2013
Anthony Johnson, Class of '97 (Basketball)
Johnson was the College's first NBA Draft Pick selected 40th overall by the Sacramento Kings in 1997. His No. 24 jersey is honored in the rafters of TD Arena and he still remains the school's all-time career assists leader with 520. During Johnson's four-year career, the Cougars compiled an impressive 101-17 overall record including four TAAC championships, two NIT and two NCAA Tournament appearances including the program's first-round victory over Maryland in the NCAA Southeast Regional. As a senior in 1996-97, he garnered Honorable Mention All-American honors by The Associated Press, earned a spot on the All-TAAC First Team and was named TAAC Player of the Year averaging 13.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game which ranked No. 6 nationally. As a team, the Cougars would go on to finish the 29-3 season ranked No. 16 in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 21 in the USA TODAY/Coaches Top 25 Poll. The former floor general also ranked No. 16 nationally in assists per game (6.7 avg.) as a junior. Johnson, a 1997 CofC graduate in business administration, was a local football and basketball product out of R.B. Stall High School and he spent 13 years in the NBA with the Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and New Jersey Nets. He played in three NBA Finals as a member of the Nets in 2002 and 2003 and the Magic in 2009. In all, Johnson played in 100 career playoff games scoring a career-high 40 points with the Pacers against the New Jersey Nets in Game 6 of the series in the 2006 NBA Playoffs.
