Johnson keeps standards high

Tuesday, Nov. 19 \| 7 p.m. \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (1-3)	VS	MONTANA STATE BOBCATS (4-1)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra, ESPN3, GCU Lopes app \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

Grand Canyon senior Carlos Johnson keeps his standards as high as his head.

The Lopes swingman's confidence never wavers and neither have his expectations amid a slow start compared to what he anticipated this season.

Johnson is coming off his best all-around game of the season but enters GCU's Tuesday night home game against Montana State knowing that he has more kernels of his game ready to pop.

The Lopes (1-3) are just starting to find their way with a made-over, tight-rotation team and will lean on Johnson to impact both sides of the ball against Montana State (4-1), which pushed No. 15 Utah State in a 81-73 road loss and won on a half-court buzzer shot at North Carolina-Greensboro.

Johnson struggled early last season but then averaged 19.1 points from Jan. 19 to March 15. He was worth the wait but the Lopes need his two-way contributions immediately this season, when he is being asked to defend the other teams' top wing scorers while senior teammate Oscar Frayer is out, pick up his rebounding on a smaller team and use his dynamic drives and ability to draw free throws to feed the offense.

"It's kind of feeling like (the start of) last year right now but I know it's going to get better by me working," Johnson said. "I just put in the work and that's what I'm doing now to work on my craft and dial in like last year. I keep my foot on the gas every time. I never let myself get too low. I'm always staying in because I know I can snap at every given time and have a big game."

Johnson's disappointment is qualified. He is leading the team with 13.5 points per game and averaging career highs for rebounds per game (6.8), assists per game (2.5) and steals per game (1.5). He also has the team's only two blocked shots.

It is a massive jump from two years ago, when the former Phoenix Shadow Mountain High School standout played fewer minutes for Washington in the 2017-18 season (144) than he has in this season's first four games (146).

"Sometimes, he just has to let the game come to him," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "I give him a lot of credit. He's trying to play the right way. He is trying to do the right things. He is a talented kid, and he will figure it out."

Johnson is shooting 50% inside the 3-point line and 23% on 3-pointers. Last season, he shot 16% on 3s for the first 16 games before hitting 42% of his 3s in the final 18 games.

He said his offense feeds off his defense, where he has more responsibility but has been beaten off the dribble at times.

"I take it as a challenge to chase around the best guy on the floor for 40 minutes," Johnson said. "There's room for me to get way, way better. When I'm at my best, it feeds off on other players. It's like a domino effect. If I'm at my full potential, we have a great chance of winning.

"Some seniors want to go out with a big bang. My big bang is winning the WAC championship. I don't care how it gets done."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

Tuesday, Nov. 19 | 7 p.m. | Phoenix, Ariz.

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Players Mentioned

Oscar Frayer

Carlos Johnson

Grand Canyon University Athletics