Johnson has grown up quickly in learning his role with team

Steve Addy

Thursday, March 16, 2000 | 10:57 a.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Rebels only want Dalron Johnson to be their man of the hour in the NCAA Tournament, not their Man of 1,000 Faces.

During Johnson's steady development into one of the top freshman players in the country, he has had to learn to keep his emotions under control. That means not reacting to every bad foul call with a pained expression, arm waving or other shows of displeasure.

Though the 18-year-old Johnson hasn't been issued any technical fouls, he's gotten some pointed stares from referees who did not appreciate his reactions. Coaches and teammates have counseled Johnson about his emotions, lest he acquire a chronic complainer's reputation among officials.

"It's all perception with the referees. If you complain about every call, you will never get a call when you really need it. That is how it works," captain Mark Dickel said. "I tell Dalron not to get frustrated. He's so good, but when he gets frustrated, it pulls him down a little."

Dickel is also prone to questioning fouls, but has learned he can catch more calls with honey than vinegar.

"If you didn't get a call, just tell the ref, 'Hey, I think you missed that one.' You've got a far better chance of getting that call next time than if you scream and yell," he said.

Though coach Bill Bayno said reacting to referees is "no more a focus with (Johnson) than with anyone else," Johnson admits he has had to learn his lesson. Most of his negative reactions have come after defensive fouls on what he felt were clean blocked shots.

"Sometimes it starts to feel like you're not getting any calls, but you've got to play through it," Johnson said. "If you start worrying about the refs, your attention is going to start to fade. You can't take it back at (the referees). You just have to keep playing."

To his credit, Johnson hasn't permitted a few borderline calls to affect his aggressiveness. In the Mountain West semifinals against Wyoming, he was the best player on the court as the Rebels won a 97-92 thriller. Johnson fouled out with 1:08 to go, having scored a career-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

"You can't be passive because you're worried about the refs making a call," said Johnson, who leads UNLV with 43 blocks. "You have to stand your ground, keep your hands up and be confident that it will work out."

Everything is going Johnson's way lately. He was named Mountain West co-freshman of the year on March 6, then showed why in the MWC tournament. He averaged 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in the Rebels' three victories, and his 63.6 shooting percentage (21-of-33) was the best among players who played more than one game in the tournament.

By moving Johnson to the high post, the 6-9 power forward has become all the more effective. He has been making the outside jumper when defenders give him room. When they crowd him, he's been going around them off the dribble or throwing the ball over the top to Kaspars Kambala.

It is a strategy the Rebels plan to employ again Friday against Tulsa in the NCAA South Regional.

"It works well both ways. I open up shots for Kas, and if they double-team him, he can get the ball back to me," Johnson said. "Either way, we're going to get a good shot out of it."

Dickel felt Johnson "grew up" in the MWC tournament, but Bayno saw gradual improvement in him throughout the regular season. Johnson averaged 11.3 points and 7.0 rebounds overall and bumped those figures to 12.6 and 8.5 in Mountain West games.

"The Mountain West tournament was sort of a statement on national TV for three nights," Bayno said. "He showed that he's for real, that what he did in the regular season wasn't a fluke."