Diamond Johnson knew basketball was the sport for her when she first picked up a ball. She was introduced to the sport because of her brother by following him and his friends, and she eventually fell in love with the game of basketball. 

“I know basketball took me to a lot of places and it helped me meet a lot of people,” Johnson said. “It kind of translates over to what I want to do, which is play professionally and be a coach, so basketball is like the perfect sport for me.” 

Diamond Johnson a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native is an outstanding basketball player and has proven to be an exemplary addition to the team. During her rookie season in 2021 at NC State, she was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten, the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, MBWA (Met Basketball Writers Association) All-Met first team, and MBWA Rookie of the Year. She was named the Nancy Lieberman Award Top 10 Finalist in 2022, a finalist on the 2023 WBCA All-American team, and named the 2023 Naismith Player of the Year and Dawn Staley Award watch list. Since the start of her time at Norfolk State, she has reached 1,000 career points and been named multiple MEAC titles of the week, including Defensive Player, Offensive Player, and MEAC Player of the Week.  

Having a life outside of basketball is important to Johnson. She enjoys activities like bowling or shopping, and her competitive spirit carries with her off of the court as well. She plays video games during her free time and has fun banter with her friends. Her go-to game is Fortnite, but her teammates are convincing her to try Call of Duty. They are like family to her, and the team has a very close bond. Joking around and sharing laughs are one of the main ways they bond on and off of the court. Personally, she wants to continue being there for her team and help her teammates feel good about the season. Johnson’s goal for the team is to pass the first round of the NCAA tournament and win a championship. 

“Just knowing where I came from, knowing how much basketball means to me, knowing that I can help my family in the long run and put them in a position to be successful,” Johnson said. 

Johnson missed the first ten games of the season due to NCAA transfer issues but has helped boost this Lady Spartans squad when she got on the court.

“Oh of course not.” Head Coach Larry Vickers on if the team would be in the same place if Diamond Johnson was not here. “You know it looked a little different. We did start the year off 7-4 You know, but when it comes to Diamond you always be like A Field of Dreams. If you build it and they’ll come, you know so we built a tremendous program before this and then we were fortunate enough to land the number eight recruit in the transfer portal ranked by ESPN. So you know we just want to continue to build and grow but no it’s it’s definitely a little easier when you can go to 22 (Kierra Wheeler) to 3 (Diamond Johnson).”

Diamond Johnson was honored with MEAC Women’s Basketball Newcomer of the Year for the 2023-2024 season. She led the MEAC in scoring and steals in the 2023-2024 season.