Bellarmine, St. Francis stars enjoy friendship like no other
SAN JOSE >> When Logan Johnson was deciding last spring whether St. Francis — and not South Florida — was the best spot to finish his high school career, Bellarmine star Jake Wojcik was one of the calls he made.
“He called me and was like, ‘I don’t know what I am going to do,’ ” Wojcik recalled this week. “I told him personally just to finish out the (last) year because your brother went to St. Francis, finish out the year, leave your legacy and leave your career on a high note. That is what he chose to do, and I am happy with that choice that he made to stay.”
Of course, Johnson staying at St. Francis made Wojcik’s job a lot tougher.
Fast forward to Tuesday night, their first meeting as seniors:
Overflow and colorful Holy War crowd at Bellarmine. Both teams undefeated in West Catholic Athletic League play. Drama from the opening tip to Johnson’s off-balanced, 3-point attempt at the buzzer, which fell short.
Jubilation on one side. Disappointment but hardly despair on the other.
High-stakes competition for 32 minutes. Brotherhood and friendship between the teams’ best players — who happened to share last season’s WCAL player of the year honors — when the game ended.
“We’re brothers off the court, but on the court we like to go head to head,” the 6-foot-4 Wojcik said. “You can always expect him to put out all his effort and leave it on the court and also me as well.”
So, how did this friendship begin between the son of former San Jose State coach Dave Wojcik and the younger brother of Miami Heat guard and former St. Francis star Tyler Johnson?
It started when Wojcik moved to the Bay Area and joined an AAU team that included Johnson.
“Ever since the first practice, we hit it off,” Wojcik said. “That’s my brother for life.”
The 6-foot-2 Johnson called it the respect factor. They hang out at each other’s houses. They have worked out together in Miami. They have led a South Bay-dominated and highly successful AAU team, the Tyler Johnson Elite, a team that routed LaMelo Ball’s Big Baller team last spring.
“Basketball is more than a game,” said Johnson, who signed with Cincinnati. “When after the game you can go see another player you respect … that’s what I look forward to.”
When they were sophomores, St. Francis won all three games against Bellarmine. When they were juniors, Bellarmine won all three games against St. Francis.
Both were extremely talented as underclassmen but more polished and mature now.
St. Francis coach Mike Motil on Johnson: “They grow up. They’re teenagers. You see the progression if you’ve watched him since
his sophomore year. He is growing up. As educators, we plant seeds. Sometimes we get to see them blossom and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes they just blossom along the way.
“He is just going to get better and better. He is going to get more mature. I am excited for Logan going off to Cincinnati. I think it’s going to be great. But I have enjoyed watching him grow up these last 10 years.”
Bellarmine coach Patrick Schneider on Wojcik: “In every way he’s grown. I still remember the freshman that went up to Sacred Heart and made two free throws to ice the win for us on the road. He was like 5-11, 6-foot. He has really not only sprouted, just through some growth spurts, but he’s worked so hard on becoming a really strong athlete.
“His physical growth is most obvious when you do two snapshots side by side in his freshman year and his senior year. Another big growth is on the defensive end. He’s much more someone we count on to lock up his guy. Then most of all he’s grown in his leadership abilities. I think he’s really grown as someone who wants to set the tone for practice and set the tone for focus and set the intensity that he expects of himself and he expects of all his teammates.”
Neither star dominated Tuesday, each finishing with 12 points, but the game certainly was memorable.
Bellarmine, behind Kiran Kruse and Kendall Stubblefield, jumped out to a 12-point halftime advantage. St. Francis, behind five third-quarter 3-pointers from junior Roy Yuan, charged back to briefly take the lead.
But the Siena-bound Wojcik hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to end the third quarter and scored five consecutive points to give Bellarmine the lead for good in the fourth.
Bellarmine won 64-61, extending its WCAL winning streak to 23 games, a run that began near the end of Wojcik’s sophomore season.
“Typical game,” Johnson said. “It’s normal to us now. It’s just fun to us to be able to battle a few more times before we go our separate ways when he goes to Siena and I go to Cincinnati.”
The game Tuesday was the first of at least two between the longtime rivals this season. The league rematch is Feb. 13 at St. Francis. They also could meet in the section and maybe even the regional playoffs.
“We’re in a great spot,” Johnson said after the game Tuesday. “We did what we were supposed to do tonight. We just didn’t hit shots in the first half.”
Back to last spring. When Johnson finally decided to finish his high school career where it started, he called Wojcik.
“I called him and was like, ‘Hey, you think I can give you buckets one more time at St. Francis?’ He started laughing,” Johnson said last spring. “He was like, ‘Man, I am glad you’re staying. We’re going to kill this league again.’ I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”
So far, they have done just that.