AIR FORCE ACADEMY — When Anwar Johnson talks basketball, it’s like having a professor sitting across the table delivering a thesis on astronautical engineering.
When the Air Force senior plays basketball, his demeanor changes to the elementary force of a slam dunk. The two talents have served Johnson well. He has met the military and academic standards at the academy with flying colors, and he leads his team in scoring at 13.8 points a game.
“I’ve been able to separate the two,” Johnson said. “In fact, my mother pointed out that I’m a different person on the basketball floor.”
Before becoming one of the team leaders this season, Johnson played smaller, significant roles in Air Force’s resurgence in basketball during the past five years. As a freshman in 2005-06, he saw playing time on Air Force’s 24-7 team that played in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Denver.
While playing 32 games his sophomore season, Johnson experienced the high point of his college career when the Falcons went to the NIT semifinals and played Clemson at Madison Square Garden. In the 52-51 victory over DePaul that advanced the Falcons into the semifinals, coach Jeff Bzdelik put Johnson in a key defensive role when DePaul had the last possession and a chance to win.
“Coach Bzdelik showed a lot of confidence in me, especially on the defensive end,” said Johnson, who came to the academy from LSU Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, La. “I take pride in my defense. I wouldn’t have imagined growing up that I would ever play in Madison Square Garden. Just stepping on that floor was a high point. It’s considered the mecca of basketball.”
With all his plaudits, Johnson faces his toughest challenge on the basketball side. The Falcons have had five straight winning seasons but are 9-7 after three straight Mountain West Conference losses. At 6-feet-5, Johnson is playing a new position this year, moving from forward to point guard.
“We want to be as successful as possible, and of course that’s winning games,” Johnson said as he looked toward Saturday’s home game against TCU. “It starts in practice. We’re not far off the approach of making it six winning seasons in a row. The seniors have to take ownership and leadership of this team for us to be successful. I’m coming down to my last 15 or so games. I won’t have these opportunities again.”
Coach Jeff Reynolds believes Johnson’s play has improved noticeably from last season, when he averaged 7.5 points a game.
“We talked to him about playing under control, especially on layups,” Reynolds said. “We talked about initiating contact with his own body instead of trying to avoid contact and at the same time playing too fast.”
Said Johnson, “Last year there was a lack of concentration and focus and not finishing the shot.”
Junior center Grant Parker looks at Johnson as a leader.
“He’s always been great with the younger players and taking the time to walk them through plays,” Parker said. “He both talks to us as well as performing on the court.”
Johnson’s professor side always is there. He can’t remember being in trouble growing up.
“My parents are older, and I’m kind of an old soul,” Johnson said. “My dad wouldn’t allow me to get into any trouble. I got home once at 11 p.m. when I was a senior in high school. I heard about it. I think I got a ‘B’ once in chemistry.”
Johnson has some impressive peers. Glen Davis, now with the Boston Celtics, and Garrett Temple, a senior at LSU, were among Johnson’s high school teammates.
“When I first came here and told them what I had to do and my day started at 6:30 a.m., they couldn’t understand why I’d want to do it,” Johnson said. “We’re all proud of each other. It’s hard company trying to stay up with them.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
