Making a ‘Biggz’ impact

Playing college basketball in his hometown, Lima Central Catholic graduate Biggz Johnson sees plenty of familiar faces during home games at University of Northwestern Ohio.

The former T-Bird standout who now plays college hoops down the road for the Racers has had some big games with family and friends in attendance.

“It’s big because family members get to come see you. It’s more of a fast pace and physical game compared to a high school game. It’s fun and I enjoy when all my family is in the crowd, and it gives me an extra boost,” said Johnson.

One of the faces in the crowd is Johnson’s older brotherTre’on Johnson who also had a great basketball career at LCC. Tre’on now lives in Cincinnati but makes it to plenty of games at UNOH. For Biggz, the presence of his brother provides a little bit of an extra boost.

“When my big brother comes to a game – he’s usually front row and very intense and he’s one of the people that I talk to after the games. When he’s there it does something to me,” said Johnson.

Another familiar face in the crowd is UNOH basketball hall of famer Greg “Radar” Williamson. Johnson has known Williamson for as long as he can remember and enjoys the support he continues to get today from Radar.

“After the game we go on the court and talk for 30 to 45 minutes until one of us decides to leave. They (Tre’on and Radar) are always giving me pointers for what we can improve upon and how we can win some more games,” said Johnson.

The Racer roster also includes two other local players. Cam Miles is a freshman guard from Lima Senior and John Barker is a sophomore guard from Lima Shawnee.

UNOH plays in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) and Johnson was named player of the week on Dec. 19.

The week included a pair of key victories for the Racers. UNOH defeated Ohio Christian 85-82 and Taylor 83-80 that week. Johnson put up big numbers in both games but his stats in the victory over Taylor were just about as good as they can get. Johnson poured in 36 points against Taylor while drilling 12 of 14 from the field including seven of nine from three-point land. Johnson also drained all five of his free-throw attempts.

“It means a lot, especially putting in all the work. If you put in the work, you may not see results for a while. Last year, I felt like I had a couple games where I could have got player of the week, but I didn’t but obviously you still work. Really, I was working so hard, I forgot about the award and coach (Caleb Williams) comes in and said I got player of the week. It’s nice and wants you to keep going and get more,” said Johnson.

Johnson sees plenty of potential down the home stretch for the Racers. On Friday, the Racers upset Point Park 83-73. Johnson poured in 24 points, representing the fifth time this season he has tallied 20 or more points in a contest. The Racers improved to 6-9 on the season.

“We don’t have a good-looking record, so we have some games to make up. I’ve been preparing myself for these last games to end on a good stretch,” said Johnson.

The WHAC features colleges from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan and is a member of the NAIA.

“It’s a solid conference. A lot of good teams. I believe it’s a conference we can win if we get it together and come together as one. It’s a big conference and I love competing in the conference,” said Johnson.

Johnson is thankful of UNOH Coach Caleb Williams believing in him and giving him the opportunity to play college hoops.

“I appreciate coach Williams. He will always have a spot in my heart. He was about the only coach looking at me. He’s a very film heavy type of coach and prepares us well for the games.

Johnson emphasizes the overall speed of the game as something different at the college level compared to high school.

“Biggest thing was stamina and speed of the game. You have to get adjusted to that and obviously you have a 30-second shot clock. You have actual schemes (in college) you have to come prepared, watch film, and be prepared. If you love the game, you will grasp it pretty fast. I think once I got adjusted everything slowed down for me and now it’s a fun paced game for me now,” said Johnson.

The NBA implemented the shot clock in 1954 and college introduced the shot clock in 1985. Johnson thinks it makes sense for high school hoops to also have a shot clock.

“I think all high schools should have a shot clock. I notice that some high schools when they are up in the fourth quarter, they just hold the ball or swing it and I don’t that is good, and the shot clock can eliminate that. I don’t think it has to be a 30 second shot clock. A 35 or 40 second shot clock would be good, just so a team knows not to hold the ball. It will speed the pace of the game up and add different aspects of the game like IQ and you have to know how much time is left and what type of shot you can get. It’s only better for the players because if that player is good and they are going to go to the college level they are going to have a shot clock,” explained Johnson.

Prior to a game, Johnson goes through a standard routine which helps get him ready for competition on the court.

“If it’s game day I wake up and get some shots up. I have a routine where I do 100 shots each spot. It’s a routine I did in high school, and I’ve carried it on. At the end I will shoot around 500 shots. I do that early in the morning and come back home and turn on some cartoons and right before the game I write down on my notebook what I want to happen, what I want my stats to look like and what the team to look like and after that I close my eyes and think about the game and try and see it. Once it’s game time I let everything go,” said Johnson.

Over winter break. Johnson has had the opportunity to take the short trip from UNOH to LCC to catch T-Bird practices.

“The whole LCC community is great. I’m so glad I went there. With being on winter break – if we end practice early, I go down the street and go there and watch. Usually if I have something to say Coach (K) will let me chime in. We talk about the season, and I just love going over there and staying connected and see how things have changed and how they have stayed the same and implementing what I can,” said Johnson.

Johnson is studying Sports Marketing and sees a future passing along basketball knowledge to younger players who are motivated to get to the next level.

“In my free time I like to train some kids in basketball. I have a pretty good lineup of kids that I train. They come to LCC and work on some ball handling and get some shots up and doing that I found I love in that. I like dropping my knowledge off with the kids and could see a future in this,” said Johnson.