Isaiah Johnson sparking balanced CU Buffs attack
Isaiah Johnson was possibly the least heralded of the five recruits signed by the Colorado men s basketball project a little more than a year ago That freshman class eventually ballooned to seven by the time the - season tipped off Yet Johnson remained the least physically imposing of the bunch Just a month into his collegiate career Johnson has already turned into the rookie that s likely the greater part imposing on opposing scouting reports as the -foot- guard out of Los Angeles continued his impressive collegiate debut during CU s two wins at the Acrisure Holiday Classic The freshmen are freshmen CU head coach Tad Boyle reported They re going to be good a few nights not so good other nights Isaiah Johnson was terrific for us I can t say enough for what he s done for us early Bangot Dak brought home the MVP trophy after CU won both its games in Palm Desert California but Johnson s contributions were equally critical Johnson was the Buffs points leader over the two games coming off the bench to result points in the opener against San Francisco recording of those points in the second half before adding on Friday against Washington Johnson s early shooting numbers have been off the charts as he will go into Monday s home date against Cal Baptist p m ESPN with a mark overall with a lofty percentage from -point range -for- Yet what might be even more impressive about Johnson so far beyond those numbers has been the ability of the wiry-framed Johnson to finish plays through contact at the rim Johnson finished a pair of three-point plays against San Francisco including one in the final minute of the first half that brought CU to within two points at the break Johnson is fourth on the club in average minutes but he leads the group in free throw attempts and has recorded an mark at the line -for- Twice already this season Johnson has recorded high free throw totals going -for- in the season opener against Montana State and -for- against Washington CU players recorded just one encounter with free throw attempts last year Elijah Malone had during a nonconference win against Northern Colorado but Johnson already has done it twice and Sebastian Rancik also went -for- in an overtime win against Eastern Washington It s just the reps Johnson stated Since I was a kid I ve done the same thing over and over again I m just taking my time when I get to the basket and not really worrying about the defender It was a step in a good direction and it should build confidence in our group Johnson s continued bench spark has been just one part of a CU attack that remained as balanced as it was during the opening stretch at home Barrington Hargress tallied assists with only three turnovers in the two wins Dak earned MVP honors after posting a career-high six assists against San Francisco before recording his first career double-double against Washington And the Buffs deep and versatile bench outscored the opposition - I just think we have a really good company that has a lot of different weapons on offense Boyle disclosed If we can continue to improve defensively we can compete with anybody
