Johnson comes up big
Bulldogs’ senior hits for 31 points
Whitefish Bay – It’s no coincidence that the rise of Cedarburg’s boys basketball program has matched senior guard Jordan John But son’s growth spurt.
Sure, the Bulldogs are coached by a state legend in Tom Diener, who has compiled more than 500 wins and won five state titles at Milwaukee Vincent. And Diener’s son, 6-foot-4 junior John Diener, is one of the state’s most highly regarded players and has committed to DePaul.
while the Dieners may grab most of the spotlight, Johnson has sprouted from a 5-foot-6 freshman on a team that finished its season with a 5-16 record in 2013-'14 into an efficient offensive machine as a senior.
As a 6-5 matchup night-
mare who plays mostly on the wing, Johnson has emerged as another college prospect on a team with state tournament aspirations. His offensive repertoire was on full display Friday, as the Bulldogs rolled past Whitefish Bay, 76-51, in the North Shore Conference opener for both teams.
Johnson scored a game-high 31 points, including 22 in the first half, as the Bulldogs improved to 2-0 on the young season in a battle of teams that advanced to a WIAA Division 2 sectional final last season.
“He was 5-6 or 5-7 as a freshman and he just kept growing and growing,” Tom Diener said of Johnson, who is drawing looks from NCAA Division II schools. “Now he’s a senior and a tremendous scorer and just a bigger guy.”
Johnson’s offensive game included a mix of three-point shots, midrange jumpers, post-up moves, and an ability to get to the foul line. Johnson outscored Bay 10-2 the last 1 minute, 30 seconds of the first half as the Bulldogs raced to a 40-30 halftime lead.
John Diener chipped in with 21 points, including 12 in the second half, as the Bulldogs, ranked eighth in the area according to the Journal Sentinel, lived up to their billing as the favorites in the North Shore.
“We should be favored to win conference if we keep playing together,” said Johnson, who averaged 14.7 points a game last season and has 51 points in two contests to start his senior year. “If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to be good.”
It was a rough night for Bay, which was playing its season opener. The Blue Dukes are replacing nine seniors from last year’s team that lost to Whitnall in the sectional finals, and also lost last year’s starting center Chris Caspari for the season after a football injury.
Xavier Johnson had 4 three-pointers and led Bay with 16 points, but he was one of many Blue Dukes who were saddled with foul trouble.
“It’s not the outcome we expected, that’s for sure,” said Bay coach Chris Millner. “We missed a lot of layups and stuff you’d expect in the first game. I’m glad we played a team of that caliber in the first game. It shows us what we need to work on.”