University of Minnesota Athletics
Home Away From Home: Freshman Damian Johnson
12/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Freshman forward Damian Johnson is hard to miss on both ends of the floor. Offensively, his shots find the bottom of the net while his opponents shots find the third row of the stands after a brief encounter with his hand. As a high school senior, Johnson led his team to a runner-up finish in the Louisiana State High School tournament while averaging 17 points, nine rebounds, and nearly five blocks per game. Gopher coaches wanted Johnson for both his basketball skills and his honor roll status, but thought it might be hard to get him to commit to the 1,300-mile hike north that would be required. After Johnson’s first visit, any remaining worries that the coaches had were relieved after Johnson gave them his commitment right away.
“When I came on my visit I really felt comfortable with the players and the coaching staff, and I really liked their involvement,” Johnson said. “It was going to be a new experience for me coming up so far from down south.”
Despite a recent run in with Minnesota’s favorite villain, snow, the transition has been easier than most would think being so far from home. “It’s been pretty easy making the transition because I am pretty close to a lot of the players and they’ve been helping me a lot,” Johnson explained. “The coaches have been helping me as well. So, it hasn’t been too difficult so far. Truthfully, I haven’t even been home sick for a while.”
The snow was definitely a first for Johnson, but it is something he said he is going to have to get used to, the other thing to get used to for Johnson is watching from the sidelines. Coming into the season, the Gophers were knee deep with experienced wing players so playing time was not something guaranteed right away. After the preseason games, the coaches, along with Johnson, decided that given the Gophers depth it would be better for him to redshirt this season, while working with a talented group of seniors.
Johnson has taken it all in stride and knows that it was a good decision. “I know if I want to be a guard in the Big Ten I have to work on my quickness and ball handling, because those are the two things that a guard really needs to do to make it on the court,” Johnson said. “Taking a redshirt allows me to be on the scout team going against guards like Moe (Hargrow) and Vince (Grier) every day, along with players like Dan Coleman. I’m going to just learn from them in practice and it’s going to be a real learning experience every day.” Unfortunately, this won’t be the only difficult thing Johnson will have to go through this year.
A native of Thibodaux, La., a city just 67 miles from New Orleans, Johnson was home when Hurricane Katrina made landfall late this summer just before school was to begin. “I was there during Hurricane Katrina. Our house had the roof came off,” Johnson said. “We weren’t flooded or anything, but we didn’t have electricity for like three days,” Johnson said. “They had to rush me out of there to Baton Rouge so I could get to the airport and make it back up here.”
Aside from television news, many Minnesotans are likely unable to completely fathom what it was and still is like to go through something like Hurricane Katrina unless we have family, or friends that went through it. However, that is exactly what has kept him at ease and through it all. Johnson feels that having basketball along with strong family relationships has helped him and his friends get over what has happened in their home state.
“I still have a couple of friends going to my high school. Our school went through a big transition because we had to take a lot of evacuees from New Orleans and it was a whole new experience for them, so they have been using basketball to get those things off their mind,” Johnson said. “I stopped thinking about it after a little while. The first couple of weeks, I was really stressed out about it, but I stopped thinking about it because my mom and family kept telling me things were good and they came up here during family day. That made me feel much better about it.”
Since arriving back on campus this fall, Johnson has been able to keep his mind on the basketball court and in the classroom while talking to his mother four times a week. The help of senior guard Vince Grier and freshman friend Brandon Smith has also kept Johnson’s mind on task. Grier, a native of North Carolina, is also from the south and both have really taken a liking to one another. “Vince has really taken me under his wing,” Johnson said. “Since I arrived here, we have been together. Maybe it’s because we are both from the south, but ever since, we are always together. If I’m not with Vince, you’ll see me with Brandon Smith,” Johnson said.
But his favorite aspect of being the University of Minnesota basketball program, besides his teammates, has been the fans. “Every game I’ve been to, the crowd has been real nice. The fans have been really into it, especially the student section, you’ve got to love that,” Johnson said.
Although you won’t see Johnson on the floor with Smith or Grier this season, the coaches and players know, but more importantly Johnson knows, what he can bring to the table. “I’m a very athletic and versatile player so I can play a lot of positions and I’m long, giving me the ability to block shots and alter them,” Johnson said. “If I just get a little bit stronger and quicker, things are going to work out when I bring it all together.”
story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant You notice him right away, much like the Gopher coaching staff did. He’s six feet seven inches tall with long arms and a defensive prowess that helped him average nearly five blocks a game as a Louisiana senior at Thibodaux High School last year.
Freshman forward Damian Johnson is hard to miss on both ends of the floor. Offensively, his shots find the bottom of the net while his opponents shots find the third row of the stands after a brief encounter with his hand. As a high school senior, Johnson led his team to a runner-up finish in the Louisiana State High School tournament while averaging 17 points, nine rebounds, and nearly five blocks per game. Gopher coaches wanted Johnson for both his basketball skills and his honor roll status, but thought it might be hard to get him to commit to the 1,300-mile hike north that would be required. After Johnson’s first visit, any remaining worries that the coaches had were relieved after Johnson gave them his commitment right away.
“When I came on my visit I really felt comfortable with the players and the coaching staff, and I really liked their involvement,” Johnson said. “It was going to be a new experience for me coming up so far from down south.”
Despite a recent run in with Minnesota’s favorite villain, snow, the transition has been easier than most would think being so far from home. “It’s been pretty easy making the transition because I am pretty close to a lot of the players and they’ve been helping me a lot,” Johnson explained. “The coaches have been helping me as well. So, it hasn’t been too difficult so far. Truthfully, I haven’t even been home sick for a while.”
The snow was definitely a first for Johnson, but it is something he said he is going to have to get used to, the other thing to get used to for Johnson is watching from the sidelines. Coming into the season, the Gophers were knee deep with experienced wing players so playing time was not something guaranteed right away. After the preseason games, the coaches, along with Johnson, decided that given the Gophers depth it would be better for him to redshirt this season, while working with a talented group of seniors.
Johnson has taken it all in stride and knows that it was a good decision. “I know if I want to be a guard in the Big Ten I have to work on my quickness and ball handling, because those are the two things that a guard really needs to do to make it on the court,” Johnson said. “Taking a redshirt allows me to be on the scout team going against guards like Moe (Hargrow) and Vince (Grier) every day, along with players like Dan Coleman. I’m going to just learn from them in practice and it’s going to be a real learning experience every day.” Unfortunately, this won’t be the only difficult thing Johnson will have to go through this year.
A native of Thibodaux, La., a city just 67 miles from New Orleans, Johnson was home when Hurricane Katrina made landfall late this summer just before school was to begin. “I was there during Hurricane Katrina. Our house had the roof came off,” Johnson said. “We weren’t flooded or anything, but we didn’t have electricity for like three days,” Johnson said. “They had to rush me out of there to Baton Rouge so I could get to the airport and make it back up here.”
Aside from television news, many Minnesotans are likely unable to completely fathom what it was and still is like to go through something like Hurricane Katrina unless we have family, or friends that went through it. However, that is exactly what has kept him at ease and through it all. Johnson feels that having basketball along with strong family relationships has helped him and his friends get over what has happened in their home state.
“I still have a couple of friends going to my high school. Our school went through a big transition because we had to take a lot of evacuees from New Orleans and it was a whole new experience for them, so they have been using basketball to get those things off their mind,” Johnson said. “I stopped thinking about it after a little while. The first couple of weeks, I was really stressed out about it, but I stopped thinking about it because my mom and family kept telling me things were good and they came up here during family day. That made me feel much better about it.”
Since arriving back on campus this fall, Johnson has been able to keep his mind on the basketball court and in the classroom while talking to his mother four times a week. The help of senior guard Vince Grier and freshman friend Brandon Smith has also kept Johnson’s mind on task. Grier, a native of North Carolina, is also from the south and both have really taken a liking to one another. “Vince has really taken me under his wing,” Johnson said. “Since I arrived here, we have been together. Maybe it’s because we are both from the south, but ever since, we are always together. If I’m not with Vince, you’ll see me with Brandon Smith,” Johnson said.
But his favorite aspect of being the University of Minnesota basketball program, besides his teammates, has been the fans. “Every game I’ve been to, the crowd has been real nice. The fans have been really into it, especially the student section, you’ve got to love that,” Johnson said.
Although you won’t see Johnson on the floor with Smith or Grier this season, the coaches and players know, but more importantly Johnson knows, what he can bring to the table. “I’m a very athletic and versatile player so I can play a lot of positions and I’m long, giving me the ability to block shots and alter them,” Johnson said. “If I just get a little bit stronger and quicker, things are going to work out when I bring it all together.”
story by Chris Jensen, athletic communications student assistant
