Perfect timing for King's Brown-Johnson
ONCE THE Public League folks came to their senses and switched the date for their basketball semifinals, the happiest player was likely Raquan Brown-Johnson.
ONCE THE Public League folks came to their senses and switched the date for their basketball semifinals, the happiest player was likely Raquan Brown-Johnson.
He still sees himself as being part of two hoops families, and now he'll double his fun.
Brown-Johnson, a 6-5, 185-pound senior swingman and a transfer from Roman Catholic, is a highly productive starter for Martin Luther King, which on Thursday night at 6:45 at South Philly High, will meet Roberts Vaux in the second game of the Pub's semifinal doubleheader (it'll be Communications Tech vs. Imhotep Charter at 5).
Where will you find him Wednesday? At the Palestra, baby!
Brown-Johnson's former squad will tackle St. Joseph's Prep in the 7 o'clock opener of the Catholic League's semifinal double-dip, with Archbishop Carroll/Ss. Neumann-Goretti to follow at roughly 8:30.
"I'm so glad they changed things around," Brown-Johnson said. "It's going to be fun to watch Roman at the Palestra.
"I still have good feelings for that school. I'm not sure where I'll sit. Maybe with Shep's mom. Or maybe I'll go hang out in the student section."
Shep is Shep Garner. Brown-Johnson is still tight with Garner and another star junior guard, Rashann London, and perhaps those guys will match the loyalty and head to Southern on Thursday.
Unless they've caught his act other times this season, those guys will marvel at the great strides Johnson-Brown has made.
He and point guard Fa'Teem Glenn qualify as King's co-franchises and they've led the school to just its fourth semis appearance in 37 seasons of Pub membership. At Roman, Brown-Johnson's nothing-special moments far outnumbered his good ones.
"I used to go see him play," said Sean Colson, King's first-year coach and a longtime friend of Raquan's father, Terry Johnson. "He'd play 6 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Get four points. Get seven points. He never looked comfortable."
Meanwhile, in Saturday's quarterfinal win over John Bartram, Brown-Johnson totaled 21 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
"With us," said Colson, who starred at Franklin Learning Center and UNC-Charlotte and played briefly in the NBA, "he has gotten a chance to develop. He's happier and is playing at a much higher level."
So, does son stir memories of father? Keep in mind, Colson and Johnson played together on youth teams and even on independent teams as they got older.
"Not at all!" Colson said, laughing. "They're totally different. Terry had a high motor and lots of confidence. He thought he was the greatest guard since Tiny Archibald. Sometimes, Raquan second-guesses himself, but he's getting past that."
Brown-Johnson has developed a smooth jumper and, ironically, does some of his best three-point sniping from the corners and near wings, which is not even possible in Roman's gym, because the arc meets the sideline halfway up the lane.
"It feels great to have my game where it is," Brown-Johnson said. "It shows that my hard work is paying off. I just want to keep moving forward.
"Coach Sean made me feel like I'm a better player than I thought I was. He always pumps me up. Never brings me down. He's a big reason why we're having this season. He comes at me with some mouth sometimes, but that's OK. I understand that. He always reminds me to make sure I do the little things, because that's what matters in the end."
Brown-Johnson also receives inspiration from Glenn.
"He wants the best from his teammates," he said. "He plays hard and emotional, and that gets us to do the same."
Fairfield, Loyola Marymount and Northwestern have made varying degrees of contact with Brown-Johnson, who lives on South 15th Street near Reed.
Though King, perched on the border of East Germantown and West Oak Lane, is not exactly around the corner from South Philly, Brown-Johnson's father and mother, Charese Brown, are fixtures at the Cougars' games.
With a smile, he said: "My dad knows more, but she's the one that lets me have it if things aren't going well. It means a lot to have my parents at every game. I play for them. I just want my whole family to have success."
And he puts in the work.
"I'm the first at practice and the last to leave," he said. "Well, not always, but I try to be. When my last class ends, I rush to the gym. I want to be the first guy to greet everybody as they come through the door."
Who knows? He might be the Palestra's first arrival Wednesday.