Tide goes out, Johnson rushes in: UA freshman too much for outmanned Alabama

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Alabama has seen enough of Joe Johnson to last the Crimson Tide until next season.
Led by Johnson's 25 points, Arkansas beat Alabama 81-66 Wednesday night before 17,732 fans in Walton Arena.
Johnson, a 6-8 freshman guard from Little Rock Central, combined for 45 points in two games against the Tide.
"I've seen enough of Joe," Alabama Coach Mark Gottfried said. "He'd look great in a Bulls' uniform next year.
"He's just an awfully talented guy and plays with a lot of poise."
Johnson had perhaps his best all-around game of the season as he added 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals with 1 turnover in 37 minutes. He hit 8 of 14 from the field and 6 of 6 from the line.
"He's a handful for you to guard because he's got size, he can go inside-outside, he's a great 1-on-1 player, and he doesn't make very many mistakes," Gottfried said. "Who's going to match up with him? Who has a 6-7 defender who can guard a guy like that on the perimeter?
"He makes plays and creates plays and very rarely makes mistakes, especially for a freshman. He's tremendous, and he's really going to be something the next few years."
Johnson was back in the lineup after missing Arkansas' 73-55 loss at Auburn last Saturday because he was attending his grandmother's funeral. He rejoined the team on Monday.
"I took it as motivation," Johnson said of his return to the team. "My grandmother wouldn't want me to sit home and dwell on what happened. She'd want me to come back and get to work, and that's what I did.
"It felt really good to win, because we've been in a slump lately. Our crowd gave us a boost, and we fed off that and got us a win."
The Razorbacks (12-10, 4-5) broke a three-game losing streak in SEC play, broke a four-game losing streak to Alabama (10-11, 3-6) and broke through against Gottfried for the first time in seven tries. He had been 6-0 against Arkansas as a player, assistant and head coach.
Johnson saw to it that Gottfried didn't make it 7-0 as the Razorbacks moved into third in the SEC West behind Auburn (7-3) and LSU (5-4).
"There's no question Joe is our best player," Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson said. "He brought his game plan with him tonight where he scored, rebounded pretty well, made his free throws. Hit big shots when he we needed some big shots to be made."
Arkansas, which played without sophomore guard T.J. Cleveland (sprained ankle) and freshman guard Charles Tatum (strained rib muscle), used runs of 16-1 and 19-8 in the first half to take a 45-30 halftime lead.
A basket by sophomore guard Jason Gilbert pushed the Razorbacks' lead to 47-30 early in the second half, but Alabama -- which dressed out just eight players and was missing six because of injuries, including sophomore guard Schea Cotton, its leading scorer -- hung tough and pulled within 62-54 with 6:47 left.
Arkansas then got three consecutive three-point baskets, two by Johnson and one by sophomore guard Teddy Gipson, who scored 16 points, to take a 71-57 lead. The Tide didn't pull closer than 11 points the rest of the game.
Alabama was led by freshman guards Rod Grizzard (24 points) and Terrance Meade (19 points). The Tide hit 11 of 21 three-pointers, including 4 of 4 by Meade, but couldn't overcome 24 turnovers.
The Razorbacks had just 11 turnovers and while hitting 44.6 percent from the field, got clutch shooting down the stretch.
"I thought the game came down to them stepping up and hitting some big shots when they needed to," Gottfried said. "That's what the game is all about."
No Razorback could step up and hit shots in the second half at Auburn, where Arkansas was 4 of 27 from the field and saw a 39-34 halftime lead disintegrate into an 18-point loss.
"Right now, when Joe is out of the picture, we're going to struggle big-time," Richardson said. "He was able to hit the shots tonight that made the difference in us holding the lead we had."
Johnson has played in just 11 games this season because he didn't become academically eligible until late December.
"I think if we'd had him from the beginning, our record might be a lot different at this stage of the game," Richardson said. "Because you take a guy like him, and he can carry you.
"He had a good ballgame, and I just hope he continues on and has more good games so he can carry these guys, because we've got a lot of guys doing a lot of struggling."

This article was published on Thursday, February 10, 2000

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