Kobe Johnson tried to be sneaky and sneaked a look at Mick Cronin on the sideline. Cronin understood, but it didn’t matter.
USC’s star defenseman decoded the UCLA coach’s play call — a shot for Lazar Stefanovic — and signaled to his teammates what was going to happen.
The Trojans came to a standstill. The Bruins got an earful.
“That’s not going to work,” Johnson playfully told Cronin last season as he walked the other way.
In his mind, Cronin acknowledged his defeat.
“I thought, ‘Damn, I can’t get him,’” Cronin said.
Well, actually…
On Thursday, Johnson sat two seats across from his new coach for a television interview their team.
Cronin got him.
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A year after wearing a USC jersey while representing the Trojans at Pac-12 media day, Johnson wore a dark blue plaid sport coat, white shirt and black pants while appearing on behalf of the Bruins at Big Ten media day.
The 6-foot-4 senior forward was perhaps UCLA’s biggest gain during a busy offseason as it attempted to make an equally monumental transition — from losing record to national title contender. Of the six transfers the Bruins imported, Johnson is the only one who spent two consecutive seasons on a major conference’s all-defensive team.
“I’ll be shocked if he’s not an all-league player when it matters in the postseason when the votes are tallied,” Cronin said at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. “He’s just a winner. He defends. He is as good a defensive player as I have ever coached, and I coached defensively two years ago with Jaylen Clark as the national player of the year.”
He is also a rarity. Johnson is believed to be the first basketball player to play for both LA schools since the closing years of World War II, when Frank Bowman spent his first year in medical school at USC after three seasons at UCLA. The rise of the transfer portal and the demise of long-standing rules requiring intra-conference transfers to wait two years made Johnson’s move possible.
Some of his new teammates might briefly wish he remained a Trojan. With his long arms, quick hands and unparalleled ability to diagnose a play before it happens, Johnson was the Bruins’ greatest early practice foil.
“The word for it is annoying,” point guard Dylan Andrews said of what it’s like going against Johnson, whose presence has to be acknowledged even when he’s not guarding him. But it’s great to have a player like Kobe on our side and not on the opponent’s side.”
The benefits include being part of the winning team during a summer pick-up game with Clippers star James Harden.
“That was a great experience,” Johnson said of trying to run into a player known for his crossover.
It wasn’t really anything new for someone who regularly plays against an NBA player. Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Kobe’s older brother, engages in one-on-one battles with his younger sibling when he comes into town. Jalen had the upper hand in their final match this summer, although it took significant effort.
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“In the end he won,” Kobe said, “but it was a fight to the end. It was a no-brainer for him.”
Shortly after the Trojans stumbled to a 15-18 finish last season, Johnson entered the transfer portal, looking for an opportunity to win and become the best version of himself.
“I’m not saying I didn’t get that at SC,” said Johnson, who averaged 10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game last season, “but I just wanted a change , and I think this is the best opportunity for myself.”
Cronin was the first coach to show interest and Johnson showed how much he was desired by someone he had come to respect.
“My first reaction when I saw him as a coach was, man, this guy is crazy,” Johnson said of the animated coach, “but at the same time I thought, OK, he’s winning and his players are playing for him and they’re listening , so there must be something going on. That’s what attracted me, his intensity and his love for the game, because that’s what I want to play for. I want to play for a coach who cares.”
Johnson moved across town to an apartment in Westwood with his girlfriend and their three tuxedo cats – Minx, Mama and Olly – and began working on his jumper and making plays with pick-and-roll, skills that would let see that he is capable of doing more than just playing. just defend.
The former Trojan received welcome messages from a litany of former Bruins, including Baron Davis, Ryan Hollins, Matt Barnes and Bill Walton before Walton passed away in May.
“Just be great,” Walton told him.
In case there was any doubt about Johnson’s preparation for his return to the Galen Center, he answered it when asked if he had checked when the game was scheduled.
“Yes, I did,” Johnson said. “Jan. 27.”
He’s ready for all the fan angst and foolish DJ Mal-Ski statements that come his way, and his anticipation saves him once again.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
