By Robert Gagliardi
WyoSports 

Looking to the future

Tariq Johnson was impressed by UW men's basketball after watching at game on TV, now he is part of the team

 

July 12, 2018

COURTESY/ Shannon Broderick/ Laramie Boomerang

Tariq Johnson poses for a portrait at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.

LARAMIE – During this past season, at Mount Zion Academy in Baltimore, Tariq Johnson had some free time and watched the University of Wyoming men's basketball team defeat Nevada 104-103 in double overtime at home.

"I kept telling myself, 'I can see myself playing there because of their playing style, which was the same as at Mount Zion,'" Johnson said.

About a month later, UW started recruiting the 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard and eventually signed him.

"When I got the first call (from Wyoming), I couldn't believe it," Johnson said. "I was really excited and we built a relationship from there."

Johnson is from Stevensville, Maryland, and is a long way from home. Johnson said he has been out west to California and Las Vegas. But until his visit to UW in the spring, he had never been to Wyoming.

"I love the town. It is very peaceful and quiet," Johnson said. "It is a place where I can just focus on school and basketball.

"My game has improved a lot since I've been here. My body has improved a lot. My grades have been amazing. It's been nothing but positive."

Johnson said he wanted to go west for college, but, until UW came into the picture, most of his scholarship offers were on the eastern part of the country, like Siena, Wagner, James Madison and East Tennessee State.

Johnson averaged 17 points and seven rebounds per game at Mount Zion, along with three assists and two steals. He scored more than 1,000 points in high school and averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior.

Third-year UW coach Allen Edwards said there is a lot to like about Johnson, specifically his maturity on and off the court. Edwards also said Johnson's body "is college ready."

However, one of the things that impressed Edwards the most was a question Johnson posed to him prior to arriving on campus this summer.

"I was walking through an airport and he texted me and asked if I could go back to my days in college what would I do differently," Edwards said. "In the 18 years I've been in the coaching profession, I've never had a kid ask me that.

"It was a great question, so I called him and we had a long conversation. I was very honest with him. When you come across a kid like that, you have to be (honest)."

When Johnson committed in late March, he was confident he could come in and compete for playing time as a true freshman. That feeling hasn't changed.

"I do because of my work ethic and my competitiveness," Johnson said. "Every day I step in the gym, I make sure I am the first one there – even on the weekend when no one is around."

Edwards said he sees Johnson playing off-guard or even small forward for UW, and also believes Johnson has the physicality to defend multiple positions on the floor.

 
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