TicketsBy Dan Hoard
Voice of the Bearcats
Of all the players that Mick Cronin has recruited in 16 years as a head coach, none was better prepared for his demanding style of coaching than freshman guard Logan Johnson.
"My mom served 31 years in the Air Force so growing up for us was very strict," said Johnson with a smile. "You had to work hard every day and she put us in different sports so that we weren't just sitting at home watching TV. There was none of that. It was, 'You're going to be active,' or 'You're going to be outside.' If you were injured it was a 'Get a straw and suck it up' type of mentality."
Jennifer Johnson, whose father also served in the Air Force, agrees that she is strict with her five children.
"I'm a no-nonsense type of person and I think part of that is probably the military upbringing," she said. "I don't put up with a whole lot."
Sound like anybody we know?
"That's where it was easy for me coming to play for Coach Cronin," Logan said. "I already knew what it was about. You're going to get after it and you're going to work every day. I'm in a great place and a great situation and my mom has definitely had a huge role and impact on it."
Johnson is a long way from home. The 19-year-old hails from Mountain View, California, near San Jose and averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as a high school senior last year.
Associate head coach Darren Savino was instrumental in recruiting him to Cincinnati.
"He went to Saint Francis High School where I had recruited and then coached two guys when I was at New Mexico," said Savino. "So when I saw his name pop up on the list of available guards, I was intrigued because I knew the school and had recruited guys there. The way people described him before I got to see him was that he was a tough kid and athletic so he kind of fit the mold of a Bearcat. Then I called Senque Carey, one of the players from his high school who we recruited and coached at New Mexico. He's a college coach at Long Beach now and right away he said, 'We can't get him but you should recruit him. He's perfect.'"
Mick Cronin got a similar scouting report from one of Johnson's coaches.
"When we called on Logan to recruit him, his AAU coach said, 'You guys would be a great fit because he fits your style,'" Mick said. "His coach is a great guy and a great college basketball fan and he knew right away that Logan really fits the way we play. And he was right."
Johnson, whose older brother Tyler plays for the Phoenix Suns, was drawn to Cincinnati for its track record of consistently being one of the best defensive teams in college basketball.
"Style of play was really it for Logan," said Cronin. "He's a very athletic point guard that's got great upside. He's so quick and fast and jumps so high that our defensive schemes were attractive to him. Usually you wouldn't say that about a point guard. Kids usually think about offense, but he'll tell you that his brother made the NBA with defense. So he really fits our style of play and I think he's got tremendous upside as a player as his skill level continues to get better."
Johnson has played in all but one of Cincinnati's 24 games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds. He provided a big spark off the bench in last week's win at Memphis with six points, four rebounds, and two assists in 14 minutes of playing time.
Since Justin Jenifer and Cane Broome are seniors, Johnson is training to become one of the Bearcats' primary point guards next year.
"I help on the court as much as I can, but these guys have been here longer than I have so I'm taking a step back and learning a lot," he said.
"He's got to develop his skill level, his vision as a passer, and his shooting, but right now it's easier for him to just go into a game and get after it," said Cronin. "Every day in practice he's got the ball in his hands and he's working on his decision-making and working on running the team. But at game time he can inject some serious juice if you feel like your team is a little flat."
Johnson says he is benefiting from watching Jenifer who ranks third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
"I'm learning every day from Justin," he said. "I pick his brain apart every day at practice and try to see what he sees."
"Learning from Justin is great for him," said Savino. "Don't turn the ball over, be careful with the ball, be strong with the ball and value the ball. If he starts to pick those things up and keeps working on his shooting we're going to have something special."
There's little doubt that Johnson will put in the work considering how his mother raised him.
"She's a strict lady from her military service," said Savino. "Make your bed, put your clothes away, do things the right way and don't answer back. Listen to your superiors. So he's great."
"You can't just let kids run around these days," Jennifer Johnson said. "There's a lot of craziness in our world. You have to stay on them and make them be committed and accountable for their actions.
"I know that he has potential to do great things. It all depends on him and how much work he puts into it. The great part is that the coaches believe in him."
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
Voice of the Bearcats
Of all the players that Mick Cronin has recruited in 16 years as a head coach, none was better prepared for his demanding style of coaching than freshman guard Logan Johnson.
"My mom served 31 years in the Air Force so growing up for us was very strict," said Johnson with a smile. "You had to work hard every day and she put us in different sports so that we weren't just sitting at home watching TV. There was none of that. It was, 'You're going to be active,' or 'You're going to be outside.' If you were injured it was a 'Get a straw and suck it up' type of mentality."
Jennifer Johnson, whose father also served in the Air Force, agrees that she is strict with her five children.
"I'm a no-nonsense type of person and I think part of that is probably the military upbringing," she said. "I don't put up with a whole lot."
Sound like anybody we know?
"That's where it was easy for me coming to play for Coach Cronin," Logan said. "I already knew what it was about. You're going to get after it and you're going to work every day. I'm in a great place and a great situation and my mom has definitely had a huge role and impact on it."
Johnson is a long way from home. The 19-year-old hails from Mountain View, California, near San Jose and averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as a high school senior last year.
Associate head coach Darren Savino was instrumental in recruiting him to Cincinnati.
"He went to Saint Francis High School where I had recruited and then coached two guys when I was at New Mexico," said Savino. "So when I saw his name pop up on the list of available guards, I was intrigued because I knew the school and had recruited guys there. The way people described him before I got to see him was that he was a tough kid and athletic so he kind of fit the mold of a Bearcat. Then I called Senque Carey, one of the players from his high school who we recruited and coached at New Mexico. He's a college coach at Long Beach now and right away he said, 'We can't get him but you should recruit him. He's perfect.'"
Mick Cronin got a similar scouting report from one of Johnson's coaches.
"When we called on Logan to recruit him, his AAU coach said, 'You guys would be a great fit because he fits your style,'" Mick said. "His coach is a great guy and a great college basketball fan and he knew right away that Logan really fits the way we play. And he was right."
Johnson, whose older brother Tyler plays for the Phoenix Suns, was drawn to Cincinnati for its track record of consistently being one of the best defensive teams in college basketball.
"Style of play was really it for Logan," said Cronin. "He's a very athletic point guard that's got great upside. He's so quick and fast and jumps so high that our defensive schemes were attractive to him. Usually you wouldn't say that about a point guard. Kids usually think about offense, but he'll tell you that his brother made the NBA with defense. So he really fits our style of play and I think he's got tremendous upside as a player as his skill level continues to get better."
Johnson has played in all but one of Cincinnati's 24 games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds. He provided a big spark off the bench in last week's win at Memphis with six points, four rebounds, and two assists in 14 minutes of playing time.
Since Justin Jenifer and Cane Broome are seniors, Johnson is training to become one of the Bearcats' primary point guards next year.
"I help on the court as much as I can, but these guys have been here longer than I have so I'm taking a step back and learning a lot," he said.
"He's got to develop his skill level, his vision as a passer, and his shooting, but right now it's easier for him to just go into a game and get after it," said Cronin. "Every day in practice he's got the ball in his hands and he's working on his decision-making and working on running the team. But at game time he can inject some serious juice if you feel like your team is a little flat."
Johnson says he is benefiting from watching Jenifer who ranks third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
"I'm learning every day from Justin," he said. "I pick his brain apart every day at practice and try to see what he sees."
"Learning from Justin is great for him," said Savino. "Don't turn the ball over, be careful with the ball, be strong with the ball and value the ball. If he starts to pick those things up and keeps working on his shooting we're going to have something special."
There's little doubt that Johnson will put in the work considering how his mother raised him.
"She's a strict lady from her military service," said Savino. "Make your bed, put your clothes away, do things the right way and don't answer back. Listen to your superiors. So he's great."
"You can't just let kids run around these days," Jennifer Johnson said. "There's a lot of craziness in our world. You have to stay on them and make them be committed and accountable for their actions.
"I know that he has potential to do great things. It all depends on him and how much work he puts into it. The great part is that the coaches believe in him."
I'd love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard