When a fast, lightning quick point guard doesn’t have running mates it makes him and in turn the team, a lot less effective. Quite simply, you just aren’t enjoying the full menu.
That’s not an issue for Blue Ridge point guard Malik Johnson this season.
“I’ve played on a couple of teams like that with guys that can’t run with you down the floor but this team everybody is fast,” Johnson said. “That’s one thing we say — transition, transition, transition. Because when we get out in transition, we can make it easy for us to win.”
Johnson put on a clinic Wednesday night in the VISAA Division II quarterfinals while orchestrating the top-seeded Barons’ breakneck pace, as he posted a triple double by scoring 11 points, dishing out 10 assists and hauling in 11 rebounds. That effort helped push Blue Ridge to a 65-39 win over Atlantic Shores, securing a spot in the Division II final four.
“He’s all over the place, it’s hard to take him out of the game,” said Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey. “He’s just electrifying, puts us on his back every game.”
Johnson’s lone field goal (he was eight for 10 from the free-throw line) came in the second quarter as the Barons began pulling away. He buried the critical long ball and on the next possession, then zipped a pinpoint pass to a teammate for an easy basket. Johnson seems able to mold his game into whatever the Barons need from a point guard at that particular juncture, blending old school court awareness with speed and aggressiveness. He attacks with purpose.
“I was just in the right place tonight and I found my teammates because without them I couldn’t have gotten those 10 assists or some of those points,” Johnson said. “If I’m not scoring you’ve got to find other ways to affect the game in a positive way.”
Johnson was the lone Blue Ridge player in double figures because everyone was involved in the offense. The Barons’ transition game has really started to flourish as they look simply for the open man instead of forcing it to one or two players. Trust has clearly developed between the Barons when Blue Ridge runs and Atlantic Shores felt the brunt of that.
“We’ve been working on getting better because we’re so fast that we have so many opportunities,” Ramsey said. “But so many times this season we’ve been putting it on the ground too much instead of passing it ahead. I thought it was a noticeable improvement on that in practice and it showed today.”
Scott Spencer finished with nine points, all of them in the second half. Affana Offor and Aamir Sims each had eight points, Harrison Burton had eight while Mamadi Diakite and Jameil King had six each. Diakite scoring just six and the Barons winning easily is a testament to their depth. Quite simply, he didn’t have to pour it in because the Barons were wearing down Atlantic Shores.
“That’s a good team that’s battle-tested in the state tournament and they’ve been through a lot but when we start getting into 9, 10 or 11 guys and it’s not much of a let down it’s hard to run with five or six,” Ramsey said. “We’re just fortunate to have that kind of depth this year.”
Blue Ridge are slated to face Carlisle in the VISAA Division 2 state semifinals Friday at 3:30 p.m.
