Tuesday, February 25, 1997
JOHNSON:
Father and son dribble down similar basketball-playing pathsBy
Hye Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
Twenty-one is the magic number for Kris Johnson. Twenty-one
years ago, his dad, Marques, began the season in which he won the
first-ever John Wooden Award. Marques averaged 21 points per game
that season. Kris is currently 21 years old, scored 21 points
against California for his season-high, and by sweeping its final
four games, the Bruins could win 21 regular-season contest.
Mere coincidences? Most likely.
What’s not a coincidence is that Johnson, a regular fixture in
Westwood ever since he was a toddler in the arms of his
basketball-playing dad, ended up as a Bruin himself. In many ways
his future at UCLA was firmly sowed in the playgrounds of Corinne
A. Seeds University Elementary School, where Johnson was a
student.
"He used to go up to the campus to work out with me during the
off-season in the summer time," Marques, who led the Bruins to a
80-12 record during his three years at UCLA, said. "It was a
natural fit."
But contrary to popular belief, Johnson contends that his
decision to sign with UCLA (17-7, 11-3 Pac-10) out of Crenshaw High
School hinged not so much on Marques’ influence … but the
Southland’s Mediterranean climate?
"Look at the weather outside today, what other place would I
rather be at?" Johnson said after a Friday afternoon practice in
Pauley Pavilion.
Actually, Johnson’s commitment had more to do with the fact that
UCLA had a guy named Ed O’Bannon coming back for his senior season,
and a solid core of newcomers  including himself, omm’A
Givens, Toby Bailey and J.R. Henderson.
"I told (Kris) that I thought UCLA had an excellent chance of
winning a national championship and it’d be nice for him just to be
there even if he didn’t play much," Marques said. "If Ed
(O’Bannon), Tyus (Edney) and those guys had not been there, I would
have convinced him to go to Arizona or Arizona State. But the
pieces kind of fell together and UCLA was the best situation for
Kris."
It’s clear that the Crenshaw High School background, L.A. City
Player of the Year awards and the donning of Marques’ retired UCLA
jersey No. 54 (which was unretired when Kris enrolled), are all
characteristics that the father-and-son combo share with each
other.
But one person, who has had the most profound influence on Kris
as a basketball player, shys away from putting the Johnsons
side-by-side.
"I don’t like to compare the two at all," Crenshaw head coach
Willie West, who also coached Marques, said. "I told (Kris) when he
was coming here not to compare himself to his dad."
When Johnson arrived at Westwood as a freshman, his team had a
chance to do what no team in 20 years since Marques’ 1975 team was
able to do  win the national championship. Although the ’95
team accomplished that feat, Johnson was known more for wrapping
himself with a towel rather than his play on the court.
That summer, Johnson was determined to change his role on the
team. Similar to the way he worked his way into shape between his
freshman and sophomore years at Montclair Prep, Johnson went on a
strenuous training regimen to lose 50 pounds of excess weight.
"He was depressed and down on himself, which led to more
excessive eating and all that," Marques said. "When he went off to
Atlanta to lose the weight, I had every confidence that he would do
it. I just didn’t think he would be able to do it as rapidly and
impressively as he did. That’s what I mean about when I talk about
his work ethic."
Before the opening of this season, Johnson had to jump over
another hurdle, in the form of Jim Harrick’s firing. The junior
forward played the preseason games in a shirt with "Coach Harrick"
written on the collar.
In addition, Kris has struggled with the disciplinary changes
that new head coach Steve Lavin has implemented this year.
The clearest instance of this was when Johnson was benched
against Cal State Northridge for showing up late for practice, only
to be sat down again three weeks later in the Morgan State
contest.
"Kris told me his reasons for being benched  he was 22
seconds late and he was there and had excuses," Marques said. "But
I told him, ‘Lavin is the coach and if he says be on the court at
3:00, then be on the court at 2:50. Don’t come up with excuses,
because if you’re not there and ready to go at that point in time,
it doesn’t matter if you’re 22 seconds late or 22 hours late Â
you’re still late.’
"The toughest part on Kris and the other guys was probably that
Lav’ was the liaison between the players and Coach Harrick when
(Lavin) was the assistant. He was the young guy  not too much
removed from their age, and now all of a sudden, he’s the stern
taskmaster."
This shift toward discipline may have caught Johnson off guard,
but it wasn’t something that was unfamiliar to the forward.
According to Johnson, Coach West at Crenshaw is a man who
epitomizes discipline.
"Lavin is easy compared to my high school coach," Johnson said.
"If I would have been late (at Crenshaw), I wouldn’t have played
one game, and probably had to come in at 6:00 a.m. and run miles on
the track, do some up-downs and do some crazy stuff.
"What Lavin is doing is kind of like a break."
Since the slap in the wrist was administered by Lavin, Johnson
has not been guilty of committing another transgression. During
practices, when Lavin circles around the court after the exhausted
team has just ran lines, Johnson is often the first player to join
his head coach in the huddle. He usually has a full head of steam
and is in danger of running down the coaching staff like a bowling
ball running over pins.
Lavin once said, "He’s got to work on stopping." But, Johnson’s
changed demeanor has been something that many have taken
notice.
"Overall, he’s had a great attitude, and has worked on his
mental conditioning," Lavin said. "He’s more positive and is not so
outwardly discouraged with officials’ calls."
Even Marques, who currently works as a Seattle Supersonics
commentator, has taken notice of the transformation  most
often through the television screen.
"He’s a guy that used to wear his emotions on his sleeve and
really didn’t try to conceal any frustrations and anger out on the
court," Marques said. "We talked about that ever since he was 12 or
13 years old, that all it does is distract from his performance. I
think it was all a part of what Lav’ was trying to do as far as
getting his emotions in check and not allowing him to take himself
out of the game."
Though significantly slowed by a nagging ankle injury, Johnson
currently averages 11.7 points per game, fourth-best on the team.
The right ankle is painful enough to keep him out of practice on
many occasions, and is bad enough to require surgery after this
season is finished.
"I already have the surgery scheduled for the day the season is
over," Johnson said. "There’s nothing I can do to get it better. So
I might as well play on it. But it’s like playing on one leg."
Johnson has passed the halfway point of his UCLA career, but he
still has very lofty goals that he has set for himself.
"I’m going to be an All-American before I’m done playing here,"
Johnson said.
Considering that he was a ninth-grader with little basketball
potential, even in the eyes of his own dad, but has gone on to sign
with UCLA, lose 50 pounds in one summer and has made himself a
low-post scoring threat as a 6-foot 3-inch forward, it’s hard to
doubt Johnson’s chances of fulfilling that goal.
Susie Ming Hwa Chu/Daily Bruin
Junior Kris Johnson continues to soar over his opponents
especially after getting in shape and toning down his overly
expressive on-court demeanor displayed in prior seasons.