In her professional debut with the upstart women’s basketball league UpShot, former Norfolk State star Diamond Johnson made a great first impression with a dynamic scoring performance.
Playing for the Greensboro Groove on Friday night, Johnson finished with 30 points, including 19 points in the first half, leading her team to a narrow 85-81 win over the Savannah Steel.
The former MEAC Player of the Year was not done piling up buckets, as less than 24 hours later, she would lead the Greensboro Groove to another big win over the Savannah Steel.
She scored 27 points in a double overtime thriller that saw the Groove come away with a 107-105 victory, improving their record to 2-0.
Johnson played two historic seasons at Norfolk State, leading the team to a pair of MEAC championships, extending its conference title streak to three years (the first such streak in the MEAC since Hampton won from 2010-2014).
She was named to the All-MEAC team each season, including in 2025 when she won the MEAC Player of the Year award after leading the Spartans to a Division I-high 30 wins.
After going undrafted in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Johnson was signed to the Minnesota Lynx’s training camp roster but was waived after the team’s preseason debut without logging a single minute.
She most recently played with Hefei of the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA), averaging 14.7 points and 2.8 steals in 24 games with the team.
The Greensboro Groove is one of four teams starring in the Upshot League’s inaugural season, to provide opportunities for women’s basketball players outside of the WNBA.
Greensboro will be back in action next Friday when they once again face the Savannah Steel at 7:00 p.m. ET, with the game airing live on YouTube.
