KUTZTOWN, PA (March 10, 2010) – Every successful team needs a player like Tamir Johnson.
Sometimes, Johnson's contributions can be overlooked by those not associated with the Kutztown University men's basketball program. Johnson, a transfer from Central Connecticut State, has played bigger than his 6 foot, 7 inch frame for Kutztown this season. He is a vital reason why the Golden Bears have qualified for the NCAA Division II tournament for the second consecutive season.
His rebounding, heart, hustle and tenacity will be needed if the sixth-seeded Golden Bears (23-7 overall) are going to get past third-seeded Saint Augustine's (26-4) in Saturday's Atlantic Region opening round game at West Liberty State (W. Va.) in Wheeling. Seventh-seeded Alderson-Broaddus meets second-seeded West Liberty State in the second game starting at 7:30 p.m. The winners will meet Sunday night at 7 p.m. Tickets for each day are $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of the NCAA tournament,” Johnson said. “I mean, playing a school like Saint Augustine's, the name speaks for itself. We know they are a good team and we have a lot of respect for them. We know we're definitely going to have to bring our A game to beat them.”
The Falcons, ranked 23rd in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches/Division II Top 25 poll, lead the nation in field goal percentage defense (35.1). In addition, the Falcons have won 17 of their last 18 games and are ranked third nationally in rebounding margin (+13.4).
“Saint Augustine's is well-coached,” Kutztown head coach Bernie Driscoll said. “They do a good job of switching up defenses. We have to control the tempo and take care of their perimeter shooters and hold our own on the glass.”
That's where Johnson comes in at. He has had some big moments this season for Kutztown. Against Shippensburg, Johnson scored 20 points and hauled down 18 rebounds to spark an 82-67 victory. His offensive rebound and putback provided the winning margin in a 65-63 victory over East Stroudsburg on Feb. 15. He made all eight of his shots from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 76-74 road victory at Goldey-Becom.
Overall, Johnson is averaging 9.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per contest. He leads the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in field goal percentage (62.4). This season, Johnson has posted six double-doubles including a 10-point, 15-rebound outing in his last game against Indiana (Pennsylvania) in the PSAC title game. He has scored in double digits 14 times and taken 10 or more rebounds eight times.
“One of my former coaches always told me to follow the flight of the ball,” Johnson said. “He also told me to pretend as if I am the only one of the court and that every rebound is mine. When I grab a rebound, especially from somebody who is bigger than me, I feel like Dwight Howard. It's just a good feeling to come down with a rebound. Personally, I'd rather have 10 points and 17 rebounds instead of 20 points and seven rebounds.”
Johnson enjoyed his time at Central Connecticut State, but he wanted to be closer to Philadelphia, his hometown, and to his 2-year old daughter, Tamia. Kutztown had everything he wanted: a quality basketball program, a very good coach and many of his buddies he went to high school with or played against.
“It was a comfortable fit right away and everybody accepted me right away,” Johnson said. “Coach wanted me to be a scoring threat, play defense, get some rebounds. It wasn't that hard of an adjustment.”
Johnson played together with Stephen Dennis (West Chester, PA/Henderson) during the summers in the Donofrio tournament in Conshohocken when they were in high school. They were quite the scoring combination for their team. Johnson enjoys playing hoops and he brings toughness to the team. Johnson missed the Cheyney game and had to watch in horror as the Wolves emphatically ended Kutztown's 25-game home court victory with a 94-62 victory.
That game set in motion a tough February for the Golden Bears in which they lost four games and left them perilously close to missing the PSAC playoffs, let alone the NCAA tournament. However, the Golden Bears have done a terrific job of recovering from that difficult stretch to give them a chance at a national title.
“We never got down on ourselves,” Johnson said. “We knew we had the talent. It was just a matter of working harder and playing together. I think we did a good job of staying together as a team when things got rough for us.”
Johnson, who enjoys his sports psychology class, would like to be a coach whenever he finishes playing basketball. Johnson keeps the team loose with one-liners and he always seems to have a smile on his face when it's not game time.
“Besides basketball, Tamir is just a great kid,” Driscoll said. “He's as solid a human being that we've had in this program in quite some time. He's really respectful. He's stepped in for us and did a really nice job for us this year.”
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