Johnson’s hot shot off the bench sparks Pitt victory

Pitt Head Coach Jamie Dixon took a unique first stab into his bench reserves Wednesday night during Pitt’s 77-58 rout of Lehigh.

Rather than pointing to sharpshooting redshirt sophomore Durand Johnson, Dixon elected to use true freshman point guard Josh Newkirk. The move appeared to act as a spark plug for Johnson, who took his warm-ups off minutes later and ended up setting career highs in several categories.

The 6-foot-6 swingman finished the game with 15 points, going 5-for-8 from behind the 3-point line with five rebounds and a steal. 

Last night’s scoring performance marks Johnson’s career highs in points and field goals made. Dixon hasn’t seen such an offensive outburst from Johnson since Jan. 16 at Villanova, when Johnson tied former Panther Trey Zeigler with a game-high 13 points.

When it came time for comment, however, Dixon did not speak of Johnson’s offensive production, but rather his other tools of play.

“The big thing about Durand is that he’s doing other things,” Dixon said. “He had five rebounds and he made a couple of nice passes. I thought his defense, after a slow start, has looked better, as well.”

All of Johnson’s points came outside the 3-point line on catch-and-shoot opportunities.

“In all those cases, it’s a guy making an extra pass and him being in the right spot and knocking down the shot,” Dixon said. “I think our execution was really good. In all those shots, there’s an assist.”

Sophomore point guard James Robinson also had a career night with 11 assists, seven of which came in the first 15 minutes of play. 

“Durand and I had been talking for a while and he pretty much told me he was going to be on tonight,” said Robinson. “He’s a scorer. Tonight he really showed that he could score.”

To the surprise of many, Lehigh Head Coach Brett Reed said Johnson was a primary focus of the Mountain Hawks’ scouting report.

“Johnson was the one guy we did not want to let go on the perimeter,” Reed said. “[Tonight], he demonstrated the type of offensive outburst he had.”

For now, Johnson will have to get used to coming off the bench and relieving fifth-year senior Lamar Patterson and junior Cameron Wright. At times, this can be tough for Johnson if an immediate rhythm is not found.

Johnson said that he was not quite feeling his shot on Sunday when the Panthers hosted Howard.

“I felt bad last game, so I got in the gym and got up more shots,” Johnson said. “I realized I wasn’t jumping on my shots, I wasn’t jumping on my release. I came out tonight with more confidence and came out shot-ready.”

Johnson is still becoming comfortable with his role, and whatever that role is, Johnson said he always takes the same approach.

“Coach Dixon is going to do what he’s going to do,” Johnson said. “When your name is called, just be ready. It doesn’t matter if I’m the sixth man off the bench, the seventh, eighth or ninth. I just want to come out and play hard.”

Johnson averaged 11.9 points per game off the bench in the 2012-2013 season. As a freshman, he did what was asked by his coaching staff as a pure shooting guard and shot 38 percent from beyond the arc.

Despite these numbers, Robinson said Johnson was not able to expose his true capabilities. 

“It’s great to know when Durand comes in, he’s going to bring energy and enthusiasm,” Robinson said. “I think Durand is much more of a complete player than just a scorer. He brings energy and he’s athletic. He’s a [much] better passer now. He brings a lot more to the team than just scoring. He’s coming off the bench now and really being productive.”

In front of Johnson, Patterson started his 70th consecutive game as a Panther last night. Patterson, now in his third year as Pitt’s starting small forward, collected 17 points and chalked up five rebounds and four assists. 

Dixon said Patterson’s experience does not take long to reveal itself.

“It starts with Lamar,” Dixon said of Patterson’s instant impact. “I think every game, we’ve had Lamar getting other guys shots to start the game, showing unselfishness. I know we’re a program who’s known for it, having unselfish players year-in and year-out. Tonight was great evidence of that.”

Patterson and the Panthers will take on their toughest competition of the season yet when they travel to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., to continue play in the Progressive Legends Classic. Pitt will face Texas Tech (3-1) — a Tubby Smith-led team that relies heavily on a 2-3 zone on defense — Monday.