Twice, this basketball path nearly did not include Phoenix.
When Carlos Johnson first tried to play organized basketball in Centralia, Illinois, he was cut by the sixth-grade coach and his aunt encouraged him and his mother to move to Phoenix, where he played at Osborn Middle School within 3 miles of Grand Canyon.
When Johnson improved to college quality, GCU was his first offer but he went to Washington before transferring to GCU two years later. He has scored nearly four times as many points in two Lopes seasons as he did in two Huskies seasons.
Johnson is playing his final home game at GCU Arena at 6 p.m. Saturday against CSU Bakersfield but it will not be his last big moment there with his family. Next month, Johnson will become the first person in his family to graduate from college with a degree in Communications.
"I try to tell my little cousins that there are scholarships for education, tennis, lacrosse, rowing, football," Johnson said. "Find something you're good at. That's when you look at your future. You have to go out and take your chance. Find a way. I found a way so I know it's possible. Where we're from in Centralia, you don't think there's any hope but there is hope out there. I was one of them with nobody having belief in me and overcoming those odds. Coming to GCU, I overcame the doubt."
Carlos Johnson
Johnson barely knew the team when he joined the Lopes for a summer trip to the Bahamas in 2018 but he led the team in scoring off the bench. It was a foreboding for Johnson, who went from averaging 5.1 points at Washington to 14.5 points for GCU.
Of the 50 best scoring games in Johnson's collegiate career, 44 have come in a GCU uniform.
"Where I'm from, you always had to believe in yourself because if you don't have any belief in yourself, you're not going to do too much," Johnson said. "I always believed I'm capable. My first situation just wasn't the right fit for me and my style of game even though I loved those guys. I came here and my first year was great and we're still pushing through this year. we've been through the mud together and these are my brothers for life."
Johnson enters Senior Night as the No. 6 scorer in the WAC this season and also ranks in the top 15 for rebounding, shooting and steals.
His production has improved drastically in every category from his two years at Washington to his two years at Grand Canyon: field goal percentage (43.8% to 46.8%), 3-point percentage (23.7 to 33.0), free throw percentage (60.5 to 76.0), points per game (5.1 to 14.5), rebounds per game (2.4 to 4.5), assists per game (0.5 to 1.6) and steals per game (0.3 to 1.0).
Johnson's favorite game was a win last season at California Baptist, where he scored 18 consecutive GCU points in a second-half rally and finished with a then-career high of 26 points in only 18 reserve minutes.
"I love that game," Johnson said. "I was in a slump but, from there, I never looked back."
While battling illness, he also scored 31 and 35 points on consecutive nights on the WAC Tournament to help the Lopes reach the championship game. He made the All-WAC Tournament Team and was selected to the All-WAC second team.
"The individual stuff is cool but not winning the WAC championship last year was tough for me," Johnson said. "This year, hopefully if we get there and win those three games, we can win one.
"I stayed to the course and it paid off. It ain't over yet, though."
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