Isaiah Johnson may not have outplayed AJ Dybantsa. Certainly it’s a matter worthy of debate.
Yet Johnson went toe-to-toe with arguably the top freshman in the nation during Colorado’s narrow 90-86 overtime loss at BYU last week, scripting another chapter in what is becoming one of the greatest rookie seasons in program history.
“Isaiah Johnson’s the best freshman in the country that nobody talks about,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said following Saturday’s near-upset of BYU. “Part of that is because we’re not winning. We’re struggling in Big 12 play. But, Isaiah Johnson is as good … he’s legit, and I believe he’ll be an NBA player someday. He’s got a ways to go. He’s obviously undersized, but he’s got the heart of a lion. He can finish with contact. He missed some shots (at BYU) that he normally makes, but I’ll go to war with him.
“I told them in the locker room, I’ll go to war with you guys when you perform like you did (at BYU) in terms of your effort, your togetherness, your energy. It’s hard for me to go to war with the team that showed up at (Texas Tech). But Isaiah Johnson is legit.”
The 6-foot-9 Dybantsa is projected as one of the top picks in this summer’s NBA Draft, but he went 6-for-20 with a season-high seven turnovers against the Buffs. He still managed to approach triple-double territory, though, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Yet Johnson was equally impactful once again for CU, scoring 16 of his 27 points after halftime as the Buffs kept pace with the then-No. 22 Cougars until the final moments. The 6-foot-1 Johnson did miss some open looks and finished just 4-for-12 on 3-pointers, but his fearless drives to the rim ended with a season-high 27 points.
“He’s a peer of mine, so just being able to go out there and compete with another high-level freshman is always good,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s scoring average of 16.5 has him on track to be the fifth-best scoring average for any CU player in 16 seasons under Boyle, and Johnson is set to top McKinley Wright IV’s 2017-18 mark of 14.2 as the top-scoring true freshman under Boyle. Johnson’s 430 total points is the fifth-most by a true freshman in team history. Next on that list is Wright’s 2017-18 total of 454, and with a minimum of six games remaining Johnson has a chance to break the CU freshman scoring record of 512 points by Alec Burks in 2009-10.
Despite the lofty numbers, Johnson still might be challenged to land a spot on the Big 12’s five-player All-Freshman team. Through Monday, Johnson ranked fourth among Big 12 freshmen in scoring, behind Dybantsa (24.0), Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou (18.4) and Houston’s Kingston Flemings (16.6). The Big 12 features a number of other highly-productive freshmen like Darryn Peterson of Kansas and the Arizona duo of Brayden Burries and Koa Peat.
“I’m not taking anything away from all the good freshmen in the country. Because there’s a lot of good ones, there’s no doubt about it,” Boyle said. “And (Johnson’s) not a one-and-done guy. We know that. He knows that. But he’s going to be a hell of a player, not only at Colorado but in the Big 12 in the years to come. And the rest of the season. He’s the real deal.”
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