Nick Johnson was the Pac-12’s 2014 men’s basketball Player of the Year, a consensus All-American who has gone on to play briefly (28 games) in the NBA, and create a productive EuroLeague career in Turkey, China, Israel, Germany and now France. He is currently sidelined with an Achilles injury.
Johnson, 32, last week flew to Cincinnati to spend time with ex-UA coach Sean Miller. He was the featured guest on Miller’s weekly podcast, telling Miller his days at Arizona were “just bliss.’’
Married with three young daughters, Johnson was probably the UA’s best defensive player of the last 15 years. Miller said that Arizona’s 33-5 team of 2014 — a loser to Wisconsin on the last play in overtime of a crushing Elite Eight loss — was perhaps the best defensive team in college basketball.
Arizona guard Nick Johnson (13) and the Arizona bench (including teammates, from left, TJ McConnell (4), Gabe York (1)and Brandon Ashley) light up as the Wildcats’ bench subs fire up shots late during the second half of the UA’s 84-61 win over Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 23, 2014 in San Diego.
“You can’t get better defensive players than those we had — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Aaron Gordon, T.J. McConnell and Nick,’’ said Miller. “With four guys like that on one team, it’s real (crummy) that we didn’t get to the Final Four.’’
This entry is part of longtime Star columnist Greg Hansen's weekly notebook. Looking for more? Find updates and Greg's archive at Tucson.com/Hansen.
Johnson still mourns the loss of star forward Brandon Ashley in a 2014 game at Cal. Arizona was ranked No. 1, with a 21-0 start to the season, before losing a buzzer-beating 60-58 game in Berkeley. Ashley broke his foot in that game and missed the rest of the season. What happened?
“B-Ash had a new pair of Air Jordans but they were a half-size too small,’’ said Johnson. “He found that they’d fit without putting the orthotics in. And then he broke his foot. It really cost us down the line.’’
