Michigan head coach John Beilein appears to have gotten a great one in East Lansing (Mich.) forward Brandon Johns, and he’s starting to see the future Wolverine elevate his game.
There was never a question that Johns was skilled. He’s been able to score inside and out for years, and he puts the ball on the floor extremely well.
But he’d gotten to the point where he relied too much on his jumper for a stretch, Beilein said Wednesday.
“Once he discovered he could shoot, he went a year where he forgot about the body God gave him,” Beilein said. “Now he’s embracing this thing about being physical in crowds, and he can also can step away and shoot it.”
Johns was good last year in earning Class A player of the year, averaging 20.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for a 24-1 East Lansing team. It was obvious at the Michigan Elite camp this summer, however, that he had taken his game to another level.
“That was the first time we saw it, when we did some of our drills with him,” Beilein said. “We could see once he found out what contact was like … that he was going to be the stronger guy at this high school level … he embraced it.”
He’s continued to thrive. He’s averaging 32.8 points and 11 rebounds per game in the Trojans’ first five contests and has helped lead them to 44 straight regular season wins.
He took it to an even higher level Tuesday night, scoring 51 points in a 114-82 victory over Lansing Sexton.
“How about that?” Beilein said. “[Assistant] Saddi [Washington] went earlier to see him and he wasn’t in shape yet … he had a great game yesterday.
“He can do a lot of things. We like what we’re haring from Steven Finamore, his coach, about how much more physical he is.”
Johns is one of the early frontrunners for the state’s Mr. Basketball award given annually to Michigan’s top player.
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