Syracuse basketball 2014-15: Syracuse vs, Kennesaw State
Syracuse's B.J. Johnson scores in the first half against Kennesaw State on Nov. 14, 2014, at the Carrier Dome.
(Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)
Syracuse, N.Y. — With five minutes and eight seconds left in a game that had been a foregone conclusion from the opening minutes Friday night, Ron Patterson found B.J. Johnson in the corner of the Carrier Dome court. Johnson swished a 3-point shot,
Patterson raised his arms in celebration and the two Syracuse basketball sophomores jogged back down court with smiles creasing their faces.
"That's like my wing man," Johnson said later, after Syracuse disposed of Kennesaw State 89-42 to start the 2014-15 season. "So every time I do something well, he's on me for that. Every time he does something well, I'm on him for that. It felt pretty good."
After a forgettable freshman year when he drearily trudged from game to game without rising from the Orange bench, Johnson stamped the first official game of his sophomore season with perhaps the performance of the game. In 26 minutes, he sank 7-of-11 shots to score a career-high 19 points. He grabbed eight rebounds and recorded four assists.
Those 19 points were more than Johnson scored all of last season (14).
"B.J. did a good job. He got some open looks, made a couple good plays early, got some offensive rebounds," SU coach Jim Boeheim said. "He had a nice game. He's a good player, a good shooter. I thought he was good tonight."
Johnson played all of 55 minutes last season. He took a total of 24 shots. Through Syracuse's last 19 games, he logged a total of five minutes.
SU lists him at 6-foot-7 and 185 pounds. Johnson said he arrived on campus last season with "hidden" strength that belied his slender frame. Still, he needed to get bigger and stronger. He needed to add weight to absorb and withstand college basketball contact.
Syracuse's B.J. Johnson takes a jumper in the second half of the season opener against Kennesaw State on Nov. 14, 2014, at the Carrier Dome.
He ate four or five meals each day, he said, wincing as he recalled the difficulty of that heavy eating assignment. Feted primarily for his smooth left-handed shooting stroke, Johnson has worked, he said, on putting the ball on the floor to slide past defenders.
Last week, at a Syracuse practice, he silenced the Melo Center when the drove the lane, elevated and slammed over Michael Gbinije. The practice dunk — and moments like it — have helped hoist his confidence.
"Not only that," he said of the dunk, "but little things help me build my confidence. Knocking down shots in practice. Getting blocks. Feeding my teammates, letting them get some good looks. Everything overall just helps build your confidence."
Last year, he and Patterson sat side-by-side on the Syracuse bench, disillusioned and defeated. Johnson said he relied on the veterans who consumed the minutes he so desperately coveted to buoy his spirits. In C.J. Fair and Jerami Grant, Johnson sought critical counsel.
"They always drilled it in my head to keep my head up, keep pushing, keep working. That next year would be my year," he said. "And here it is."
On Friday, he siphoned minutes usually reserved for Mike Gbinije, who was suspended for the Kennesaw game for undisclosed reasons. Johnson tipped in missed shots by Tyler Roberson and Chris McCullough. He drained consecutive 3-point shots. He found Christmas with a lob pass, drove the baseline and converted.
"It was a pretty good day," Johnson said with an understated smile. "I played pretty good defense, knocked down a couple shots."
He paused.
"Pretty good."