SAN ANTONIO ? The UTSA men’s basketball program announced Tuesday the signing of 6-8 center Antoine Dade (Orlando, Fla./Jones HS/Iowa Western CC) and 5-7 point guard Omar Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz HS/Barton County CC) to National Letters of Intent during the spring signing period.
“We are elated to sign Antoine and Omar this spring,” head coach Brooks Thompson said. “Both are impact players. They played for very successful junior college teams last season, so we feel like they can bring a winner’s mentality with them. We lost a point guard (Kurt Attaway) and a center (Dwain Hall) to graduation, so we feel like we have addressed those needs with this class. They fill the holes left by our two seniors and we look for them to provide immediate leadership and experience.”
Dade averaged 12.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore for head coach Jim Morris at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa. A first-team all-region selection, he blocked a team-best 64 shots (1.9 bpg), shot 51.6 percent from the field and came up with 24 steals in helping the Raivers to a 27-7 record, second place finish in NJCAA Region XI and No. 13 final national ranking in 2006-07. He scored 20 or more points three times as a sophomore, including a season-high 26 against Kirkwood. He also tallied 19 points in the 62-56 loss to top-ranked Indian Hills in the regional final and had 10 in the second game of the best-of-three series, a 70-63 win that was the only loss of the season for Indian Hills prior to the National Tournament. As a freshman, Dade posted 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest. He scored 18 points against Southeast Nebraska Community College and recorded a double-double wth 14 points and 10 rebounds against Harper College during the 2005-06 season. A prep standout at Jones High School in Orlando, Fla. Dade averaged 22.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.1 blocks and 1.9 steals per game as a senior for head coach Jerry Howard. He earned all-state accolades and was the District 4 Player of the Year in 2004-05.
Johnson earned first-team Jayhawk League All-West Division honors after helping lead Barton County Community College to a 27-7 record in 2006-07. He garnered All-Region VI Tournament honors after guiding the the Cougars to the Region VI Championship game against Coffeyville Under head coach Craig Fletchall, he led Barton County ? located in Great Bend, Kan. ? in scoring with 17.3 ppg and assists with 215 (6.3 apg) and also averaged 3.9 rebounds per contest. Johnson posted a team-best 95 steals and a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio and shot 52.0 percent from the field, 47.1 percent from behind the 3-point line and 77.4 percent from the free throw line. Playing a team-high 35.8 minutes per game, Johnson was the leading scorer 14 times and reached double digits in all but two games. He topped 20 points nine times, including a season-high 29 in a 95-92 overtime victory over Brown Mackie, and posted 10 or more assists three times, including 14 in a a 106-83 win against Air Force Prep. He finished seventh in the West Division in scoring and led all players in assists and steals. Johnson transferred to Barton County from Tennessee-Chattanooga, where he recorded 37 points and 25 assists in averaging 8.1 minutes per game as a freshman in 2005-06. He was a three-year starter at Philadelphia’s Simon Gratz High School, which has a rich basketball history that has produced current NBA players Rasheed Wallace, Aaron McKie and Mardy Collins. As a senior, Johnson scored 12.0 points, dished out 7.0 assists, and grabbed 6.0 rebounds per game while hitting 90.0 percent from the free throw line. He helped the Bulldogs to one city championship while earning second-team all-public and third-team all-city honors.