{"id":851833,"date":"2026-09-18T06:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T06:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/851833\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T06:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T06:54:20","slug":"norfolk-state-alum-diamond-johnsons-goal-is-the-wnba-the-upshot-league-may-help-her-get-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/851833\/","title":{"rendered":"Norfolk State alum Diamond Johnson’s goal is the WNBA. The Upshot League may help her get there."},"content":{"rendered":"

For former Norfolk State<\/a> standout Diamond Johnson, every game she played over the summer in Upshot, a new domestic professional women\u2019s basketball<\/a> league, offered a chance to show she belongs in the WNBA<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Upshot League, which finished its inaugural season in late August, includes a mix of<\/a> international players, WNBA alums and former collegiate stars such as Johnson. She is, however, the league\u2019s only former HBCU player.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very gritty league. You\u2019re gonna push them, you\u2019re gonna get pushed and bumped,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very physical, which I love. \u2026 It just provides another platform and provides another opportunity to show your game and to grow your game.\u201d<\/p>\n

While competing with Upshot\u2019s Greensboro Groove team, Johnson showed why she was one of the most decorated athletes<\/a> in HBCU women\u2019s basketball<\/a> during her Norfolk State career. She finished the season ranked second<\/a> in the league in scoring (16.0 points per game) and assists (3.8 per game) and was first<\/a> in steals (2.2 per game).<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal was to shine my light on HBCU players. \u2026 There\u2019s talent there on an HBCU level as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Zaay Green<\/a>, who spent three seasons at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff before finishing her college career at Alabama, is the only former HBCU player currently on a WNBA roster after signing a developmental contract<\/a> with the Toronto Tempo in August.<\/p>\n

After being cut from the Minnesota Lynx\u2019s training camp in May 2025<\/a> \u2013 just two months after being named<\/a> the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Player of the Year \u2013 Johnson signed with<\/a> the Women\u2019s Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). She headed overseas in November 2025<\/a> and spent six months competing in the WCBA, navigating language and cultural barriers while looking to play her way into another shot at the WNBA. Then Upshot came calling.<\/p>\n

Johnson, who averaged 14.7<\/a> points per game in China, said she noticed improvements in her game during the Upshot season.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy IQ has gotten way better, especially off the ball screen reads,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019ll say 95 to 98% of basketball involves a ball screen or handoffs or whatever, and just being able to make those reads consistently, whether it\u2019s scoring or passing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson isn\u2019t the only person on the Greensboro Groove with roots at a historically Black college or university. Groove coach Janice Washington<\/a> spent four seasons (2021-25)<\/a> as head women\u2019s basketball coach at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Groove assistant coach Trinese Fox<\/a> previously coached Johnson for two seasons as an assistant at Norfolk State, where they won two<\/a> MEAC tournament championships together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand Coach Fox, probably more than any coach that I\u2019ve played with. I\u2019ve played for you, and that\u2019s always a plus on my end because I can understand what\u2019s going on in her mind,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cGetting to know Coach J [Washington], we\u2019ve been together for months now so [we\u2019re] still building that relationship, but the HBCU connection is there for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

During May, the league\u2019s first month of play, Johnson was the top scorer, which didn\u2019t surprise her coaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was getting trapped and getting the most attention on her at that time. Just to see her grow in front of my eyes, like, to take on that responsibility, and still be productive \u2026 she demands that respect wherever she goes,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she is very adaptable with trying to figure out how she can put her fingerprints on [a] game and impact \u2013 whether that\u2019s leading the team in assists or rebounding or in every statistical category, not just scoring.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Greensboro Groove being based in North Carolina, a state home to nearly a dozen historically Black colleges and universities, Washington and Fox hope to use their connections to scout players and expand the pool of HBCU alums competing in Upshot next season. The league, which launched with four teams, will include expansion franchises in Baltimore<\/a> and Nashville in 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having local tryouts \u2026 so that HBCU players can be there and be present in front of these coaches,\u201d Washington said. \u201cBeing able to be in front of the seven or eight coaches that are there for next summer\u2019s event is something that\u2019s important. \u2026 We\u2019re building our rosters, and so it\u2019s important for us to make sure that those players are on our radars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington and Fox have also been intentional about keeping Upshot players on the WNBA radar, speaking with WNBA teams and general managers throughout the season.<\/p>\n

According to Fox, WNBA personnel believe it\u2019s easier to sign players during the regular season, when many are already playing stateside instead of overseas. With the Upshot season ending in August, players remain available for WNBA teams to sign late in the regular season or for the playoffs.<\/p>\n

In July, Charlotte Crown<\/a> player Michelle Onyiah<\/a> became the first Upshot athlete to earn a WNBA contract when the Indiana Fever signed her as a developmental player. In August, Greensboro Groove guard Christyn Williams signed<\/a> a developmental player contract with the Dallas Wings, and Jacksonville Waves<\/a> guard Shyanne Sellers<\/a> and Savannah Steel<\/a> guard Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda<\/a> both signed<\/a> developmental contracts with the Los Angeles Sparks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more this league grows, the more it can kind of be a funnel toward the WNBA,\u201d Fox said. \u201c[Oniyah\u2019s contract] is great for her, great for the [Upshot] league. I think it gives the players like Diamond and other people on our team hope \u2013 just keep the faith and keep doing what you\u2019re doing. It shows that the GMs and coaches in the WNBA are looking and watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without Upshot, Johnson said she would\u2019ve likely spent her summer training at home. Instead, she has spent the past four months compiling film for prospective WNBA teams.<\/p>\n

Playing in Upshot has given the HBCU alum confidence that if a WNBA opportunity arises, she can step in and contribute immediately, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever league that you\u2019re seeing me in, whether it\u2019s overseas or in the [U.S.], \u2026 I think each year I\u2019ve gotten better,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI work hard once I\u2019m committed to something. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can score the ball on all three levels, I can make reads, I can make passes, and I do make my teammates better. \u2026 All I care about is winning, and I\u2019ll do whatever it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mia Berry is the senior HBCU writer for Andscape and covers everything from sports to student-led protests. She is a Detroit native (What up Doe!), long-suffering Detroit sports fan and Notre Dame alumna who randomly shouts, “Go Irish.” <\/p>\n

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