His mother always called him her “little ball player.” But 6-foot-11-inch sophomore men’s basketball center Chris Johnson was always the tallest in his class, and now he’s the self-proclaimed tallest man on LSU’s campus.
Johnson didn’t have much time to be a carefree “little ball player” in his Montross, Va., community. Everything changed at age 10 when his single mother Sandra Johnson died from lung cancer.
“I’ve never been more sad than when my mom died,” Johnson said. “It was like the world ended pretty much.”
Johnson remembers waking up in the night and seeing his gravely ill mother carried out of the house. It was the last time he saw her alive.
Johnson’s aunt Kathy Johnson quickly put her sister’s child in grief counseling and moved in to rear him.
“His feelings were more important than mine,” she said of coping with her own grief. “He was such a young child.”
Half-brother Joe Posey also helped Chris Johnson move forward. Johnson and Posey – 6-foot-5-inch redshirt sophomore guard for James Madison University – have the same father but both were reared by their mothers. Posey and Johnson said their father has never been a prominent figure in their lives.
“It was rough because we really didn’t have a father,” Posey said. “So to lose his mother … I couldn’t imagine. It made our relationship closer. If anything positive can come out of that, I think it was that.”
The brothers played recreational basketball together, although Johnson’s skills left much to be desired.
Johnson sheepishly laughed when remembering his most embarrassing basketball moment. When he was around 10 years old, he scored the winning goal – for the other team.
“I just remember it being a close game,” Posey said. “He ended up with the ball and was going the wrong way. It was really to the point of no return. He did the fastest lay-up possible. It was kind of like a show-boat lay-up.”
In the 10th grade Johnson began playing Amateur Athletic Union basketball with Posey. AAU coach Tony Squire, who founded the Richmond AAU basketball program in 1988, coached the brothers.
Squire described Johnson as an extremely quiet boy who often “played second fiddle” to Posey.
Johnson’s aunt said she frequently told him to play with more aggression.
“I didn’t think he would be a special player,” Kathy Johnson said. “He was a little clumsy and a little timid. For being so tall, he kept saying he didn’t want to hurt the other players.”
But Johnson soon came into his own as a player. He was tired of being “pushed around” by larger players and wanted to gain the attention of college recruiters.
“I knew I wanted to play,” Johnson said. “They couldn’t look at me on the bench.”
Squire and LSU associate head coach Butch Pierre remember the Las Vegas AAU game that changed Johnson’s life. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers to begin the game. LSU began recruiting Johnson after the game.
“I saw this long, lanky kid with a lot of ability,” Pierre said. “He was thin, but he played hard.”
Squire said that after his Las Vegas performance Johnson was no longer known as the less-talented brother.
“After that game I heard from everybody asking ‘Who is this [6-foot-11-inch] kid with perimeter skills that’s jumping and shooting?'” Squire said.
But the road to LSU was not without a few more obstacles for Johnson. He attended three different high schools before obtaining a diploma but still needed to improve his SAT scores. He attended Laurinburg Prep in North Carolina, received extra tutoring and boosted his scores to qualify for LSU admission.
“He’s walking the walk,” Squire said. “He’s living proof that you don’t give up, and you do things the right ways. When he had these obstacles, people didn’t mind waiting or helping him because he’s such a great person.”
Johnson has taken full advantage of the athletic tutoring available at the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes. He struggled his first semester at LSU but bounced back with a 3.0 GPA for the spring semester.
Pierre said Johnson attends class and academic appointments while never being late for practice.
“I mean, I can’t miss class,” Johnson said. “Everybody knows me … I’m the tallest person on the campus. Like this semester I walked into class late, and the [professor] said, ‘Golly!’ She stopped teaching class and asked how tall I was.”
In addition to his height, Johnson’s slender 190-pound frame is cause for many curious inquiries. Posey said “skinny legs” are hereditary in his family.
“A whole lot of people just think I don’t eat,” Johnson said. “I eat a lot, but I am kind of picky.”
Johnson’s roommate sophomore guard Ben Voogd dispelled rumors that Johnson should eat more food.
“On most regular days you can find him in his room playing his XBox 360 and pretty much count on some gummy bears more than likely,” Voogd said. “He eats all the time.”
Johnson credits his roommates Voogd and redshirt freshman guard Alex Farrer for always keeping his spirits high. A favorite pastime for Johnson is laughing with his roommates at the 1970s band STYX’s song “Come Sail Away.”
“Whenever I’m down, they just keep me laughing,” he said.
Johnson said he was slightly depressed last year after not receiving much playing time.
Johnson started for the first time in his career Jan. 31 against the University of Alabama and scored a career-high 13 points.
Pierre said Johnson is one of the best shooters and will continue to get increased playing time if he gains strength, experience and confidence.
It’s playing time that Squire, Posey and Kathy Johnson have been waiting for.
“When he got to play that first night, I called him and he called me back, and he sounded totally different,” Kathy Johnson said. “He has to work on that defense and get rid of that shyness.”
Squire said Johnson text messages him about once a week and keeps him up to date on his progress.
“Chris Johnson has always called us and thanked us for believing in him,” Squire said. “It’s a tribute to sticking to it, not giving up and working his butt off. He’s a great person.”
—–Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]