Ollie Johnson

Who is Ollie Johnson?

Oliver "Ollie" Johnson is a retired American basketball player. He was an All-American forward at the University of San Francisco and a first round draft pick in the National Basketball Association in 1965.

Johnson, a 6'7 power forward from Spingarn High School in Washington, D.C., played college basketball at the University of San Francisco from 1962 to 1965. At USF, Johnson was a first team All-West Coast Conference pick each of his three years there and was named WCC player of the year as a junior and senior. 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. 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 and grabbed 1,323 rebounds, 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 by the Boston Celtics, but he never played in the NBA. After being cut by the Celtics, he played for the San Francisco Athletic Club in the Amateur Athletic Union, where he was named an AAU All-American in 1965. He then played overseas in the Basketball League Belgium for three seasons.