Falcons senior now finishing with style

A recurring image during Air Force's 2007-08 season was then-junior Anwar Johnson darting past a defender, swooping through the lane, leaping and contorting his body around opponents and ...

The ball careening sharply off the glass or sliding off the rim.

As wonderfully athletic as Johnson's drives to the hoop appeared, style points - not baskets - often were all he had to show for them.

"It was a combination of playing too fast, a little out of control, and other teams' scouts - knowing he was an all-the-way driver who doesn't have a pull-up," jumper," Air Force coach Jeff Reynolds said.

But heading into tonight's game against Northern Illinois at Clune Arena, Johnson is finishing at the rim with more regularity. That's part of the reason the 6-foot-6 senior guard is leading the Falcons in scoring with 13.7 points per game. Despite playing on an injured foot, he scored a career-high 20 in the Falcons' loss to Stanford last week and followed that with a game-high 17 in Sunday's victory over Norfolk State.

Johnson worked on finishing drives during the offseason. He also learned from studying film of his drives and listening to Reynolds' critiques in practice.

"Last year I tended to focus on the defense coming at me and trying to get my shot over them in fear of their contesting me or blocking my shot," Johnson said. "Now I just focus on the rim itself or the backboard and just finishing and playing through that."

Johnson also has benefited by diversifying his game - "he's stopping and shooting a pull-up or a runner sometimes instead of going to the rim to try to dunk it," Reynolds said - and improving at the free-throw line.

Johnson, who made 60.7 percent of his free throws his first three seasons, tweaked his routine and form in the offseason. Through six games he's made 29 of 38 attempts (76.3 percent), including a 9-for-9 performance against Norfolk State. With more confidence at the line, he doesn't have to worry about trying to avoid contact on drives.

While Johnson has improved as a scorer, he's also progressing as a playmaker - he moved from forward to point guard this season. He still needs to cut down on turnovers (he has 16, compared to 17 assists), but Reynolds said he'd give Johnson "a definite ‘B'" on the position transition.

"I've been really pleased with his ball handling," Reynolds said. "He's got to learn to play at different speeds, and once he does that he won't turn the ball over as much."

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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com. Check out our Air Force blog at gazetteafasports.freedomblogging.com