It’s only just begun, yet it’s already over.
For Robert Johnson, today’s men’s basketball game against USC marks the beginning of the end of his brief — yet successful — Oregon career.
“It’s gone by so fast,” said Johnson, a senior forward. “It feels just like yesterday that I was here on my recruiting trip. It sneaks up on you.
“You have to cherish the moments while you’re here.”
A junior college transfer from San Francisco, Johnson has started every game — 60 in all — since donning an Oregon uniform last year. And Johnson’s arrival sparked one of the best two-year runs in school history, including a trip to the Elite Eight last season.
If the Ducks win their final two games at McArthur Court this weekend, Johnson — and fellow senior post Brian Helquist — will depart with a 30-2 record at home.
“Robert being a starter for two years really says something,” Oregon head coach Ernie Kent said. “He was extremely steady last year. He hasn’t been as consistent this year, but still, when you look at the possibility of being 30-2, he has a lot to do with that.
“For our program to take a junior college player, and for him to have the impact he’s had on our program, really says a lot about Robert Johnson.”
Even more revealing is Johnson’s team-first attitude. While he doesn’t dish out the assists like Ridnour, Johnson is the ultimate selfless basketball player.
“He’s a great defensive player, he’s an unselfish player and he’s a leader,” said Helquist, Johnson’s roommate. “He’s not the kind of guy that’s going to holler and yell out there, but he leads by example.”
Voted the team’s best defensive player last season, the 6-foot-8-inch, 250-pound Johnson is usually assigned to the opponents’ top post player. He leads the team in rebounding this season (6.4 per game), and is among the Pacific-10 Conference leaders in field-goal percentage (.598).
“He’s humble and he has sacrificed his game for the team in terms of only wanting to be a rebounder and defender,” Kent said.
His statistics won’t earn him national recognition, but Johnson’s main concern in Oregon’s four remaining conference games is helping his team get back to the NCAA Tournament.
“You can find about a 1,000 guys who can score the ball, but there’s not that many guys who do the little things — and that’s what I try to do,” Johnson said. “I just try to find a different style.”
His game style isn’t the only difference, though. While some of his teammates are known for their shaggy hairdos, Johnson’s noggin is shinier than the Mac Court hardwood.
Since high school, he’s shaved his head about twice a month. And even though the team trend was for more hair and he wanted to fit in, Johnson said, “I didn’t see a need to change when I came here.”
But he did help Oregon transform from a 14-14 team in 2000-01 to the Pac-10 champions last year. He averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season, after transferring from Santa Rosa Junior College, where he led all California junior college players with 14 rebounds per game in addition to 12 points per game.
“I had no idea the team would do this well,” Johnson said. “It’s a credit to how good this town and how good this gym is.”
A sociology major, Johnson is on pace to graduate this year. Though the time Johnson and Helquist have spent in Eugene has flown by, they said it will be hard for them to say goodbye.
“It’s going to be bittersweet,” Helquist said, echoing Johnson’s sentiments about their final games at Mac Court. “It’s going to be nice to move on, but it’s not going to be easy to leave here. This has been a great home for two years.”
It’s a harsh realization when one sees the ending near. Yet for every ending, there’s a new beginning — and Johnson can only hope his next start is as successful as his other 60.