What surprises does Keon Johnson have in store for Thursday?

Keon Johnson surprised me again on Wednesday.

After four years of covering him, this shouldn’t still be happening. But doing the unexpected has been a recurrent theme during the Winthrop scoring machine’s four-year college basketball career.

Johnson spoke clearly on Wednesday about the national limelight that settled on him this week. Freshman Keon Johnson would have clammed up and regurgitated Pat Kelseyisms, but he’s clearly developed a knack for an obligation he never really liked. It wasn’t the content of the answers; he’s always been thoughtful. It was the stronger volume of his voice in Milwaukee, the confidence girding his responses that was a bit surprising to me.

“Each game you’re gonna prove yourself every time you go out on the floor,” said Johnson. “I’m just cherishing every moment, each day. This is big-time, a big game, so I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Johnson and Winthrop fell short of the NCAA Tournament at the final hurdle in each of his first three seasons, before breaking through over a week ago in Rock Hill. Now the American basketball-loving public can finally see what locals and Winthrop fans have enjoyed for four years, a TNT-like scorer whose small build is an advantage.

“I think he deserves the right for some national spotlight and for the nation to see what he’s all about,” said Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey. “He’s gonna finish his career as one of the most decorated players in the history of our tradition-rich program.”

After Wednesday’s press conferences, it’s clear that Winthrop’s all-time leading scorer has Butler coach Chris Holtmann’s full attention.

“He’s one of the most dynamic players in college basketball,” said the former Gardner-Webb coach, in his third year at Butler. “He is nearly impossible to keep in front and his ability to make shots, makes him incredibly dynamic. Obviously with our friend at the Celtics, we’ve seen what a little guard can do.”

Holtmann referenced Isaiah Thomas - Boston’s modern, fun-sized version - who is second in the NBA in scoring at nearly 30 points per game and is a player Johnson admires. Like Thomas, Johnson is finally getting some national love after laboring in relative obscurity the last few years.

“It’s surreal, man,” he said. “I’m just enjoying the experience of it, cherishing the moments.”

National media outlets have written about Johnson here, here, here and here. There is strong evidence to suggest Johnson will justify the sudden hype and play well Thursday (and beyond?).

Johnson’s performances in 10 career games against Power-5 and traditionally strong basketball schools:

Johnson’s great strength is his burst, the same attribute that made him an end zone-frequenting slot receiver during his high school football career. Holtmann couldn’t think of another player like Johnson in the Big East Conference.

“He’s a really, really unique player,” Holtmann said. “He obviously has a really big heart, he’s got a really big game. There aren’t many guys really like him in college basketball that have his type of size and speed and shooting ability.”

Ohioans love Myrtle Beach, and that’s where Kelsey first laid eyes on the best player he’s coached at Winthrop. Johnson’s Ohio Red elite AAU team was full of McDonald’s All-Americans - Kelsey called them Burger players - and it stopped at Myrtle Beach on the way to the renowned Peach Jam in Augusta, Ga., to let second tier players get some game action. It was another opportunity in the spotlight that Johnson seized upon.

“Keon was just magnificent that night. He was the Keon I get to see on a nightly basis the last four years,” said Kelsey. “And he’s tiny, and there’s doubt and everybody’s looking at him...” - Kelsey gives a weird look, the kind that uninitiated fans may give in Milwaukee this week when they see Johnson - “and he’s attacking the rim and finishing and doing all the stuff that Keon does.

“Everybody’s looking around and I had probably the same reservations and the same concerns but sometimes you just gotta go with your gut. I just loved his courage, his attacking mentality, the way he plays with a chip on his shoulder. And the rest is history.”

What a history Johnson has written.

He’s the school’s all-time leading scorer and only the 10th player in Big South Conference history to top 2,000 points. He’s scored 30 points or more 12 times in his career and owns four of Winthrop’s top-10 individual scoring games. He also became the school’s career leader in 3-pointers and free throws made this season, en route to winning conference player of the year - Winthrop’s first in 15 years - and Big South tournament MVP. He even gave a heart-born speech that brought his team up to a boil before the Big South final, the kind of leadership Kelsey never would have imagined from Johnson four years ago.

Can Johnson add to his - and Winthrop’s - already immense basketball history Thursday? Maybe a better question is whether I actually read the first two lines of this story that I wrote...

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 7:08 PM with the headline "What surprises does Keon Johnson have in store for Thursday?."