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George Mason

Tony Skinn hopes to receive 'hall pass' to heaven for coaching KD Johnson

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•about 8 hours
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© Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

KD Johnson had a unique relationship with the Auburn fan base during his time with them. And he’s apparently made quite the impression on his new head coach, Tony Skinn of George Mason.

We got one of the more hilarious quotes in college basketball, when Skinn praised Johnson in a press conference. When he was asked about working with KD Johnson this season, the GMU head coach said he hoped that it would help punch his ticket to heaven.

“I’m going to go to heaven because I’m coaching K.D. Johnson. It’s my hall pass,” Skinn said via David Korn.

More on KD Johnson and his basketball career

Coming out of high school, K.D. Johnson was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2020, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, out of Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. He was the 17th-ranked point guard and the 83rd-ranked player overall in that cycle.

Johnson started his career at Georgia, where he played in 16 games for the Bulldogs during his freshman season. That was the 2020-21 campaign and saw Johnson play 22.5 minutes per game while averaging 13.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. That season, he was honored by being placed on the All-SEC Freshmen Team.

He was coached by Tom Crean at Georgia before being coached by Bruce Pearl at Auburn. Following that freshman season, Johnson transferred to Auburn where he played the next three seasons.

In total, he played 102 games for the Tigers, starting 32 of them during that time. He’s averaged 22.4 minutes per game while at Auburn and averaged 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

Going into the 2022-23 season, K.D. Johnson was on the Preseason All-SEC Second Team. Last season, the Auburn Tigers went 27-8 and 13-5 in SEC play, winning the SEC Tournament after being tied for second during the regular season.

However, Auburn was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the Round of 64 after getting knocked out in the Tigers’ first game against Yale. Johnson had seven points in 26 minutes during that loss.

On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this article.