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Johnson Happy to Still be a 49er
by Doug Krikorian, Long Beach Press-Telegram
November 4, 2006
Kejuan Johnson admits there was a time when he got tired of the negativity
that swirled around his Long Beach State basketball team, even seriously
considered departing the scene.
"Yeah, I was close to leaving," he says, and there is that that
soft smile that seems a permanent fixture of his face.
But he persevered through his frustration, even though he wasn't eligible
to play in his team's first seven games last season, five of which were
losses.
But then he finally got into the 49ers' starting lineup, and he began
doing what he did with such effectiveness when he was at Artesia High
and Long Beach City College, making deft passes, making big shots, making
key steals, making teammates better.
He even turned a former coach into quite a clairvoyant.
"Kejuan Johnson is a winner, and he'll turn the 49ers into winners,"
LBCC's Gary Anderson told me before the 2005-2006 season commenced.
And it's not exactly a coincidence that the 49ers wound up having their
first winning season under coach Larry Reynolds - they finished 18-12
and lost to Pacific in the Big West Conference Tournament title game -
in Johnson's first year with the team.
Not that Kejuan Johnson's numbers were overwhelming. The 6-4 guard averaged
11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists. But his value can't be measured
in statistics.
"Kejuan has a great desire to win and be successful," says Reynolds,
quite appreciative of Johnson's work. "He sees the floor very well,
passes the ball well and is an unselfish player."
It's the latter trait that defines Kejuan Johnson, who, unlike so many
of his collegiate contemporaries, gets even more satisfaction out of setting
up a teammate for an easy score with a pass than converting a 3-pointer,
which, incidentally, he did 45 percent of the time (34 of 75) last season.
But now Johnson and his talented cohorts like Aaron Nixon, Kevin Houston,
Mark Dawson, Sterling Byrd, Louis Darby and the others find themselves
in a most unusual position as they prepare to open the regular season
on Nov. 14 in a CBE Classic opening-round match.
Unlike their recent dark past, the 49ers are expected to win this season,
even are the consensus preseason picks to win the Big West title.
"This season is going to be a real challenge for us," says Johnson,
whose team played an exhibition match Saturday night against Chapman College
at the Walter Pyramid. "Now we're the ones everyone is out to beat.
We can't listen to the hype. We're going to have to continue to play like
we did at the end of last season when we won all those games with hustle
and unselfish play. I think we're all now committed to Larry Reynolds'
philosophy, and it's just a matter of us going out and performing."
It's not surprising that Kejuan Johnson is an exceptional basketball player.
After all, his uncle happens to be a fellow named Lucious Harris, a former
Long Beach State star and NBA player who has been a long-time counselor
of Johnson.
Johnson long has looked up to Harris, and even last season wore the same
No. 30 that Harris did at Long Beach State.
But this season Johnson's uniform number will change.
"Long Beach plans to retire No. 30 in a ceremony to honor my uncle
later in the season, and so I've gone to wearing the No. 1 I did at Long
Beach City," says Johnson.
Kejuan Johnson is aware how important this season will be for Larry Reynolds,
in the final year of his contract that hasn't been extended by the new
49ers athletic director, Vic Cegles.
But Johnson has noticed a different demeanor in his coach during the preseason
drills.
"Coach Reynolds seems more relaxed than he was at this time last
season and also has been a little more assertive," he says.
Kejuan Johnson spent the summer adding a few pounds a muscle to his lean
body with some strenuous weightlifting - he says he now weighs 195 - as
well as playing basketball on a regular basis.
"I played in the Say-No Classic in West L.A., and participated in
eight games," he says. "I've worked hard on my shooting and
defense, and I definitely think I've improved my game."
His most passionate loyalist, of course, is his mother, Shelia Celestain,
who drives the Blue Line train for MTA.
"My mom never misses a home game," he says.
It is Kejuan Johnson's goal to one day play in the NBA, just like Lucious
Harris did for 12 seasons.
"Every time I visit Uncle Lucious' beautiful home, I get very inspired,"
says Johnson. "I say to myself, `This is what I want for myself one
day, to live in a home like this.'
"And I think I can go to the next level if I keep getting better.
I think the 49er fans are going to like our team this season.
"Our goal, of course, is to win the Big West and make it to the Big
Dance. If we do that, we'll be living up to our expectations. And I think
we can."
If the 49ers reach such a giddy plateau, you can be sure Kejuan Johnson
will have played a vital part in it.
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