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February 12, 2012

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NCAA TOURNAMENT:

Cheyenne product Elijah Johnson enjoying experience in shadows at Kansas

Las Vegas native expected to play more as freshman, but has gained plenty in meantime

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Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Kansas guard Elijah Johnson takes part in the final minute of their first round NCAA Basketball Tournament game against Lehigh Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma Ctiy.

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Saturday, March 20, 2010 | 2:30 a.m.

Click to enlarge photo

Justin M. Bowen

Elijah Johnson shows his frustration after the game as Bishop Gorman and Cheyenne faced off in the Sunset Regional semifinals at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas on Feb. 19, 2009. Bishop Gorman pulled out a victory over Cheyenne 70-68.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A year ago, if you headed out to watch Cheyenne High super-guard Elijah Johnson play, you pretty much knew what to expect.

He'd throw up a couple of NBA-range 3-point attempts, try to dunk on a couple of guys and tease you by turning the motor on for a few possessions, only to disappear just as quickly.

"In high school, my scouting report was right about me," Johnson said. "I played hard when I wanted to. That might have been two or three games the whole season."

But the out-of-this-world athleticism packed into his 6-foot-2 frame translated into a load of potential. That was enough to catch the eye of Kansas coach Bill Self, especially at the program's elite camp the summer before Johnson's junior season.

Towards the tail end of a freshman year that would be humbling for any kid who came in as a top-25 recruit, Johnson said he's turned over a new leaf.

He came into Kansas having been a headliner for much of his hoops career. During an open locker room session Wednesday at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, the attention from the droves of media went elsewhere, leaving Johnson in the shadows.

That's the role he's played for the nation's No. 1 college basketball team the entire season.

"Coming to Kansas and seeing what actually going hard looks like, actually seeing what a workout is or what a real practice is, I've been through real workouts, but for weeks at a time it was every day," he said. "That's when I realized that what I was doing (before) was nothing."

His playing time has been parallel with the learning curve.

Johnson started two games earlier in the season against Radford and La Salle, when Self was using him as to light a fire under slumping sophomore point guard Tyshawn Taylor.

Once Big 12 Conference play started, Johnson got used to the feel of his adidas warm-ups, registering a total of 24 minutes in 16 games, registering a "did not play" in seven of them.

Johnson said, however, that what he's learned behind the scenes, practicing daily with guys such as Taylor and senior All-American Sherron Collins under Self's watch, has made the experience well worthwhile.

"I feel like coach has shown me so much about my game in a couple of months that I would have never figured out at another university in the world," he said. "I felt like he knew my game and he knew the potential for my game before I even knew it. Stuff I didn't think I could do, I actually feel like I'll be able to do it next year and will be able to give it to him."

Collins said that confessing to what may have given Johnson a bad rap in high school was a major step in beginning the maturation process at the college level. He loves his understudy's potential, agreeing that the Johnson is a different player now than he was back in the fall.

"It's hard to confess it," Collins said. "I didn't always play hard in high school. There were a lot of guys who didn't play hard in high school. I didn't have to do as much in high school.

"It's good when you admit it. That means you've got a heart, you really want to learn and I think it means a lot for somebody to say that about himself."

Click to enlarge photo

Sam Morris

Kansas coach Bill Self yells for another sub as he puts in guard Elijah Johnson during the final minute of their first round NCAA Basketball Tournament game against Lehigh Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma Ctiy.

Self has nothing short of an impressive track record in developing top-level prep point guards he recruited to Lawrence.

His first major get at that position was Mario Chalmers, who now is in his second season as a starter for the Miami Heat. He, of course, helped lead KU to the 2008 national title.

Collins likely will find his way onto an NBA roster next season after this year becoming the storied program's all-time winningest player.

The difference is that both Chalmers and Collins had far more decorated freshman campaigns than the one Johnson has gone through.

But Johnson is saying all of the right things and believes that his growth in the background has made this year a success.

He said that if those who followed his days with the Desert Shields saw him now, they wouldn't see the same player.

His physique has changed, as he's more lean in his upper body and defined. But he said the biggest alteration is in his head and his approach.

"It's a different world when you step in here," Johnson said. "It's all about knowing your role, knowing what you need to do to stay at this level or even have dreams of going to the next level. So, a lot of people might not be impressed.

"It's not my job to come out and do what I did in high school. So they saw me come out and score 26 points in a quarter, or saw me dunk the ball four or five times in a couple of plays. Now my role is to get the ball to the people whose turn it is."

He'll also quickly diffuse any notion that he didn't make the right decision in going to Lawrence.

His limited playing time, plus the fact that Kansas is still in on a few of the nation's top unsigned guards in the class of 2010 — such as Doron Lamb, Josh Selby and Brandon Knight — has led some to think he might transfer following this season.

But the playing time will be there for the taking next season, as the Jayhawks will lose Collins to graduation and, most likely, freshman guard Xavier Henry to the attraction of NBA riches.

He speaks of a change of scenery as if it's not even an option.

"It's perfect for me," he said of his situation at Kansas. "I can't compare Vegas to Lawrence. I don't think it would be good for me to go to school in Vegas. Too many distractions. Easily. In Lawrence, it's just a laid-back college town.

"I needed that."

If Johnson truly has done a mental 180 from his days at Cheyenne, then he's at the right place.

"I didn't know I could have as much fun off the court as I can on the court, and just being able to support somebody else, because I've always had someone supporting me my whole life, just being in games and being the man on the team," he added. "It's been a little different than what I expected, but it's been just as exciting, no matter if I was on or off the court."

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