There’s not a whole lot that’s gone wrong for the University of Miami basketball team this season.
And not a whole lot that’s gone right for Reggie Johnson.
The Hurricanes’ corpulent senior center is in the middle of a horrendous slump that reached bottom during Sunday’s 87-77 victory against North Carolina in the ACC tournament championship game in Greensboro, N.C.
Johnson played three minutes in the first half, missing both of his field-goal attempts. In the second half, Johnson never left the bench as coach Jim Larranaga stuck with a smaller lineup to better match up with the long distance-shooting Tar Heels.
The three minutes of action marked a career low for Johnson. Not even in his redshirt freshman year in 2009-10, when Johnson saw mostly spot duty as a backup, did he log less action than Sunday.
Larranaga indirectly stuck up for Johnson on Monday, pointing out that Kenny Kadji, an All-ACC player, also was held out for the final 9:43 of the championship game.
“I’m not mad at Kenny or disappointed in the way he played,” said Larranaga, comparing Kadji’s situation to Johnson’s. “No, we’re trying to win the game.”
Johnson hasn’t done much to help the Hurricanes win lately. Dating back eight games to UM’s 80-65 loss against Wake Forest on Feb. 23, Johnson has made only six-of-28 field goal attempts (21.4 percent) and scored 17 combined points. In that eight-game stretch, Johnson has made as many as two baskets in a game only once and piled up nearly as many personal fouls (15) and turnovers (13) as points.
Recently, Johnson has become a defensive liability. He’s listed at 292 pounds, but the 6-foot-10 native of North Carolina is likely a good bit north of 300 pounds.
Johnson wasn’t made available to reporters Monday, but his body language during the second half of Sunday’s game appeared to speak for him. During one timeout late in the game, Johnson stood away from the team huddle and was the picture of frustration.
“I can’t concern myself with anything other than what are the best ways for us to win the game,” Larranaga said. “Who are the best players to play at this particular point in time?”
With the No. 2-seeded Hurricanes (27-6) preparing to face No. 15 seed Pacific in Friday’s NCAA tournament game in Austin, Texas, UM’s players wait for Johnson to come out of his funk.
“All the conversations go back to, ‘I know you can do it,’ ” sixth-year senior center Julian Gamble said he’s repeatedly told Johnson. “He knows he can do it. It’s Reggie Johnson, a 1,000-point career scorer (and) one of the best rebounders in the ACC. Nobody can take that away from him.”
Johnson looked like a budding star after nearly averaging a double-double (11.9 points, 9.6 rebounds) as a sophomore in 2010-11. He entered his name in the NBA Draft, but withdrew it and returned for his junior season.
Johnson’s numbers slipped from his sophomore campaign the past two seasons, partly because of injuries. Last year, Johnson sat out the first nine games after sustaining a knee injury during the summer. This season, Johnson was averaging 12.6 points and 10 rebounds before he broke his thumb on Dec. 22.
After sitting out eight games, Johnson returned for UM’s momentous victory against No. 1 Duke on Jan. 23. He shot 2-for-14 in his first three games back, but then scored 15 points and tipped in the game-winning basket at the buzzer at North Carolina State on Feb. 2.
But it’s been mostly downhill since then.
Larranaga promoted Johnson into the starting lineup in the rematch at Duke on March 2, but he responded by going 0-for-5 and went scoreless in a 79-76 loss. He returned to the bench for the ACC tournament.
Gamble said he has “no doubt” Johnson will contribute in the NCAA tournament.
“He’s worked as hard for this as anybody,” Gamble said. “This is his fifth year here and he’s been through a lot of adversity. So he deserves it as much as anybody else.”
