Consistency pays off

Steve Addy

Tuesday, March 5, 2002 | 9:20 a.m.

(Selected by league coaches)

First Team -- Marcus Bailey, Wyoming, Jr., F; Ruben Douglas, New Mexico, Jr., G; Randy Holcomb, San Diego State, Sr., F; Britton Johnsen, Utah, Jr., F; Dalron Johnson, UNLV, Jr., F.

Second Team -- Marcus Banks, UNLV, Jr., G; Al Faux, San Diego State, Sr., G; Brian Greene, Colorado State, Jr., F; Travis Hansen, BYU, Jr., F; Uche Nsonwu-Amadi, Wyoming, Jr., C.

Third Team -- Eric Chatfield, New Mexico, Sr., G; Josh Davis, Wyoming, Sr., F; Nick Jacobson, Utah, So., G; Jeff Johnsen, Utah, Sr., F; Donta Richardson, Wyoming, Jr., G.

UNLV honorable mention -- Lou Kelly, Sr., F.

Player of the Year -- Britton Johnsen, Utah

Coach of the Year -- Steve McClain, Wyoming

Defensive Player of the Year -- Marcus Banks, UNLV

Freshmen of the Year -- Jason Straight, Wyoming and Jared Jensen, BYU

When UNLV forward Dalron Johnson made the All-Mountain West first team Monday, it was a triumph of consistency over combustibility.

Rebels point guard Marcus Banks has scored more in some games, and is flashier as a matter of routine. Other teammates have made headlines with last-minute heroics, including Lou Kelly, Vince Booker, Jevon Banks and even Lou Amundson.

But game after game, no one has been steadier than Johnson, a 6-foot-9 junior from Los Angeles. He assumed the scoring and rebounding burden left behind by four-year center Kaspars Kambala, and did it with seamless efficiency in UNLV's 18-9 regular season.

Heading into the MWC tournament Thursday against New Mexico, Johnson is averaging a team-leading 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds, reasonably close to Kambala's 2000-01 stats (16.9 and 9.1). He has scored in double figures in 25 of 27 games, and scored nine and eight in the others.

Johnson's season high was 29 points against Nicholls State (in only 19 minutes), and he had 25 in the Feb. 5 overtime loss at New Mexico.

Despite fouling out five times, Johnson has played the most minutes on the team (833) and leads the MWC with 43 blocks. Though the Rebels are 4-1 when he fouls out, and Banks (15.6) and Kelly (14.2) aren't far behind in scoring, Johnson's reliability has been UNLV's cornerstone.

"I became more of a focal point on offense this year, and I wanted to show I could produce," he said. "I wanted to be more consistent. Sometimes last year, I would have 15 points one game, then go down to seven or eight, then go back up the next game. This year I was more consistent."

Having averaged 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds as MWC co-freshman of the year in 2000, Johnson made only modest gains last season. His averages climbed to 12.3 and 7.6, but his production varied dramatically. He scored at least 17 points eight times, but also had games with 0, 2 (twice), 4 and 5.

That inconsistency led to Johnson being left off the preseason all-conference team, though he said he wasn't motivated by the coaches' omission.

"I didn't give it any thought. All I knew was our team was picked (fifth)," he said. "I knew if I played hard, everything would fall into place. What matters is what you do on the court, and I think I did pretty well."

Johnson's success in his expanded role has made coach Charlie Spoonhour's first UNLV season smoother than it could've been.

"Dalron has done very well, particularly considering we loaded him down with so many different assignments," Spoonhour said. "Early in the season, when we got in trouble, we threw it to him almost exclusively. As the year has gone on, we've had other people step up and take some of the load off of him."

That's true. In consecutive games against Colorado State, San Diego State and Air Force from Feb. 18-28, Johnson scored 11, 9 and 11 points, but the Rebels won all three. He had 21 rebounds and 11 assists in that span, making several wise passes out of double-teams.

"Toward the end of the season, I've been looking for the cutter and trying to find the open man," Johnson said. "There's no reason for me to force up a shot. I'm not worried if I don't score 20 points. I might get 10 or 11, but I'm comfortable with it if we win."