Gus "Honeycomb" Johnson Jr. (December 13, 1938 – April 29, 1987) was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA). Often playing as a power forward, Johnson spent nine seasons with the Baltimore Bullets before he split his final campaign between the Phoenix Suns and Indiana Pacers.
In his hometown of Akron, Johnson won a city championship for Central-Hower High School and was at one point called the best player to come out of the city. Not intending to go to college, he played in the Amateur Athletic Union and industrial leagues before being recruited to play at Boise Junior College in 1961 at the age of 23. He transferred to the University of Idaho in 1962, where he averaged 19 points and 20 rebounds per game in his only season. He was selected in the second round as the 11th pick for the 1963 NBA draft by the Chicago Zephyrs (who relocated to become the Baltimore Bullets prior to the start of the season). He averaged 17 points with 13 rebounds to finish second in Rookie of the Year voting while being named to the All-Rookie Team. He quickly became known as a lethal inside scorer (including shattering three backboards in his NBA career) and a key defender, which saw him named to the NBA All-Star Game five times with four selections to the All-NBA Second Team and two All-Defensive First Team.
Knee injuries started to take their toll on him by 1970. He tried to play through injuries as the Bullets reached the NBA Finals in 1971 and lost in a sweep. After undergoing surgery on both knees, he was traded in June 1972 to the Phoenix Suns, playing 21 games before being released. He was picked up by the Indiana Pacers in December 1972 as a veteran presence and averaged six points in 50 games as the team advanced all the way to the ABA Finals. In his final game in Game 7, he played 13 minutes and grabbed six rebounds as the Pacers won the game, delivering Johnson's only championship. His number 25 jersey was retired by the Bullets franchise in 1986, months before his death.
Johnson would be posthumously inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Early life Johnson was born on December 13, 1938, in Akron, Ohio as one of six children with a modest upbringing that saw him frequent local bars and pool halls as a teenager.
Johnson attended Akron Central High School, where he starred on the basketball team under coach Joe Siegferth. The two worked well together due to Johnson's drive as a player—in contrast to his indifference in the classroom (at one point, he was suspended for fighting). In a 1964 Sports Illustrated interview, Johnson stated,
"Despite my ways, I never got into any real bad trouble in Akron. ... I just drifted around. Nothing mattered except basketball and the Bible. I used to read the Bible all the time. I still do. I'm real big on Samson. He's helped me a lot, I suppose. He stimulates me."
With a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) frame in high school, Johnson quickly excelled in the sport. In 1958, Johnson led the team to a city championship. He was selected an All-City and All-District basketball player as well as an All-State basketball player for the 1957–58 season. He once scored 65 points in a single game.
One of his high school teammates was fellow future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Nate Thurmond, who was one year behind Johnson in high school.
Johnson was sought by many colleges, although he did not express much interest in them. In 1960, the Cleveland Plain Dealer called Johnson "the greatest high school player to come out of Akron."
Rivalry with Jerry Lucas Johnson played Ohio high school basketball contemporaneously with fellow future Naismith Hall of Fame forward/center Jerry Lucas, who played at Middletown High School. In 1958, Lucas was named to the International News Service Class AA All-Ohio team for the third time, while Johnson was only an honorable mention. Lucas went on to an All-American college career at Ohio State, with his team winning the 1960 NCAA championship; he played with the legendary 1960 U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team; and had a Hall of Fame NBA career. Naismith Hall of Fame member Wayne Embry said Johnson felt a rivalry with Lucas because Johnson was considered the second-best player in Ohio high school basketball to Lucas, but Johnson believed he was at least Lucas's equal.
For Johnson, the high school rivalry carried into their future NBA careers, where the unknown Johnson believed he was just as good as the highly publicized Lucas. Embry, a teammate with Lucas during his time with the Cincinnati Royals, stated that he saw Johnson play with extra ferocity whenever he faced Lucas. Johnson himself said during his and Lucas's NBA rookie season (1963–64), "I get all psyched up when I know I'm going to play against Lucas. He's the only one I worry about. ... And when he scores a basket, I burn up inside". Lucas talked in more measured language about playing against Johnson.
Basketball executive Jerry Krause, who was with the Baltimore Bullets when Johnson played for them, said Johnson would motivate himself in games against Lucas by staring at pictures of Lucas in the locker room before their games. Krause thought that Johnson's anger toward Lucas was rooted in their Ohio high school basketball days, with Johnson believing Lucas received so much more publicity because he was a white superstar.
National Industrial League and college career
After graduating from high school, Johnson did not intend to go to college and ignored recruitment letters. He played on local independent teams and barnstormed in tournaments throughout Ohio. Among those teams, he played industrial league basketball for the Goodyear Wingfoots of the National Industrial Basketball League. Johnson eventually enrolled at University of Akron and was expected to be the school's starting center for the 1959–60 season; however, Johnson was ruled out as academically ineligible and left the school, never playing for them.
Johnson joined a nearby Amateur Athletic Union club, the Cleveland Sweeny Pipers, in early 1960. In April 1960, he played for Ravenna Duracote in the Little City Basketball Tournament, leading them to a tournament victory and making the All-Tournament team. In 1961, he played for the Carney Auditors in the Plain Dealer Greater Cleveland Basketball League, and subsequently for Tramonte Distributing of Akron, where one of his teammates was George Swyers.
Swyers, a former AAU teammate and friend of the first-year University of Idaho head coach Joe Cipriano, told Cipriano of Johnson. Swyers and Cipriano wanted Johnson to attend Boise Junior College and then join Cipriano at Idaho after a year. Johnson had known Swyers since Johnson was in tenth grade, and Swyers had been helpful in Johnson's career. Johnson did attend Boise for one year, averaging 30 points and 20 rebounds a game for the Broncos, including a 55-point game. It has also been reported he averaged 27.1 points per game or even 28.2 points per game, scoring over 30 points in a game 13 times, and setting a then-school record of 43 points in a single game. Boise's game attendance went from 40 fans to over 900 fans. He was also the school's first black athlete.
Cipriano offered the 23-year-old sophomore Johnson an athletic scholarship, and Johnson transferred north to the University of Idaho in Moscow in 1962. Cipriano became a father figure to him, and Johnson had few problems in Idaho. The Vandals had a .500 season at 13–13 the previous season, and the addition of Johnson made an immediate impact as they won their first five games and were 12–2 through January. Idaho was undefeated in January with Johnson playing. Due to NCAA rules at the time for a junior college transfer originally enrolled at a four-year school, he was only allowed to play regular-season games, not tournaments. The Vandals went 1–2 without him at the Far West Classic in late December in Portland, and the victory was a one-pointer over WSU. A week earlier with Johnson, the Vandals routed the Cougars by 37 points in Moscow.
Johnson became known as "Honeycomb," a nickname Cipriano gave him because of his sweet play. As a junior, he averaged 19.0 points and 20.3 rebounds per game during the 1962–63 season, leading independent Idaho to a 20–6 record, their best in 36 years.Go Vandals.com – men's basketball – 2011–12 media guide – p.72,74,75,90,98 With Johnson and leading scorer Chuck White, the Vandals were at their best in their main rivalries, 4–0 versus Oregon, 4–1 versus Palouse neighbor Washington State, and 1–1 against Washington. Idaho's primary nemesis was Seattle University, led by guard Eddie Miles, who won all three of its games with the Vandals. Idaho lost its only game with Final Four-bound Oregon State at the Far West without Johnson, but still won all three with Gonzaga, for a 9–3 record against its four former PCC foes and a collective 12–6 against the six Northwest rivals. Attendance at the Memorial Gym was consistently over-capacity, with an estimated 3,800 for home games in the cramped facility.
Johnson and center Paul Silas of Creighton fought a season-long battle for the NCAA rebounds lead. Silas claimed the title by a scant 0.3 rebounds with an average of 20.6 per game. Johnson also set the UI record with 31 rebounds in a game against Oregon. Ducks head coach Steve Belko, a former Vandal, called Johnson a "6' 6" Bill Russell" and "the best ball player one of my teams has ever played against ..."
Despite their 20–6 () record, the Vandals did not claim a post-season berth. The 1963 NCAA tournament included only 25 teams, and Oregon State and Seattle were selected from the Northwest. The 1963 NIT invited only twelve teams, none from the Mountain or Pacific time zones. If the Vandals had been invited, Johnson again would not have been eligible to participate.
During his time at Idaho, Johnson's standing high jump ability led the Corner Club, a local sports bar, to establish "The Nail" challenge. Anyone who could match Johnson's leap from a standing start to touch a nail hammered above the ground would win free drinks. It only happened 23 years later when high jumper Joey Johnson, brother of basketball Hall of Fame guard Dennis Johnson, touched the nail. Both Gus Johnson and Dennis Johnson were posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.
Johnson turned professional after his only season at Idaho, and Cipriano moved on to coach at Nebraska. Without Johnson (and White), the Vandals fell to 7–19 in 1963–64 and were 4–6 in the new Big Sky Conference, fifth place in the six-team league. They had a dismal 3–14 record through January and lost every game against their Northwest rivals, a collective 0–10 vs UW, WSU, UO, OSU, Seattle U., and Gonzaga. Johnson had another year of eligibility at Idaho, but decided to go the NBA, and later regretted not getting his degree.
Following his professional career, Johnson returned to Moscow to help commemorate the first basketball game in the newly enclosed Kibbie Dome, held on January 21, 1976. He participated in a pre-game alumni contest between former players of Idaho and Washington State.
Professional career
Baltimore Bullets
1963–67 Johnson got a late start as an NBA player, as he turned age 25 in December of his rookie season. He was selected 11th overall (second round) of the 1963 NBA draft by the Chicago Zephyrs, who were in the process of moving to Baltimore, where they became known as the Bullets for the 1963–64 season. Johnson was an immediate starter under head coach Bob "Slick" Leonard and averaged 17.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game that season. Leonard later said about a young Johnson, "I could see Gussie developing into one of the great defensive forwards of all time."