The reign of Purdue’s Chris Kramer as the Big Ten’s finest defensive player is over. Rather than a knock on Kramer, it’s an acknowledgment that Minnesota’s Damian Johnson is a remarkable player and a defensive force. After hounding future lottery pick Earl Clark into a miserable shooting game in the Golden Gophers’ 70-64 win over Louisville, Johnson gets another shot at proving his mettle when Raymar Morgan and Michigan State hit Williams Arena at high noon.
Sweet D
The persistent effort to reduce the game of hoops to numbers, averages, tempo, efficiency, pace, effective percentage, etc. fails to account for the true value of Minnesota’s Damian “Sweet D” Johnson. To appreciate him, you actually need to watch him play. Put simply, Johnson is the essence of a complete, selfless player that makes his team better. The Daily Gopher and its fanatical base certainly has and the appreciation (including a nickname contest) is overflowing.
Watch him as he defends away from the ball, hawking his opponent with relentless energy. You can see the frustration mount in their eyes. His hands are high and ridiculously quick, deflecting and altering passes on nearly every possession he’s on the court. Frustration. With quick feet, he’s in passing lanes on the perimeter preventing the opposition’s offense from running smoothly. More frustration. He blocks shots, he dives on the floor. If you haven’t watched him closely, watch him play Raymar today. It’s Sweet D. It’s why we’re obsessed with college basketball.
While primarily a defensive force, on offense Johnson is a prime example of the oft repeated never fully appreciated coaching mantra we all heard at summer basketball camps: you don’t need to score points to impact the game. On a Tubby Smith team that has offered deep and varying player rotations during the preseason, Johnson is opportunistic, distributing the ball and scoring on offensive rebounds. He’s a selective shooter, more comfortable facing the basket on the wing rather than posting up.
Perhaps the only thing holding him back from being regarded by the mainstream media as one of the Big Ten’s top players is his selflessness. For Hoopraker, we’ll take the selfless, team-oriented Johnson any day of the week.
Sweet Match Ups
As the Fighting Illini’s 71-67 OT win over Purdue last night in Mackey Arena demonstrated and as Hoopraker has repeatedly noted, last year’s lower tier is this season’s resurgent tier. With three starting sophomores including two of the most improved players in the Big Ten, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale, a tough Illinois defense frustrated Purdue into a poor shooting night while Illinois showed the steely strength they lacked last year in holding off a tough opponent (with only one three pointer) on the road in a close game.
Today, Minnesota gets its chance to put notch in its belt when it takes on a talented, but banged up, Spartan team. As noted by our friends at Spartans Weblog, the intensity of the Spartan defense, especially by Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton on Al Nolen, Lawrence Westbrook and Blake Hoffarber will be critical. Michigan State defends, Michigan State wins. As noted above, win or lose, Raymar may have nightmares of Damain Johnson when this one is over. Minny’s Colton Iverson, not BJ Mullens is the Conference’s best frosh Big Ten, as we enter January.
Finally, Michigan gets a reality check against Bo Ryan’s pesky Wisconsin Badgers.
n.b.: please forgive any and all typos until we edit this thing. deal.