Never a doubt for AJ and the Griz
3/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Savor the moment, Griz basketball fans.
Bask in the reflected glow of SportsCenter's darlings, the University of Montana men's basketball team.
Appreciate the sheer enormity of the effort it took for the Griz to overcome a 22-point deficit, 6,308 screaming fans and a talented Weber State team, led by Big Sky Conference MVP Damian Lillard, to earn their eighth trip to the Big Dance.
And relish the virtuoso performance Anthony Johnson put together in what could have been his final college game.
It's a day later and the fete seems even greater now than while it was transpiring. It could be a while before we see the likes of AJ again.
Consider this: Johnson's 42 points broke the school record of 40 shared by Bob Cope and Micheal Ray Richardson. Cope did it in 1948; Richardson in 1976. That makes it roughly a once-in-30-years occurrence. Neither of those players did it with a berth in the NCAA tournament on the line.
Here's some more: Johnson outscored the entire Weber State team 34-25 in the second half.
He scored the Grizzlies' final 21 points of the game and did not miss a shot - from the field or the free-throw line - during that stretch.
In short, it was the greatest individual performance ever by a Griz basketball player and arguably the best in the history of the league, largely because of what was at stake. And it came in front of a national TV audience.
"The way he changes pace," Lillard said, explaining what makes AJ so hard to stop. "He can change pace and stop and hit a jumper. And he can make shots contested, that's the main thing with him. With a hand in his face, he can still make shots."
Give Lillard, his teammates and Coach Randy Rahe credit. They sat in the postgame press conference and answered every question asked of them after having their hearts ripped out by Johnson and the Griz. It was a classy showing by a classy program.
"He played his tail off," said Rahe, whose team held UM to 28 percent shooting in the first half, then shot that themselves in the second. "He made a whole bunch of shots, he made tough shots; the things that he's been doing, but he kicked it up a notch. I give a lot of respect to him. ... You tip your hat to a guy like that."
Johnson is supremely confident. There are times when he might seem boastful or cocky to those who don't know him.
After covering AJ for two years, I believe he's neither. His dreams are so crystal clear in his head that he states them as fact.
After Tuesday's win in the semifinals, Johnson spoke of destiny and said, "We're in this moment for a reason."
Kind of gives you goose bumps now, doesn't it?
Now that we know the outcome, wasn't that an incredible way to win? Would ESPN be so interested in the Grizzlies if they had led wire-to-wire?
In a way, Johnson talks about all that has happened to him and all that will happen to him as being preordained.
"Last year we ... were there supporting the (Lady Griz) at the tournament," Johnson said of Montana's win in the Big Sky women's tournament. "The excitement they had on their faces and the look, just the character they showed in their tournament and making it to the NCAAs ... me and Vassy Banny and Brian Qvale, we knew next season we're going to win. We're going to the NCAA March Madness tournament. This was planned. It's destiny, that's all I can say, it's destiny."
In a profile of AJ earlier this season, I had far more material than made it into print. Johnson had this to say about his success at Montana.
"I always knew that I would be here. I used to drive Shaunte crazy with this," Johnson said, referring to his wife Shaunte Nance-Johnson, a Lady Griz guard. "We used to sit up all night long talking about basketball, talking about success. I'm a really, really deep thinker, almost to a fault. It can get annoying at times. I'm so driven and so set on what I want to experience that sometimes that's all I think about.
"At the time (I went to Yakima Valley Community College) I was like, ???I'm going to take over the Northwest, everybody's going to be hearing about Anthony Johnson.' That's where my mind was."
It's not just the Northwest anymore.
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
Missoulian.com video by Bill Schwanke
Savor the moment, Griz basketball fans.
Bask in the reflected glow of SportsCenter's darlings, the University of Montana men's basketball team.
Appreciate the sheer enormity of the effort it took for the Griz to overcome a 22-point deficit, 6,308 screaming fans and a talented Weber State team, led by Big Sky Conference MVP Damian Lillard, to earn their eighth trip to the Big Dance.
And relish the virtuoso performance Anthony Johnson put together in what could have been his final college game.
It's a day later and the fete seems even greater now than while it was transpiring. It could be a while before we see the likes of AJ again.
Consider this: Johnson's 42 points broke the school record of 40 shared by Bob Cope and Micheal Ray Richardson. Cope did it in 1948; Richardson in 1976. That makes it roughly a once-in-30-years occurrence. Neither of those players did it with a berth in the NCAA tournament on the line.
Here's some more: Johnson outscored the entire Weber State team 34-25 in the second half.
He scored the Grizzlies' final 21 points of the game and did not miss a shot - from the field or the free-throw line - during that stretch.
In short, it was the greatest individual performance ever by a Griz basketball player and arguably the best in the history of the league, largely because of what was at stake. And it came in front of a national TV audience.
"The way he changes pace," Lillard said, explaining what makes AJ so hard to stop. "He can change pace and stop and hit a jumper. And he can make shots contested, that's the main thing with him. With a hand in his face, he can still make shots."
Give Lillard, his teammates and Coach Randy Rahe credit. They sat in the postgame press conference and answered every question asked of them after having their hearts ripped out by Johnson and the Griz. It was a classy showing by a classy program.
"He played his tail off," said Rahe, whose team held UM to 28 percent shooting in the first half, then shot that themselves in the second. "He made a whole bunch of shots, he made tough shots; the things that he's been doing, but he kicked it up a notch. I give a lot of respect to him. ... You tip your hat to a guy like that."
Johnson is supremely confident. There are times when he might seem boastful or cocky to those who don't know him.
After covering AJ for two years, I believe he's neither. His dreams are so crystal clear in his head that he states them as fact.
After Tuesday's win in the semifinals, Johnson spoke of destiny and said, "We're in this moment for a reason."
Kind of gives you goose bumps now, doesn't it?
Now that we know the outcome, wasn't that an incredible way to win? Would ESPN be so interested in the Grizzlies if they had led wire-to-wire?
In a way, Johnson talks about all that has happened to him and all that will happen to him as being preordained.
"Last year we ... were there supporting the (Lady Griz) at the tournament," Johnson said of Montana's win in the Big Sky women's tournament. "The excitement they had on their faces and the look, just the character they showed in their tournament and making it to the NCAAs ... me and Vassy Banny and Brian Qvale, we knew next season we're going to win. We're going to the NCAA March Madness tournament. This was planned. It's destiny, that's all I can say, it's destiny."
In a profile of AJ earlier this season, I had far more material than made it into print. Johnson had this to say about his success at Montana.
"I always knew that I would be here. I used to drive Shaunte crazy with this," Johnson said, referring to his wife Shaunte Nance-Johnson, a Lady Griz guard. "We used to sit up all night long talking about basketball, talking about success. I'm a really, really deep thinker, almost to a fault. It can get annoying at times. I'm so driven and so set on what I want to experience that sometimes that's all I think about.
"At the time (I went to Yakima Valley Community College) I was like, ???I'm going to take over the Northwest, everybody's going to be hearing about Anthony Johnson.' That's where my mind was."
It's not just the Northwest anymore.
Sports editor Bob Meseroll can be reached at 523-5265 or at sportsdesk@missoulian.com.
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