Men’s Basketball Player Chase Johnson Leaves UD

Chase Johnson (third from left) withdrew from UD due to medical reasons. Cover photo courtesy of Griffin Quinn 

Michael Crouchley
Sports Editor

After several weeks of confusion, redshirt sophomore forward Chase Johnson announced that he was leaving the University of Dayton.

Johnson announced his decision via a post on his Instagram story on Jan. 10, citing health issues as the reason.

Johnson was playing his first season for Dayton men’s basketball after two years for the Florida Gators. He played in all of the Flyers first eight games, starting the opener against Indiana State.

Johnson’s best game came on Dec. 3 against Houston Baptist, when he tallied 18 points, a career high.

Johnson’s last game for the Flyers was the win over St. Mary’s on Dec. 8. He was not with the team for the next game on Dec. 14, and he was listed out with illness. Johnson continued to miss games, and it was later reported that he was at home with family.

Flyer fans got their first update on Dec. 30 before the Flyers game against North Florida. Dayton sent out a press release saying that Johnson was dealing with post-concussion stress syndrome.

“He is continuing to make great strides and is looking forward to joining the team when he is medically cleared,” read the release.

There were no major updates until Jan. 10 when Johnson officially announced that he was leaving the team.

“At the end of the day, my thing with him is always what’s in his best interest in terms of his health,” head coach Anthony Grant said after the Flyer’s Dec. 11 game. “For him and his family, that’s what they are seeking. This is way bigger than basketball.”

The team has maintained dominance in Johnson’s absence, with their only loss in that span coming against Colorado last month.

“From a basketball standpoint, it’s no different than if a guy goes down with an injury,” Grant said. “As a team, we have a next-man-up mentality.”

As far as a return, Grant didn’t shut any doors.

“We’ll see what the future holds. I can’t predict what that will look like for him but all options are on the table.”

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