Dunbar’s Johnson turns the page, gets life straight
By Kurt Stubbs
Dayton Dunbar’s 6-foot-3 senior Geron Johnson is leading by example, and to all his critics, sorry he is a changed young man.
Has he struggled? Of course he has.
Has he made mistakes? Absolutely!
Have we all made mistakes? Only know one that hasn’t.
The humble, polite, and quiet bundle of ability, Johnson knew it was time to change his life and become the leader of this team.
“I had some trouble, but that is all behind me,” Johnson said. “It is my senior year and it was time to step up and be an all-around leader not just a good basketball player. The team needs me, and I was not able to play in the tournament last year.”
Johnson missed last year’s sectional loss to Wilmington, but Saturday night the high major D-I recruit was not absent in the least in the Wolverines 53-40 triumph.
In a rematch of last year’s sectional clash, Dunbar and Wilmington met on the Hurricane’s home floor in front of jam-packed house. Johnson was nothing short of tremendous.
“I knew it was time to step up my game and just play basketball,” Johnson said. “I was not playing up to my potential in the first four games, so it was time for me to step it up.”
There was no better time to start than against a very good Wilmington team.
“Like I said, I have not been stepping up,” Johnson said. “It was a good night to have a breakout game. They (Wilmington) are a very good basketball team, and I knew my team needed me to come out and play to my capabilities.”
The game, however, did not get off to the greatest of starts for the Wolverines who quickly fell behind 8-0 before head coach Peter Pullen called a timeout. Perhaps the Dayton-based squad came out a little flat after finding out that Wilmington shooting guard Jordan Berlin would be unable to play. The 6-foot-3 Ashland signee reinjured his foot in Friday night’s 87-50 win over Amelia.
At any rate, the Wolverines would battle back despite some hot shooting from the Hurricane. Wilmington led 17-14 at the end of one.
The second quarter was filled with explosions.
Miami (OH) signee Quentin Rollins scored 12 points in the quarter and 18 in the first half to lead the Hurricane.
“(Quentin) Rollins is a good player,” Johnson relayed. “I did not know he was that good, because I did not get to play against them last year. You have to tip your hat to him.”
While Rollins was doing his thing, Johnson and teammate Deon Stewart were doing their part to keep the issue close.
Johnson served up two crowd-pleasing dunks with the first earning him a questionable technical foul. Johnson caught a lob pass one-handed and thunderously rocked the rim over a Hurricane defender. The Wolverine catalyst was warranted a “T” for being excited about the incredible play. Nevertheless, Johnson calmly walked off the floor after substitution with zero argument.
Johnson finished the quarter with nine points, while the 6-foot-3 Stewart added seven markers.
After 16 minutes of play, the Wolverines cut the Wilmington lead to 32-30.
As exciting as the first half was, the second half would bring about a totally different style of play.
The Wolverines jumped into a swarming 1-3-1 trapping zone that totally took Wilmington out of its game. Neither team lit up the scoreboard in the third, but Dunbar did manage to grab an 8-3 advantage taking a 38-35 lead.
The absence of Berlin was clearly felt with the Hurricane shooting 3-of-23 from the field in the second half scoring just eight points. As for Rollins, it was a tale of two halves. The senior leader was unable to get many looks and was blanked in the final 16 minutes.
Johnson, Stewart, senior Ryan Bass and Roger “RJ” Williamson all came up big in the fourth period. The game was nip-and-tuck for most of the fourth, but the above four helped close out a gutsy and tough Wilmington outfit.
Johnson finished with 18 points and six steals. The amazing thing about this senior is the way he covers ground with the greatest of ease getting his hands on plenty of Wilmington passes. The game, at times, appears too easy for Johnson.
Johnson is at his best off the dribble creating for others and getting to the basket. It seems Johnson could get to the basket almost anytime he wants. He showed his ability to pass off the dribble using both hands and even knocked down a deep triple.
Coach Pullen told us early in the year, Johnson could do-it-all, and he wasn’t too far off. He rebounds, plays great on-the-ball and off-the-ball defense, and has the ability to lead.
Several times, when play started to get physical, Johnson pointed to his head indicating to teammates to use their heads. It was just another example of how far this young man has come over the course of a year.
Speaking of his teammates, Stewart finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Bass struggling through foul trouble managed to contribute eight markers and Williamson added eight big points. Leading scorer, 6-foot-6 sophomore Deontae Hawkins, was held to just two points but recorded seven boards and blocked four shots altering many others.
Senior Brandon Arehart backed Rollins’ 18 points with 10 of his own including three triples. Arehart had six of Wilmington’s eight second-half points.
With the win, Dunbar improves to (5-0) and Wilmington drops its mark to (2-1).
It is very likely this will not be the last meeting between this pair of D-II heavyweights.
| 
