Isaac Johnson: Staying true to himself
In the tunnels of Matthew Knight Arena at the University of Oregon, there’s a lounge where high school athletes start their recruiting visits. Inside, a case filled with premium Nike uniforms, apparel and shoes show off the marquee relationship the school has with the brand.
As recruitment tours continue, graphics on the arena’s walls showcase legendary Duck athletes and mottos for the teams — all of this in an arena just over a decade old that can house more than 12,000 fans on game day.
“I bought into the flash of University of Oregon,” center Isaac Johnson said. “It is a lot of money being poured into that program, that university and for the athletes.”
The flash, combined with the recent success of the Ducks — achieving Pac-12 titles and NCAA Tournament bids under head coach Dana Altman — sold Johnson in 2018, who was then a top 50 high school prospect from American Fork, Utah. He committed to the Ducks.
After high school graduation, Johnson put basketball on hold for two years while he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Afterward, he moved to Eugene, Oregon, and as he settled into campus life, he realized something he had failed to think about when deciding where he would attend college.
“I didn’t consider what it was like to live there,” Johnson said.
As a missionary, Johnson had grown accustomed to a disciplined lifestyle that did not match the vibe of the Emerald City, or a basketball team that had not welcomed a returned missionary in more than 50 years.
“I didn’t consider the impact my mission would have on me,” Johnson said. “It just wasn’t my lifestyle choices.”
Oregon students recreated and relaxed in different ways than Johnson had his entire life. It made it hard for him to hang out with or date people who wanted to have fun the same way he did.
“Almost everybody just could not wait until it’s the weekend,” Johnson said. “I’m more of a ‘Why not enjoy every single day instead of wait for the weekend?’ type of guy.”
Despite feeling like he didn’t belong, Johnson pushed through, and played well in practices and scrimmages before the season. He did so well Altman decided he didn’t want Johnson to redshirt, which was his original plan, and instead planned to utilize Johnson as a freshman.
In his first season, Johnson played in 14 games, averaging 5.4 minutes per appearance. He accumulated 33 points, 16 rebounds and three assists in that time, playing one of his best games against Chaminade, where he scored a career-high eight points.
After a tough year in Eugene and a disappointing season for the team on the court — considering the Ducks were ranked in the top 15 in the country to start the season — Johnson felt like he was ready to move on.
The way Johnson’s father, Darren Johnson, describes it, Isaac realized he was “not just a basketball player.”
“He is a human being,” Darren Johnson said. “He’s a great big, tall human being, but he has feelings, and that matters.”
But before he could transfer, Johnson still had some games to play, as Oregon was selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament. Their first-round game was against Utah State in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
As the Ducks’ bus drove up the hill to the Spectrum, Johnson’s teammates asked him, “What in the world is there to do” in Utah Johnson thought about the things he missed in his home state.
“There’s a lot more than you think,” Johnson thought. “I would enjoy this place way more than living in Eugene.”
The Ducks beat the Aggies, and Johnson had two points and an offensive rebound in the four minutes he played. However, the atmosphere of the Spectrum might have been one of Johnson’s biggest takeaways.
“It was really cool to be able to get a feel of what it would be like for me to play here,” Johnson said. “To see how supportive the fans were, no matter win or loss.”
Oregon was bounced in their next game by Texas A&M, ending Johnson’s freshman season. He entered the transfer portal and sought a place where would feel more at home.
Beehive Belonging
After entering the portal, Johnson garnered national attention with both powerhouse Gonzaga and Stanford offering him a scholarship, but he narrowed his focus to the big three schools in Utah: Brigham Young, Utah State and Utah.
“I wanted to come back to Utah because it’s where I fit,” Johnson said. “I can get along with anybody anywhere, but it’s just a lot easier for me to be successful in my life when I have some other comforts.”
After deciding where he wanted to play, Johnson needed to find the program he best fit with. He talked with head coach Ryan Odom and met some future teammates, then selected Utah State.
“Finding a safe landing spot, like Utah State or any of the other in-state schools would have provided him, is a positive thing,” Odom said. “We’re just happy that he’s here. He’s seven feet, tremendous skill. His game is continuing to improve each and every day.”
Depth in the post is especially important to the Aggies in the Mountain West Conference, a league that has big men like Graham Ike and Nathan Mensah now, and has produced players like Andrew Bogut, Jason Smith and Larry Nance Jr. in the past.
“You have to have size,” Odom said. “If you want to win at the highest level, you have to have size.”
In addition to a group of teammates Johnson felt would lift him up in an environment where he would be comfortable, Johnson would be able to continue a family legacy.
Back in the 1960s, Johnson’s grandfather, Ronald Johnson, tried out for the basketball team. After one day of tryouts, he knew he wouldn’t make it, but during the experience, he was able to play against Aggie legend Wayne Estes and talk with him. It’s an experience he still talks about today.
In the 1980s, Johnson’s father Darren played two seasons for the Aggies before transferring to Snow College.
Now, Johnson and his brother Spencer, a guard at BYU, are both Division I basketball players in Utah wearing the number 20 on their jerseys.
Isaac Johnson warms up during halftime of the Utah Tech game on Dec. 1. Photo by Sam Warner.
Redshirt Resoluteness
For this season, Utah State has the depth they need at center with Trevin Dorius and Szymon Zapala. Additionally, forward Dan Akin can also reliably defend bigs.
“The frontcourt is kind of stacked right now,” Odom said.
That left Odom with a big decision to make for his squad leading up to this season. Despite transferring Johnson from a Power Five school, Odom met with him and explained how Johnson would be better utilized if he could save a year of eligibility and develop more during a redshirt season.
It wasn’t what Johnson thought would happen.
“My expectation of transferring was that I would be able to come here and play,” Johnson said. “What’s happened is that I’m redshirting this year, but I’m not mad about it. I’m completely at peace with the fact that this year will be a big progression year for me both body-wise and skill-wise.”
Redshirting can be tough for college athletes.
They agree to not play and focus on their personal development while their teammates shine on the court. It requires dedication and a selfless attitude, but that is what Johnson is willing to do.
“I’m willing to keep on working to make bigger and better roles for myself and my teammates,” Johnson said. “As of right now, I’m excited to make everybody better every single day in practice.”
With that in mind, it makes sense to preserve Johnson’s eligibility and allow him to focus his time and energy on improvement in practice, the weight room and the kitchen.
“I just want to show up and improve, and try my hardest to be my best each day,” Johnson said. “My weights workouts look a lot different than the guys who are playing. We’re doing full-body workouts, lots of reps for more sets with heavier weight. And really working on making sure my diet is getting better, because that’s something I definitely need to work on.”
Johnson’s father said even though the redshirt season will be hard, he thinks it will be worth it.
“I think this redshirt year will be good for him to kind of get his feet under him (and) feel like he belongs again,” Darren said.
Even though Isaac Johnson likely won’t see the court this season, he wants fans to know his hard work will pay off.
“I may not make a massive impact this year on the court in front of the fans, but there’s still years to come,” Johnson said.
For now, Aggie fans can see Johnson on the bench pumping the crowd after monster dunks and huddling around his teammates during timeouts. He’s preparing his time to shine in front of one of the “craziest crowds” he’s ever seen.
Featured image by Sam Warner from the Utah Tech game.