Gus Johnson (basketball)

Gus Johnson (December 13 1938–April 29 1987) was a professional basketball player who played nine seasons with the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, and part of one season with the Phoenix Suns and the ABA's Indiana Pacers. One of the first prototypical power forwards, he possessed an uncommon blend of strength and athleticism. The man known as "Honeycomb" also was one of the first great showmen and dunk artists in the professional ranks, the result being a trademark gold star drilled into one of his front teeth and three shattered backboards in his career [1].

As a member of the Bullets, Johnson was named to 1964 All-Rookie Team, played in five NBA All-Star Games, was named to four All-NBA Second Teams and was twice named to the All-NBA Defense First Team. His No. 25 jersey was retired by the Bullets organization. With the Pacers, he was a member of the 1972-73 ABA championship team.

College career

Johnson starred at Akron Central Hower in high school as an All-Ohio star. One of his teammates was future Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond. Despite his obvious talent and athletic ability, Johnson had few college scholarship opportunities, which was fairly common for African Americans of his time.

Johnson chose to attend college in the Northwest, first for a year at Boise Junior College then for his final college season at the University of Idaho. It was at Idaho where Johnson developed into a 6'6", 230-pound force known as "Honeycomb," a nickname that Vandals head coach Joe Cipriano gave him because of his sweet play.

In the 1962-63 season, Johnson averaged 19 points and led the team to a 20-6 record. Against their main rivals, the Vandals were 4-0 against Oregon, 4-1 against Washington State and split four games against Washington. Johnson and Creighton center Paul Silas waged a season-long duel for the NCAA rebound title, which Silas finally claimed by a 20.6-20.3 margin per game. Johnson set the school record for rebounds in one game with 31 versus Oregon.

Professional career

At 23, Johnson got a late start in the professional ranks and was drafted in the second round of the 1963 NBA Draft by the Baltimore Bullets. He was an immediate sensation and averaged 17.3 points and List of National Basketball Association top rookie rebounding averages 13.6 rebounds per game. He was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year honors to Jerry Lucas, his former Ohio prep rival. Johnson joined Lucas and former prep teammate Thurmond on the NBA All-Rookie Team. In college, Johnson had been dwarfed by Lucas in terms of national recognition, a snub that served as no small source of motivation for him. Early in his NBA career, Johnson went so far as to stare at photos of the former Ohio State star in his hotel room in preparation for their showdowns on the road.

A lethal power player and an exciting open-court threat, Johnson was one of the most effective two-way players of his time. His moves around the basket were comparable to those of peers Elgin Baylor and Connie Hawkins and Julius Erving in later years. Yet as effective as Johnson as a post-up and mid-range threat, he was even more dominant as a physical defender and rebounder throughout his career. Indeed, he was one of the select few players who was quick enough to be paired against backcourt great Oscar Robertson yet strong enough to hold his own against the much taller Wilt Chamberlain in the middle.

Johnson was injury prone and battled constant knee problems. Despite those injury issues, he was a perennial All-Star. In his NBA career, Johnson averaged 17.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per game. He scored 25 points in 25 minutes in the 1965 All-Star Game.

His best years with the Bullets were 1968-71. As the team was more successful, Johnson received more recognition for his play. The 1968-69 team had the NBA's best regular- season record but faded in the playoffs when Johnson was sidelined because of injuries. After a third-place finish in 1970 to eventual champion New York, Johnson and the short-handed Bullets upset the Knicks in seven games then advanced to the NBA Finals in 1971, losing to Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar0 and the Milwaukee Bucks in four games. Johnson reached All-Pro status during this period.

Injuries dropped Johnson to the Bullets' bench in 1972, his last with the team, and limited Johnson to 10 pro seasons, NBA and ABA combined. His career average of 16 points and 12 rebounds per game included seasons as a reserve, which lowered his numbers. Those injuries also prevented post-career honors such as Hall of Fame induction and inclusion on the NBA 50 Greatest Ever group.

Johnson died of inoperable brain cancer in April 1987. Shortly before his death, Johnson was honored by both Boise State and the University of Idaho during a basketball game between the two schools.

The Nail

When Johnson played at Idaho in 1963, he already had a reputation as a leaper of the highest order. One evening at the Corner Club, a local tavern on Main Street in Moscow, Johnson was requested by owner Herm Goetz to display his extraordinary ability to the patrons. The Corner Club was a very modest establishment, converted from a white-stuccoed small chapel in the 1940s with hardwood floors and a beamed ceiling. From a standing start near the bar, Johnson touched a spot on a beam 11'6" (3.505 m) above the floor. This spot was ceremoniously marked with a nail by Goetz, who then proudly proclaimed that anyone who could duplicate the feat could drink for free. A 40-inch (1.016 m) diameter circle was painted on the floor, and both feet had to start inside the circle to ensure a standing start. A full 23 years went by with many attempts at Gus Johnson's Nail, including Bill Walton in the summer of 1984, but with no success.

That was until 1986, when the College of Southern Idaho basketball team from Twin Falls stopped in town in January on their way to a game against NIC in Coeur d'Alene. Joey Johnson, a younger brother of then NBA star Dennis Johnson, was brought into the Corner Club for a try. The 6'3" (1.905 m) guard had a 48" (1.219 m) vertical leap and could put his chin on a basketball rim (10 feet (3.048 m)), with a running start.

Johnson laced up his shoes and touched the nail on his first try, but was disqualified because he did not start with both feet inside the 40-inch circle. The next attempt came from a legal static start, but was just a little short. On the third try, Joey grabbed and bent the legendary nail, a landmark event in Palouse sports history. Goetz pulled the nail out of the beam and pounded it back in, half-an-inch (13 mm) higher. (CSI posted a 35-3 record that season and finished fourth in the national junior college tournament. They would go 38-1 and win the national JC title the following season, and are currently the winningest JC program in the nation.)

External Links

• Basketball-Reference.com - Gus Johnson stats
• Database Basketball.com - stats for Gus Johnson
• Idaho.Scout.com - "How great was Gus Johnson?" reprinted from 1997 article

References

• "S.Idaho's Little JJ almost brings down the house," The Seattle Times, 04-May-1986, p.C-10
• "A Case of Vandalism in Big Sky Country," Sports Illustrated, 25-Jan-1982, p.20-21

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