Sometimes people don’t know what they have until it’s gone. That wasn’t the case for El Dorado coach Gary Simmons, who knew all the things B.J. Johnson did for his team this season. But, when the senior sat out three games with a hip injury, the Wildcats found out exactly what they were missing in his absence.
“The intensity. We had intensity in practice, we really did. But, when he’s on the floor, he just makes everybody better,” said Simmons. “There were times we were struggling to get stops or we were struggling to score in practice when we were in our groups. But with B.J., he just brings so much more to the table. When he’s on the floor, we just have so many more options.”
The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 17.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Wildcats. But, the brightest spot in his game is that it has no weak areas. He averaged 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals, shot 54 percent from the field and hit 29-of-76 from 3-point range.
And, he’s even better on the defensive end of the floor.
“The thing that makes him special is he plays on both ends of the floor. He was probably El Dorado’s best defender,” said Lake Hamilton coach Scotty Pennington. “He drew the best player on the other team every night. On top of that, he managed to average around 20 points a game. That’s hard to do, guard the best player on the other team and still be able to score on the other end. He seems like a phenomenal kid.”
Johnson’s contributions were magnified when he missed three games during conference with an injury. Simmons said the three-year starter handled the setback like a professional.
“He didn’t rush it. He made sure he was ready when he came back so he didn’t come back half-speed. That’s a very responsible act for kids who aren’t very responsible these days,” said Simmons. “When he came back, I thought he played through some discomfort, practiced through some discomfort for a couple of days when he came back. But, you couldn’t tell it because he was still taking charges. That was a pretty gruesome injury that he had being that he’s a guy who takes a lot of charges, gets a lot of contact when he’s going to the hole. I think, all around, it showed his true character.”
Johnson filled up the stat sheet on a nightly basis for the 12-14 Wildcats. His coach enjoyed talking about the things his player did that don’t appear in the box score.
“He’s just a blessing every day. If he was sick, you didn’t know it. He didn’t come in whining about a headache or, ‘Coach, my stomach is sick. I might have to go home early.’ None of that. You never knew the kid was sick,” said Simmons.
“He had a stomach flu right before we went to state. But, he came to practice and then missed a full day and still tried to come to practice that afternoon. The day we left for state, he was on his back on a table at the surgery center getting an IV, getting fluids back in him.”
El Dorado missed Johnson for three games this past season. For the first time in three years, the Wildcats won’t have their steady, quiet leader when they tip-off next season.
Simmons already knows what he’ll be missing.
“I don’t think B.J. ever had a night where he didn’t come to play. That’s the difference between him and a lot of players. His focus was there every night,” said Simmons. “If he had a hard night shooting, he was still (playing defense) and he was still rebounding. He was still making others around him better. The thing I love about him, he never gets his head down. He just plays.”