Razorbacks say hello to Hawgball: Johnson leads way as UA gets back to running game

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Looks like Joe Johnson has played his way into game shape.
With Johnson leading the way, the Arkansas Razorbacks returned to their up-tempo, pressing style to beat Mississippi State 83-73 Saturday before 19,217 fans in Walton Arena.
Johnson, a 6-8 freshman from Little Rock Central, scored a career-high 30 points and added 6 rebounds and 2 steals in 31 minutes.
"Joe was all right," Razorbacks senior guard Chris Walker said with a laugh. "He was stroking it. I'm glad we kept finding him, because the way he was hitting his shots, we fed off that."
Johnson is the first Razorback to score 30 or more points in an SEC game since Pat Bradley had 33 against South Carolina in 1998 and the first freshman to score 30 or more in any game since Scotty Thurman had 34 at Missouri in 1992.
"It's good to get it," Johnson said of the 30-point game. "But I'm just glad we got the win."
It was Johnson's eighth game since he gained his eligibility in late December. Including the second half of Arkansas' 73-64 loss at Alabama Wednesday night, he has scored 48 points in his last 52 minutes on the court.
"I want to say, yeah, I'm in a little better shape, but not top-notch yet," Johnson said. "I think I'm coming around. I'm getting there."
Johnson, who shot 10 of 18 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line and didn't have a turnover, looks like he already is there to the Bulldogs.
"I thought Johnson stepped up and played huge for them as a freshman," Mississippi State Coach Rick Stansbury said. "He's a great player.
"He plays so under control. I don't know if he took a bad shot. He plays with a lot of confidence and poise for a young player. He's got great size at his position and he's very skilled. He makes basketball plays."
Senior point guard Todd Myles said Johnson was better than the Bulldogs expected.
"We knew he was good, but we didn't know he was that good," Myles said. "If anybody watched this game, they probably will play a box-and-one on him."
Arkansas (11-7, 3-2) used a 19-6 run, including a Johnson three-pointer, to take a 54-45 lead with 12:56 left. But Mississippi State (11-7, 2-3) refused to fold and closed within 71-67.
Johnson then scored six points in a 28-second span -- tipping in his own miss, dunking with the help of a steal and alley-oop pass from sophomore guard T.J. Cleveland and hitting 2 of 2 free throws -- to put the Razorbacks comfortably ahead 77-68 with 1:15 left.
"Down the stretch we made big plays," Johnson said. "We just came through in the clutch."
While it was Johnson making a lot of those plays, Razorbacks Coach Nolan Richardson was quick to point out it wasn't a one-man show for Arkansas.
"Joe scored 30, but he's not the chemistry," Richardson said. "It's the people around Joe that make up the chemistry and give him the opportunity to do what he does well."
Johnson had plenty of help.
Walker bounced back from an 0-for-7, six-turnover game at Alabama with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
Sophomore forward Dionisio Gomez had a career-high nine points and six rebounds. Sophomore guard Brandon Dean had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals; Cleveland had 5 points, 4 steals and 3 assists; and junior guard Brandon Davis had 4 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.
"This was a fun game and it was great to get back to playing Arkansas-style basketball, where everybody gets to play and contribute," Cleveland said. "This is really Coach Richardson's type of basketball. He invented it, if you didn't know that."
The Razorbacks had been playing at a slower pace in recent weeks, primarily to help Johnson play his way into shape because he wasn't able to join the team for practice until Dec. 27.
Richardson said the Razorbacks were able to get back to their all-out, running ways Saturday because Johnson is in better shape now.
"The better shape he gets in, the more his legs are with him and the more things he can do," Richardson said. "We also were able to rest him at the right point and he got in and he was fresher, and that's when he scored the most."
Johnson got a three-minute break midway through the second half, then scored 15 points the final 9:58. But he did it in the flow of the game, not by forcing shots or hogging the ball, and clearly was glad to be playing Arkansas' trademark "40 minutes of hell" style.
"When Coach told us we were going back to the running game and pressing, we were so happy," Johnson said. "We got in practice and worked hard on it, and it really worked in a game."
Mississippi State had 22 turnovers against Arkansas' defensive pressure as the Razorbacks came up with 15 steals that resulted in 22 points. Arkansas shot 41.9 percent from the field, but overcame that by getting 18 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points.
"If you rule the possession game and you fight on the boards like we did, you're going to win some games shooting 40 percent," Richardson said. "And, really, that's been our trademark."
Mississippi State, which was led by junior forward Tang Hamilton's 15 points, was too passive against Arkansas' defense, Stansbury said.
Myles, who came into the game with a plus-2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio, had seven turnovers and four assists. Hamilton and junior guard Antonio Jackson had four turnovers each.
"We passed it around too much, we didn't attack enough," Stansbury said. "Your kids have to be able to keep their composure, and after a couple of our kids turned it over, they didn't want it anymore. You can't have that."
But Stansbury also credited the Razorbacks, who beat Mississippi State for the fifth consecutive time and dropped the Bulldogs to 0-9 in SEC games at Fayetteville.
"They played like they're going to beat a lot of people," Stansbury said. "They were awfully good today."
Especially Johnson, in only his fourth SEC game.
"But if you know Joe, what he did isn't surprising," Cleveland said. "I knew he was going to have a game like this eventually.
"He's getting into shape, so you might see some more 30-point games the way we're playing right now."

This article was published on Sunday, January 23, 2000

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