‘No nonsense’ Johnson earns Pitino’s praise
2nd-year Lobo earns shot at more minutes
Javonte Johnson isn’t a man of many words.
So when asked Monday night about a play with 5 minutes, 47 seconds left in the 86-61 win over Grambling State in the Pit — when he passed up on a wide open 3-pointer on a fast break and opted instead for a bounce pass to teammate Taryn Todd under the Lobos basket for a layup — he didn’t try to dance around any elaborate explanation.
“He was also open,” Johnson said, “but he was under the rim.
So it was a better shot.” An easy play. A simple answer. Not unusual for a guy who has been pretty much all business since his new coach Richard Pitino was hired last spring. The 6-foot-6 guard chose not to seek a transfer, but instead to try to win over the new staff, even after averaging just 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 22 games for the 6-16 Lobos of a season ago.
In the past month, Johnson went for 18 points and 11 rebounds in the Nov. 5 exhibition win over New Mexico Highlands. With past teammates, coaches and family in the stands Saturday in his home state, Johnson had 10 points and three boards in the 87-76 loss at Colorado. Monday, in 29 minutes, it was 16 points and 10 of his team’s 37 rebounds for these 2-1 Lobos.
“He was terrific,” Pitino said. “I’m playing him at kind of an undersized ‘4’ right now because (Emmanuel Kuac) is out. You can’t talk your way into playing time. Well, you can come and talk to me all you want. Knock on my door and (ask) ‘what’s my role?’ and all that nonsense that people tell these guys to do.
“Javonte … he is intentional every day. Practice at 10? I’m going to get better at 10. There’s no fluff. There’s no nonsense. And you’re seeing him get better. You keep playing like that, you’re going to play a lot of minutes. He
impacted the game in a big way today.”
Johnson never seemed to get comfortable in Year 1 with the Lobos, but that’s not hard to understand. He spent his freshman season living mostly in a hotel room as the Lobos had to play their entire season outside the state of New Mexico.
It was a far cry from the official visit he took to the Pit on Dec. 14, 2019, when an announced crowd of 14,488 fans were on hand for the Lobos’ 69-62 win over the New Mexico State Aggies.
Now, since spring, he’s won over the new staff and teammates with his work.
In an Oct. 6 interview with the Journal, when new Lobos strength coach Matt Flores was asked who the team’s strongest player was, he had an immediate response.
“Javonte Johnson. Him and Eman (forward Emmanuel Kuac) are really strong,” said Flores.
As for Johnson, the game plan now is simple. Stick to the formula that is working.
“It feels great,” Johnson said. “I didn’t have a lot of these moments last year, so I’m happy that all the work I’ve been putting in — it’s starting to show.”
ON FRANCIS: Like Johnson, Jeremiah Francis III is another returning player from the lost Lobos season (or season some would like to forget about) of 2020-21.
The third-year point guard from Ohio who started his college career at North Carolina before transferring to be a Lobo last season saw his first game action of the the 2021-22 season on Monday night against Grambling State. He played 4 minutes, 35 seconds putting up just one shot (a missed 3-pointer) and he had one turnover.
But a lack of court time doesn’t mean he hasn’t had a big impact this season.
“Man, he’s a leader,” Mashburn Jr. said Monday night of Francis’ role on the team. “A lot of people don’t see it, but he’s always the one that’s talking with all of us and making sure guys are in the right spots. At the end of the day, he’s a point guard, so he’s very vocal with us.
“And he’s always staying ready. That’s one thing I respect about JF. He’s always ready to go and ready to compete, regardless of what the situation is — always having a positive attitude. And just coming back the next day ready to work.”