Johnson gains All-American distinction at Three Rivers

~ The former Bell City standout became the first Raiders point guard to receive the honor.

In the storied 39-year history of Three Rivers men's basketball, Dominitrix Johnson managed a first.

When he was named a third-team All-American last week, Johnson became the first point guard in Raiders history to receive the honor.

There have been 17 All-Americans before Johnson, but none were point guards. Shooting guard Stalin Ortiz was the only other pure guard.

Johnson, who signed with Illinois State on Wednesday, had a sizzling first semester as he led the Raiders to a 13-2 mark against the nation's third-most difficult schedule. He made two or more 3-pointers in all but two games on 47.4 percent shooting from behind the arc and averaged 20.1 points per game.

"He was a very deserving candidate because he carried the team for about three-fourths of the season," Three Rivers coach Gene Bess said.

Among Johnson's best outings were a 32-point outburst where he went 10-for-13 from 3-point range against Bevill State (Ala.) and a career-high 34 points with six more treys against Wabash Valley.

Although he cooled off considerably -- especially after having his nose broken by teammate Abayomi Ajasin on Feb. 1 -- he still averaged 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals. He started 26 of the 29 games he played in this season, shot a team-high 79.8 percent at the foul line and made a region-best 90 3-pointers, as he was selected to the all-region team for the second time.

Johnson led Three Rivers in assists with 5.3 per game as a freshman, then became more of a scorer as a sophomore. The Raiders often gave Johnson the ball with the shot clock winding down or the game on the line, and he nearly always came through.

"He's a great scoring point guard. That's how you would have to describe him," Bess said. "We were really good with the ball in his hands."

Bess said Johnson's nose injury affected him.

"I don't know what happened when he got injured," Bess said. "It took the spunk out of him."

Johnson was a part of two Class 1 state championship teams in his high school career at Bell City. As a senior, he averaged 29.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.

Three Rivers All-Americans

1978 --Danny Foster

1980 -- Moon McCrary

1981 -- Terry Mead

1982 -- Donnie McClinton, Booker Johnson

1987 -- Jeff Ford

1988 -- Fred Johnson

1989 -- Greg Coble

1990 -- Latrell Sprewell

1992 -- Shon Peck-Love

1993 -- Brian Price, Belvis Noland

1995 -- Sunday Adebayo

1996 -- Brock Littles

2000 -- Brian Foster

2001 -- Stalin Ortiz

2003 -- William Durden

2006 -- Dominitrix Johnson