The Daily OrangeJohnson excels under the bright lights at Madison Square Garden
By Matt Ehalt
Posted: 11/21/09, 12:54 AM EST Section: Sports
NEW YORK - Before Friday night's championship game against No. 6 North Carolina, graduate assistant Gerry McNamara delivered a message to Wes Johnson: it was his time to shine in the Big Apple.
"He said when the lights come on you are going to know it," Johnson said. "Then I saw it, and after that the shots started falling."
Bucket after bucket, swish after swish, the junior transfer certainly heeded McNamara's advice and shined in front of a frenzied crowd at Madison Square Garden. He even brought home a little hardware as a result, too.
Johnson's sizzling performance in his first set of games at Madison Square Garden earned him MVP honors and lifted Syracuse to a 87-71 victory over No. 6 North Carolina Friday night. Johnson scored a team-high 25 points and hauled in 7 rebounds, improving his total to 42 and 18 in Syracuse's sweep in New York City.
"It was a must for me to step up tonight," Johnson said. "I knew it was going to be a mismatch for me on the court so I knew I had to be aggressive coming into the game. I knew I had to be more aggressive than I was in the past three games and I think tonight was probably the best game for me to do it."
Johnson said he felt "good" coming into a game he called the biggest stage he's ever played on, with his shots falling during the shoot around and him focused on the task at hand. Little did anyone know that his 17-point, 11-rebound, 6-block performance against No. 13 California Thursday night would be the appetizer to Friday night's entrée.
He started the display early. On the Orange's first possession, he fired from the left corner and knocked down a 3-pointer that ignited the crowd. It was just the beginning of what would be a career-high scoring night.
"He ate his Wheaties before the game," shooting guard Andy Rautins said. "I think he didn't do anything different tonight. He's going to play Wesley basketball and that's aggressive and being in the right spots at all the right times. He's an athletic guy who can shoot the rock, so he's going to play his game."
"He said when the lights come on you are going to know it," Johnson said. "Then I saw it, and after that the shots started falling."
Bucket after bucket, swish after swish, the junior transfer certainly heeded McNamara's advice and shined in front of a frenzied crowd at Madison Square Garden. He even brought home a little hardware as a result, too.
Johnson's sizzling performance in his first set of games at Madison Square Garden earned him MVP honors and lifted Syracuse to a 87-71 victory over No. 6 North Carolina Friday night. Johnson scored a team-high 25 points and hauled in 7 rebounds, improving his total to 42 and 18 in Syracuse's sweep in New York City.
"It was a must for me to step up tonight," Johnson said. "I knew it was going to be a mismatch for me on the court so I knew I had to be aggressive coming into the game. I knew I had to be more aggressive than I was in the past three games and I think tonight was probably the best game for me to do it."
Johnson said he felt "good" coming into a game he called the biggest stage he's ever played on, with his shots falling during the shoot around and him focused on the task at hand. Little did anyone know that his 17-point, 11-rebound, 6-block performance against No. 13 California Thursday night would be the appetizer to Friday night's entrée.
He started the display early. On the Orange's first possession, he fired from the left corner and knocked down a 3-pointer that ignited the crowd. It was just the beginning of what would be a career-high scoring night.
"He ate his Wheaties before the game," shooting guard Andy Rautins said. "I think he didn't do anything different tonight. He's going to play Wesley basketball and that's aggressive and being in the right spots at all the right times. He's an athletic guy who can shoot the rock, so he's going to play his game."
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