Johnson's healthy performance leads Comm Tech

ON NOV. 23, 2011, with Turkey Day 1 day away, David Johnson was not exactly inclined to give thanks.

He woke up that morning with numbness in the right side of his mouth and when he took a look in a mirror . . .

"It was like I had 20 pieces of bubblegum in there," he said, laughing.

Not quite. What he had was a cyst and, boy, did it ever turn his life upside down.

"Even now," he said, "I still have to take care of that area every day. I have to wash it out with saltwater."

Johnson, a 5-10, 155-pound wing guard, is a fifth-year senior at Communications Tech. Saturday at Southern, in the first round of the Class AA portion of the PIAA state playoffs, the lefty used four treys to help himself score 20 points in a 68-43 win over Camp Hill.

Johnson was granted an extra year of eligibility because the health scare caused him to miss so much school. The first surgery took place in midDecember and a follow-up procedure occurred in June.

"It was rough having that happen right before the start of basketball season," Johnson said. "I mean, I was so hyped to play the games.

"Once I got past the disappointment of the basketball part, my thoughts turned to, 'What if this is cancer?' Pretty scary. When the doctor said it was benign, that was a big relief. This thing just came out of nowhere. The doctor said her nephew had one just like it, but in his arm."

Johnson's specialty is wing sniping, and he's almost always good at it.

He also excels at the foul line (roughly a 90-percenter), though such was surely not the case back on Jan. 29. In what turned out to be a loss to visiting Frankford, he was sent to the line for three shots with nine-tenths of a second remaining.

"I missed all three," he said, glumly. "Couldn't believe it.

"The first one popped in and out. When that happened, I just knew I'd miss the next one. I did. It rolled out. Then I had to miss the third one on purpose.

"I wasn't myself after that. Really angry. My teammates were great about it, though. They were saying, 'We all lost this together. We all made mistakes.' That cheered me up a little."

Johnson is so dedicated to quality shooting, he often spends 45 minutes after practice in sessions with assistant Henry Hayward, who acts as his rebounder/motivator.

"Let's face it. I'm but so big, so I need to be able to shoot good," Johnson said. "My coaches always said, 'That's one aspect your game has to have.' I work on shots from all over. Henry says he doesn't want me just shooting threes because I'd get too happy about just coming downcourt and firin' away. We start with the free throws and midrange stuff, then I go out to the threes. Those workouts really help me."

Also starring for the Phoenix vs. Camp Hill was forward Terrence Brown, who mixed nine rebounds with 22 points.

CT's win helped Public League squads go perfect (10-0) in the first round over four classifications. Overall, District 12 went 13-2 while raising its 9-year, first-round mark to 70-34 (.673) - 44-13 (.772) in the last four.

Johnson, who lives near 50th and Aspen, in West Philly, is generating interest from Gwynedd-Mercy, Chestnut Hill and Lycoming, among others. He wants to major in business administration.

And before concluding his CT career, he would not mind slapping together a few more jaw-dropping shooting exhibitions.