Chawn Johnson
AV Christian's Johnson signs
Accepts basketball scholarship to Montana St. as family, classmates, dignitaries look on
By ALAN HENDRY
Valley Press Staff Writer
LANCASTER - Chawn Johnson thought he would be signing a few sheets of paper Wednesday afternoon, not a simple task since it was the culmination of several years' worth of work on the basketball court and off.
What he no idea of, was that signing the national letter of intent papers to accept a scholarship to Montana State would be done in front a gymnasium full of his classmates at Antelope Valley Christian High, up on stage with his family and a host of dignitaries.
"I am very surprised," said Johnson, who has been recruited by college coaches for several years with the final choice coming down to Montana State and Northern Colorado. "I wasn't expecting this at all. They told me I was just signing the papers."
Johnson didn't know that he would get letters of recognition from Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts, a representative from County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich's office, a spokeswoman for assemblywoman Sharon Runner and from the office of Palmdale Mayor James Ledford.
"With many schools our size, a full-ride scholarship to a Division One NCAA school might only come along every 10, 20 or 30 years," said David L. Ralph, the president and CEO of Antelope Valley Christian High School. "(Johnson) has been an outstanding student, morally, ethically. His parents and grandparents can be very proud of him."
His family - his parents, August and Trina Johnson, grandmother Leola Johns and brother and sister, Davon and Brianna - was up on stage with him and Davon even asked him for an autographed 8x10 photo that Chawn was signing for several classmates.
There was also a video presentation of Chawn's highlights from this past season shown during the assembly that had his classmates oohing and aweing his montage of blocks and slam dunks.
Johnson was named to the all-CIF-Southern Section Division V-A first team, along with teammate Shawn Walker. J'Whon James was named to the second team.
Johnson averaged a team-high 19.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.2 blocks, 2.1 steals and two assists per game, as the Eagles advanced to the semifinals, losing 68-65, to Renaissance Academy.
Johnson had transferred to AV Christian from Antelope Valley High, in a move to focus on bringing up his grades after they had lapsed his junior year.
"I didn't like the way his grades were headed at AV High School, so I knew we wanted a private school," August Johnson said. "This has been a blessing."
August Johnson said one of the reasons Chawn chose Montana State was because that school kept up its recruitment of him even after his grades dipped last year, while it scared off several other universities.
When Chawn ultimately made the final decision, he walked up next to his father on March 31 at his sister's track meet.
Chawn immediately called the Montana State coach on his cell phone to inform him.
The next day his mother pulled an April Fool's joke on Chawn, telling him Arizona coach Lute Olson had called for him. Trina Johnson quickly called back to inform him of the prank.
"I knew I got him good," Trina Johnson laughed. "
Johnson becomes the second AV Christian athlete to move on to a Division I athletic program. Darvell Bivens, a 1996 grad, played football at Northwest Louisiana.
"What really helped him is he put himself out there," AV Christian coach David Nurse said. "Every weekend you have to sacrifice. Yeah, he's 6-9, but if you're 5-11 and work like that you are going to have the same kind of exposure. He works hard at his game."
Schools were still calling the day before Chawn officially committed. He received a call from Fresno State on Tuesday.
Branden Johnson
Ike center Johnson signs to play basketball at Montana St.
Scott Spruill
By ROGER UNDERWOOD YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Branden Johnson, the 6-foot-8 center who helped Eisenhower High to a school-record 26 victories and its highest-ever state tournament finish, has signed a letter of intent to continue his basketball career at Montana State.
Johnson's signing was confirmed by Bobcat officials from their Bozeman, Mont., offices Thursday, the second day of the spring signing period. It was announced with those of Derrick Edmonds, a junior college guard from Baton Rouge, La., and Chawn Johnson, a center from Lancaster, Calif.
Branden Johnson was the third-leading scorer in the Big Nine Conference last season at 17.9 points a game as the Cadets shared the regular-season championship with Pasco, then won district and regional titles before placing fourth at the Class 4A state tournament in Tacoma.
He finished first-team All-Big Nine and was named the regional MVP. And in All-State competition last week at KeyArena in Seattle, Johnson hit four 3-point shots en route to totals of 18 points and nine rebounds.
Still, even after his stellar season, Johnson was surprised to have been recruited by an NCAA Division I school.
"It's awesome," he said. "I got very lucky. Montana State came in after all these other schools, which is all part of the game. I feel bad for the other coaches who watched me play and recruited me all this time.
"But I also know Andrew Strait (from West Valley) is at the University of Montana, and they tell me that once you become a Bobcat you just hate those Grizzlies. So it will be great to play against him."
Montana State finished 14-14 last season, losing to Montana in the Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals. The Bobcats listed only two seniors on their roster and neither averaged more than 4.4 points a game.
Johnson said he hopes to play as a true freshman.
"When I made my visit there, I played with all their (returning) guys," he said. "So I'll play next year, as far as I know. They haven't said one word about redshirting."
Said MSU head coach Mick Durham in a university press release, "Branden really finished his senior year strong, which is a great statement about his future. He's long at 6-8, and can play big inside and also has a good-looking 3-point shot. He needs to get stronger and has the frame to do that.
"Coach Pat Fitterer has done a great job of developing Branden the past two years and really has Branden believing in himself."
Fitterer, quoted in the same release, said, "He's a diamond in the rough. He's come on like gangbusters, and if he keeps improving at that rate he could be a real special player."
A 3.8 grade-point student at Ike, Johnson said he's considering biology as a major.