Senior Spotlight: Reggie Johnson
The Canes wrap up their regular season this week with a pair ofhome games against Georgia Tech (3/6) and Clemson (3/9). With five seniors onthe roster, HurricaneSports.com is honoring a different one each day this weekleading up to Senior Day on Saturday against Clemson. Today, we chat withsenior big man Reggie Johnson.
Reggie Johnson
Winston-Salem, N.C.
8.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.2 bpg
What is your favorite memory or moment as a Hurricane?
“I think going to Duke last yearand winning in Cameron Indoor Stadium, which not everyone has an opportunity todo in college basketball. It was special for me and my teammates.”
Does being from North Carolina make it extra special when you beatone of the schools from your home state?
“Definitely. If you are from there,then you know all the history and you know the fan bases. It’s definitelyspecial to play against those teams and beat them. Growing up, I was a WakeForest fan. I was five minutes from the university, so I was hanging out withthe guys there and always practicing with them. I was a Wake Forest fan atheart. I looked up to Eric Williams and Chris Ellis. Chris Ellis was a guy whoI really looked up to and Big E was a guy I thought I could be like once I goton the college level.”
Are you happy with how your career at Miami turned out?
“I love it. I scored 1,000points here. Coming out of high school, I was not supposed to do that, so it wasa big achievement for me. I am happy with my career.”
What do you think of your legacy at Miami?
“We are not doneyet. Hopefully, we can add some more hardware and do some more things from hereon out. Right now, I am happy with it, but I think we can do more to makeit even better.”
What do you think of the future for Miami Basketball?
“I think with Coach L at the helmthis program can really take off. We have seen what type of coach he is and howhe likes to play. I think us winning this year can really help us in thefuture. I think positive things will happen here.”
What do you hope to do in your future?
“God’s plan is God’s plan, so Idon’t know. I definitely want to play pro basketball. That is my ultimategoal and that is what I am going to strive for. After basketball, I see myselfworking with kids. I am big on with working with kids. I want to help kidsreach their goals or help kids who got on the wrong path. I am just bigwith kids.”
Obviously the team is playing very well, but how much of an impacthas Coach L had on you and your teammates?
“It is huge.People respect him. He demands respect and he gets respect. He came in andturned us around. Now, we have a chance to cut down nets.”
What do you think of the emergence of the basketball program? Doesthis feel more like a basketball school now that it did when you got here?
“This year, yes. I am fromNorth Carolina, so this is nowhere near a basketball school compared to backhome. This is straight football. Where I am from, football has zeroexistence. We’re all about basketball, but when you come down here, everythingis about U football. When I first got here, I thought, ‘I have to accept thatnow basketball is on the backburner.’ But that changed a lot this year.With the fan support and the excitement around the program, I think this one ofthose years you can say this is like a North Carolina, a Wake Forest or NCState fan base. The excitement around the program this year has been great.”
What is your relationship like with the rest of the team?
“I feel like we are close. I knoweveryone says that, but that is the truth. We are a close-knit group offthe court and we hang out, wrestle with each other and go out to eat together.We are really like brothers. I think this year’s group of guys will belifelong friends. I will always be in contact with all of theseguys. I will talk to these guys any chance I get.”
What is your relationship like with the coaches?
“We joke on everyone, even Coach L. The assistant coacheswill joke on us and I think we have the type of relationship where they cancome to us and be honest. I don’t want the coaches to lie to us or keepsecrets from us. Coach Caputo is a guy I really lean on. He is brutallyhonest with me and he tells me when I am wrong and when I am right, on and off thecourt. I think the coaches really care about the players.”
What is the highlight of your career?
“Scoring 1,000points. Like I said, coming out high school, I was not supposed to dothat. No one had me coming to the ACC and competing at a highlevel. Not everyone who comes here scores 1,000, but I did it and thathas been the highlight of my career.”
What has it been like to help take this program all the way to No.2 in the rankings?
“It has been a fun ride. I used tolove playing on the road. I hated playing at home because the fans would notcome and it was like a neutral site for both teams, but now I love playing athome. I feel like our crowd gives us that extra will to win. It hasevolved. Even on campus, it is not just U football shirts anymore. I see Ubasketball shirts, so that makes me smile. I think the fans are excited to seea really good basketball team. As far as the team, it is rewarding to know thatwe have a chance to do something special. I have never been to the tournamentand most of these guys never have. Miami’s history of going to the NCAA tournamentis not that long, so when people look back at the 2012-13 season, my name isgoing to be on the roster of a team that went and that’s special. I am happy tobe on that roster with these guys and it means a lot.”
What’s your favorite Coach L story?
“I think what Durand said aboutteaching Coach L how to do the Dougie. I was out there when Durand wasteaching him and Coach L was trying to do it. He was making all these faces andlooking old with no rhythm. That is probably the funniest memory I have ofCoach L, by far.
Basketball has allowed you to travel the world. Could you everhave imagined the game taking you to so many places?
“It has been a funexperience. I think my freshman year we went to the Virgin Islands and Inever thought that I would go to a place like the Virgin Islands. Goingto Hawai’i this year was big time, too.”
What was your recruitment like and how did you decide to attendMiami?
“To be honest, I was not going tocome here. I wanted to go to a North Carolina school. I wanted to go to WakeForest or NC State, but once Skip Prosser passed away, they went a differentroute and I understood that. NC State recruited me, but Coach Frank Haith cameto me and I thought he was real genuine with me. He told me they needed meinstead of just wanting me and that spoke volumes to me. I committed tohim and I was happy. I remember that Jimmy Graham welcomed me with a bighug when I did that, so I could tell with my visit that this was a family and Iwould fit right in. It was tough not staying at home, but I grew up a lot justcoming here. I wash my own clothes and cook for myself. Coming here was agreat decision for me.”
Did the fact that Jimmy Graham was from North Carolina help youfeel more comfortable about coming to Miami?
“Jimmy is type of guy that is goingto persuade you to come here. Jimmy is going to talk to you and show youwhy this is the best place for you. He’ll tell you ‘Hey, you need to behere.’ Jimmy being from North Carolina really spoke volumes to me,because I saw that someone like me was already doing things here. I didn’t knowwho he was before I visited. But when I first met him, he was just heartwarmingand he really helped me want to come here.
After initially committing to Coach Haith and playing for him fora few years, what did you think when Coach L and his staff took over?
“I was one of those guys who wereworried. I didn’t know what to expect. He came from George Mason, a mid-major,and this is high-level basketball. I didn’t know what to expect from them.Even when I first met him, I wasn’t sure if things would work. But once we goton the basketball court, I saw how he taught the game. I think Garrius Adamswas his first victim. Garrius jogged somewhere and Coach L stoppedpractice and yelled at Garrius about it. That’s when I knew that Coach L wasabout winning. After that, I knew he was going to have our attention and wejust played good basketball ever since.”
How have you developed under this coaching staff?
“I think I’ve developedwell. I think the majority of my development was in my sophomore year, butI developed well as far as doing little things right because of this staff.They taught me the importance of the little things like coming in andexercising early before the game. Some of the stuff Coach L makes you do feelslike it is fifth grade work, but it’s stuff you need that you probably forgetabout when you get to the college level. It’s stuff that definitely makes youbetter. One guy who I know also benefitted a lot from it was DeQuan Jones.”
Beyond basketball, what do you think of your time at Miami?
“It has been fun. I’ve met a lot of peoplehere. Being from North Carolina, it is a different scene with a different typeof people down here, so it was a lot of fun. I like meeting new people. I met Dexter Pittman here andthat is my brother now. I am always going to talk to Dexter. I never would havedone that had I gone somewhere else.”
What was it like to see the students camp out and line up beforethe Duke game?
“That is when I knew basketballwas for real here. It was special to see students line up and support us. Thatis what we see when we go to Duke or NC State. You never saw that at home. Forthe students to do that meant a lot to us. We really came out and played forthem that night. We gave it our all and it really helped us get that big win.”
Do you think Miami basketball will ever win a NationalChampionship?
“Definitely. With the coaches we have here, I don’t see why not. I think we can do it this year. Thisfeels like a year we can do it. And I am pretty sure you are going to havebetter teams than this one in the future, teams that will definitely make somenoise. This year is just a stepping stone for Miami. Coach L is trying to getthe first ACC championship for us. We’ll go to the NCAA tournament and makenoise there and who knows what will happen. I am sure other teams here aregoing to make noise in the future, too.”
What does being a Miami Hurricane mean to you?
“It means power. If you throw the ‘U’ up, everyone knows what you mean. You don’t have to say anything, theyalready know. You just have power. Not every school has a symbol you canjust throw up and everybody knows what you are talking about. Just throwing upa ‘U’ means power.”
