[外電] Johnson must assume leadership role
Johnson must assume leadership role
By STEVE HUMMER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/14/06
Little Rock, Ark. — Since the dawn of Joe Johnson's career, his coaches
have prodded him to give voice to his talents. Imagine, in this Terrell
Owens-driven era, actually having to encourage a star to pipe up.
Mike Woodson's challenge now was Oliver Fitzpatrick's back in 1997. That
was when the Little Rock Central coach was nurturing Johnson, encouraging
him to recognize his singular ability within the blueprint of a team.
You see, it is Johnson's very nature that the Hawks are trying to rewire
as they attempt to build around him.
"A quiet, shy kid," said Fitzpatrick, now in his 16th year
coaching at Little Rock Central. "Then he'd get on the court,
all this ability just came out.
"The game can get bigger than a lot of players. The game never
gets too big for Joe. "We had to get him believing that it was
sometimes better for him to shoot over the defense rather than
pass to a lesser player who may have been wide open."
The Hawks' preseason schedule took them through Johnson's hometown
Friday, providing the chance to understand a little better where
the team's signature guard/forward came from. And to maybe get
another view on the process of trying to turn a complementary
player in Phoenix into a core player in Atlanta.
That evening, the Hawks lost a soon-forgotten game to Houston
107-93. Johnson played by 25 minutes, none in the fourth quarter.
His was a modest 17-point homecoming.
Earlier in the day, Johnson stood beneath the bare metal girders
of the old Little Rock Central gym as his number was retired by
his school. This place is steeped in history — it is in fact a
national historic site as the school where President Eisenhower
dispatched troops to enforce integration in 1957.
Now Johnson has a permanent spot in those same halls. In return,
Johnson said all the right things.
"I know not only am I representing myself and my family, I'm
representing y'all. I'll always keep you in my heart," he told
the assembled students. He did so softly.
His contributions to the school have been, well, quiet. He has
put up $30,000 to sponsor a basketball tournament that raises
money for letter jackets for athletes throughout the school
system. Last summer, he paid for temporary air conditioning in
the 40-year-old barn of a gym so a league could compete there.
For the Hawks, his contributions were muted by a 26-win season.
He scored 20 points a game, played every night and earned a spot
on the bronze-fated U.S. team in the summer's World Championships.
His signing might have ripped the Hawks ownership apart, but, for
better or worse, this is his team. It is supposed to go where he
leads, even if leadership does not come easily.
While concerned about the wear of the World Championships on
Johnson, Woodson is counting on other benefits.
"Playing with the best guys in our league makes you change or
rethink how you feel about your team and where you stand on your
team," the Hawks coach said. "He's our guy for this team. Those
are things he's got to bring to the table by being vocal and more
of a leadership role."
Grooming Johnson for leadership is even a part of the preseason
preparation.
"When I don't hear him saying anything on the floor during
practice or in games, he's going to constantly hear it: 'You're
not a mute; let's talk. Communicate.' I think he's getting better,
though, because he understands he has more responsibilities,"
Woodson said.
Is it in Johnson to step up and declare, "This is my team?"
"There's no doubt about that," Johnson said. "It's been written
in stone; everybody knows it. I just got to keep working hard,
keep pushing these guys to make them better. And they got to make
me better."
Here he is at 25, back where a quiet, shy kid came of age, in the
midst of a partial personality transplant.
"It's hard. A lot comes with this; it's just a challenge I got to
accept," he says. Softly.
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