Ron Johnson (basketball)

This article is about the American basketball player. For other people with the same name, see Ron Johnson (disambiguation).

Ron Johnson

Personal information
Born	(1938-07-20)July 20, 1938 Hallock, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	February 1, 2015(2015-02-01) (aged 76) St. Cloud, Minnesota, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	New Prague (New Prague, Minnesota)
College	Minnesota (1957–1960)
NBA draft	1960: 2nd round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Position	Forward
Number	9, 52
Career history
1960	Detroit Pistons
1960–1961	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Third-team All-American – NABC (1960) Third-team All-American – AP (1959) 2× First-team All-Big Ten (1959, 1960)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Ronald F. Johnson (July 20, 1938 – February 1, 2015) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Johnson played at New Prague High School where he became Minnesota's first boys’ high school basketball player to score 2,000 career points (2,190) when he graduated in 1956.^[1]

As a junior at the University of Minnesota, Johnson was selected to the Associated Press (AP) All-American third team.^[2] In his senior season, Ron was selected to the NABC All-American third team.^[3] He played in the east–west college all-star game at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 1960. Johnson finished his collegiate career with 1,335 points (19.7 points per game average).^[1]

Johnson was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the fourth pick in the second round of the 1960 NBA draft. On December 15, 1960, he was sold from the Pistons to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his one NBA season, Ron averaged 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.^[4]

Johnson, who was an attorney in St. Cloud, Minnesota, died of an aneurysm on February 1, 2015. He was 76.^[5]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Source^[4]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1960–61	Detroit	6	10.0	.367	.643	2.3	.2	5.2
1960–61	L.A. Lakers	8	5.4	.154	.667	1.9	.1	.8
Career		14	7.4	.302	.647	2.1	.1	2.6

References

1. "Former Gopher, New Prague basketball star Ron Johnson dies". Star Tribune. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
2. "NCAA College Basketball AP All-American teams". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
3. "All-America - Division I (1960's)". nabc.org. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
4. "Ron Johnson NBA statistics". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
5. "Former Gophers star Johnson dies at 76". St. Cloud Times. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.