball League Belgium The Basketball League Belgium is a governing body for basketball in Belgium. It directs the ten professional Belgian basketball sports clubs of the top-tier Basketball League Belgium Division I. See also *Basketball League Belgium Division I R ...

for three seasons.

References

External links

College stats at the Draft Review
1942 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American men's basketball players Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Boston Celtics draft picks Power forwards (basketball) San Francisco Dons men's basketball players {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub