Guard recruit faces surgery

Steve Addy

Friday, April 28, 2000 | 9:56 a.m.

UNLV basketball coach Bill Bayno assesses his 2000-01 recruiting class:

* Vitals: 5-foot-10, 160 pounds, age 19, Crispus Attucks Charter School, York, Pa. (Baltimore native)

* The skinny: Averaged 19 points, 10 assists, 2 steals. MVP of Prep School National Tournament. Will undergo right foot surgery next week.

* Bayno says: "If you come from West Baltimore and make it, you have to be special. You've got to have character and you have to be tough. He is a quiet kid, but he certainly won't back down from anybody."

* Vitals: 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, age 20, Kilgore (Texas) College

* The skinny: Averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 47.0 FG pct., 37.1 3P pct. Second-team JC all-American.

* Bayno says: "He's a pure shooter in every sense of the word. He can shoot off the catch and also spot up. He was one of the better rebounding guards in junior college basketball. He was certainly the player we wanted to address our shooting needs."

* Vitals: 6-foot-9, 200 pounds, age 19, Crispus Attucks Charter School, York, Pa. (Wheaton, Ill., native)

* The skinny: Averaged 16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks. Named team's most improved player. Game highs of 24 points, 14 rebounds.

* Bayno says: "At 6-9, with his God-given size and ability, he has a chance to be special. His potential is unlimited. But he's young and he's got things he needs to work on. We are going to bring him along at his own pace, and we'll see what that is."

* Vitals: 6-foot-0, 175 pounds, age 18, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei HS

* The skinny: Averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals. Three-team HS league MVP. Four-year varsity player. Underwent right foot surgery April 4.

* Bayno says: "He can play both (guard) positions. He's tough. He can shoot it. He came from a great program. If we can get 5-10 minutes a game from him this season, he can help us. And he's willing to accept that role."

-- By Steve Addy

Lafonte Johnson hasn't committed his first turnover for the Rebels, but their point guard-in-waiting already insists that impatient UNLV fans can never break his spirit. He says he's too strong for that.

Too bad the bones in his foot aren't as steely as his outlook.

Johnson (5-foot-10) will undergo surgery for a fractured right foot next week, which could slow the summer development of Mark Dickel's anointed successor as the Rebels' point guard. It also means half of coach Bill Bayno's recruiting class will spend part of the summer in a foot cast.

Bayno formally announced his recruits Thursday, though forward Omari Pearson signed in November in the early period. Pearson, a 6-foot-9 forward, is joined by Johnson, his teammate at Crispus Attucks Charter School in York, Pa.; 6-foot-4 guard-forward Jermaine Lewis from Kilgore College in Texas; and 6-foot swing guard Steve Scoggin from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei HS.

Perimeter gunner Lewis is the jewel of the class, having averaged 26 points as a second team JC All-American, but Johnson might be more important in the short term. Dickel used up his college eligibility this season after a career in which he endured boos by Rebels fans, then went on to lead the NCAA in assists as a senior.

Bayno's highest recruiting priority was to find a replacement for Dickel. After losing JC guard Kevin Bradley to Utah, Bayno put on a fullcourt press to get Johnson. He succeeded, but Johnson must heal from surgery before he's able to take the reins. A screw will be inserted in his foot and he will spend a month in a cast before another month of rehab.

"I fractured it a long time ago, like when I was 13 or 14, and it never really healed right," Johnson said Thursday. "Then I hurt it in the same spot about a month ago. I thought it was an ankle sprain, but the doctors said there is a fracture. I can walk on it, but I can't run. I'll have to stay off it for a while, but I'll be lifting weights and maybe shooting a little."

Bayno said, "He was playing on it, like a Lou Kelly kind of thing. Hopefully, in four weeks he can start rehab and then by July be able to go full speed."

Scoggin is also in a cast after undergoing right foot surgery April 4. He is expected to be out of the cast next week.

Despite adding two players with foot problems, Bayno said he's happy with his recruiting class, which should surprise no one. After all, when does any coach rap his own recruits?

"We signed two kids who fill immediate needs (Johnson, Lewis) and two who have a chance to be very good down the road (Pearson, Scoggin)," Bayno said. "They're the type of kids we want in our program. They have character, they're very coachable and I think they'll fit right into the chemistry our team showed this season -- the selflessness, the willingness to sacrifice."

Bayno believes Lewis' outside shooting will make the Rebels a more reliable halfcourt offensive team, especially against bigger opponents, but that offense will run through Johnson's untested hands. The last time UNLV started a freshman at point, Dickel was subjected to harsh criticism.

For that reason, maturity and composure were high on Bayno's list of attributes for a new point guard, and he feels Johnson fits the job description.

"Point guard takes more evaluation than any other position. We thoroughly evaluated Lafonte in person and on film. We feel good about his character, his leadership and his ability as a young kid to come in and handle the pressure of starting," Bayno said. "It is obvious that is going to be his role.

"Lafonte and I have talked about it throughout the recruiting. We talked about the dynamics of this town and what Mark Dickel went through as a freshman. He's up to that challenge. We have a lot of faith that he'll be able to handle it.

"We will throw him into the fire. It is not going to be easy, but nothing is. If you come from West Baltimore and you make it, you've got to be special. You've got to have character, and you have to be tough. He's a quiet kid, but he certainly won't back down from anybody."

Johnson obviously wasn't scared off by Bayno's recollection of Dickel's early days at UNLV.

"Mark Dickel was a good player, but I want people to judge me for me," Johnson said. "I know not everyone is going to like you. I'm a freshman, and I'm going to make freshman mistakes. But as long as I get a fair opportunity, there aren't many people who don't like the way I play."