Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 3, 1990 TAG: 9006030092
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Everyone questioned me," said Johnson, a 6-foot-2 guard from Plainfield, N.J. "I made the decision, not the coach, not the AD. No one agreed with me."
After all, Johnson did not know the identity of his future coach. But as he reflects on the alternatives, at least he knew what Virginia's situation was.
"I was recruited by Miami, and the coach [Bill Foster] left," Johnson said. "At South Carolina, the point guard got hurt and will have two years of eligibility instead of one. Maryland went on probation and, as for Nebraska, something just didn't seem right.
"I could have been in a lot worse situation."
Presumably, so could Corey Stewart, who also signed with Virginia during the early period. Stewart, a 6-7 forward from Bethel High in Hampton, had recurring injury problems for a team that finished 1-20.
"After we went 1-20, a lot of people were asking, `Are you sure you can play there?' " said Stewart, who gained national attention with his play on the summer-camp circuit. "I was disappointed I didn't have a better senior year, but I sprained my ankle five or six times. Sprained both ankles, in fact."
Johnson and Stewart were joined by spring signee Cornel Parker in what some recruiting analysts rank among the top 30 classes in the country.
There were those who questioned Virginia's chances of recruiting any players after coach Terry Holland announced June 23 that he would step down following the 1989-90 season.
The job was not filled until assistant Jeff Jones was promoted April 14.
"We never did feel as if recruiting was going to be a washout," said Craig Littlepage, the other full-time assistant on Holland's staff. "But I'm sure people would have been somewhat critical and would have wanted to point a finger at Coach Holland's situation if nobody had signed.
"Coach Holland moving on did not have the disastrous effect on recruiting that some people may have thought. Likewise, it did not have a negative impact on our season. It [recruiting] wasn't like combat duty. It wasn't something we felt uncomfortable in doing."
That's not to say Holland and staff didn't experience some frustration.
"Basically, we wanted to accomplish two things," Littlepage said. "One, was to have it be business as usual as far as not letting ourselves get caught up in the speculation about the head-coaching job. Secondly, we wanted to pinpoint and spend most of the time on people who would make a later decision.
"As it turned out, the second part did not work out really well. If we went into 25 homes, 23 kids made verbal commitments. The worst time for us was the four, five days leading up to the early-signing period. At that point, we were seeing and hearing from kids who had changed their mind about spring decisions."
Virginia generally was considered the leader for Stewart, although he visited Louisville and South Carolina and considered Maryland. However, the Cavaliers would not have been rated the early favorite for Johnson.
Truth is, Johnson liked Maryland, but he did not hear from the Terrapins after visiting College Park. It seems Maryland thought it had another point guard, Charles Harrison. But Harrison had an 11th-hour change of heart and signed with Georgetown.
It was his experience with Maryland that prompted Johnson to seek a little more security in his dealings with Virginia.
"That was the reason I signed," Johnson said. "The ultimate reason."
From that point, Johnson and Stewart were content to follow UVa's meandering search for a new coach.
"I was pretty curious why everybody seemed to be turning the job down," Johnson said. "Coach Holland and Coach Jones would call and try to keep me up with the leading candidates, but neither one mentioned Coach Jones."
Both early signees were pleased with the choice, especially Stewart.
"I wasn't too concerned because I knew most of the people who were being mentioned," Stewart said. "But Coach Jones had recruited me personally, so it worked out perfectly as far as I was concerned."
by CNB