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and how to provide for my family. And they both taught me how to work together in a marriage situation," says Johnson. "They were always there for Avery, they shows the steady were always there for each one of their improvement of Avery Johnson as an kids. And God was al ways first in our NBA player, it's the increase in his household." scoring average each year. It's a goal Th e impact that Jim and Inez have Avery has set for himself, and a goal had on their ninth chi ld is a strong one. that he's still working on. You can see the love on Johnson's face " I want my scoring average to go up as he talks about his father, who passed every year. Derek Harper has done it away in October of 1992. for 8 straight years, I want to do it for 10," explains Johnson. "I want to have " My father and I had a great relationAll-Star seasons. I want to do what I ship. Everything that a father-son relacan to lead my team to an NBA tionship should be," describes Johnson. Championship, and to do that I have to " My father was a hard-worki ng man. And improve my game every year." both of my parents al ways instilled things Whether Avery Johnson gets an in terms of hard work, confidence, and NBA Championship ring remains to be those types of values." seen, but his statistics show that his Those values helped keep Avery on game is definitely on the rise. D th e ri ght track as he wa ited fo r th e Year Team Games Min Asst PPG chance to prove himself on the basketball court. As a seni or in high school , 88·89... Seanle ...........43 ..... 291 ......73 ........1.8 Johnson stood only 5'3" and had a regu89·90 ... Seanle ........... 53 .....575 ......182......2.8 lar seat at the end of the bench. " I was so 90·91 ...Denver/SA..... 88 .....959 ......230 ......4.7 far down, the coach needed a bullhorn to 91·92 ...SA/Houston.... 89 .....1235 ....288 ......5.8 reach me," Johnson chuckles. " I rode the 92·93 ... San Antonlo .. ..75 .....2030 ....581 ...... 8.7 pine almost my entire senior year. But the guy who was playing in front of me got put off the team for some reason, and the coach inserted me in the lineup at the beginning of the playoffs. My game just took off and everything was clicking at the same time. We fini shed the year 35-0 and won the state championship."
; Still Climbing I
~ ~ I ' I '
! think I can - /think I can - ! think I can - ! think I can. It was in the championship game that one college scout spotted Johnson and was so impressed that he gave him an opportunity to play at New Mexico Junior College. Nobody else paid any attention to the little guard from St. Augustine High School. But one scout was all it took. Johnson's climb up the mountain was slowly beginning. He played at NMJC in Hobbs, New Mexico, for a year befo re mov ing on to Cam eron Uni versity in Lawton, Oklahom a, for the 1984-85 season. Johnson then packed his bags once again. Destin ati on: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Southern University. It was back in Louisiana where Avery Johnson began to establish himself as a pl ayer who should not be overlooked. Now 5'11 ", the junior point guard made an immedi ate impact in the South \ve stern Athleti c Conference. Johnson averaged 7.1 points per game for the Jaguars as a j unior and improved his scoring output to 11 .4 points per game as a senior. But scoring was secondary. Avery Johnson was a passer. A passer extraordinaire. A passer to make one of his boyhood heroes, fellow Cajun' Pete Maravich, proud. Johnson led not only the Southwestern Athletic Conference in assists-he led the nation. And if that 's not enough to impress, he did it twice. Johnson dished out an average of I 0.7 assists per game his j unior year, and an all-time NCAA Di vision I best of 13.3 assists per game his senior year. Add to that the South western Athleti c Conference 18
ANDREW BERNSTE!Nfm.A PHOTOS
Player of the Year Award both seasons, as well as the MYP award for the conference tournament both years, and you would th ink the NB A would be knocking down his door. Think again. Johnson went overlooked and undmhed. He had climbed that mountain for 5 years, but it looked like he might not reach the peak.
.A Putting it up. During
the 1992·93 season and the playoffs, playing against the likes of Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley, Johnson had more f ield goal attempts (580) than he had in his entire NCAA career (559) with Cameron and Southern University.
/ think I can - / think I can - / think I can -I think I can. Disappointed yet determined, Johnson resumed his quest for the NBA at the free agent camp of the Seattle Supersonics. He impressed the Sonics so much at the free agent camp that they gave him an oppot1unity to play for their summer league entry in Los Angeles. It was in L.A. that Johnson made his mark. The Sonics' summer league team consisted of such NBA veterans as Sedale Threatt, Olden Polynice, Russ Schoene, and Derrick McKey, but it was the little point guard from Southem University who led the team in scoring and assists. " I was pl aying agai nst guys li ke Byron Scott [Lakers] and Terry Porter [B lazers], guys th at I had been watching on TV," explains Johnson. " But I held my own. And that reall y gave Bern i e Bickersta f f [Sonics head coach] an idea that I could be a good player down the road." On August 2, 1988, the Supersonics signed Johnson to a free agent contract. The NBA career of Avery Johnson was in motion. The mountaintop was in sight. But his first 2 years in the league might best be described as slow motion, as he appeared in 96 games for the Sanies, averaging j ust 9 minutes, 2.2 points, and 2.4 assists per game. Not exactly All-Star numbers. But it was Johnson's time in Seatt le that proved to be the tuming point in both his professional and personal lives.
S P O R TS SP[;C TRUM • N O V E M BER 1993