franklin centralhigh school boys basketball
Center really bloomed last summer during AAU play
Franklin Central's JaJuan Johnson is considered one of the elite members of Indiana's stellar junior basketball class, a major college prospect and the area's leading shot blocker.
Frankly, he still finds it hard to believe.
Well, except for the shot-blocking part.
"I wasn't that good when I was younger," the modest 6-10, 195-pound center said. "In middle school, I was on the 'B' team both years.
"But even when I wasn't good at anything else, I set the record for blocking shots."
Johnson's other skills are clearly catching up with his innate shot blocking ability -- he is averaging about 15 points and nine rebounds for the Flashes (10-5). He has been offered scholarships by Missouri, Purdue and Xavier and is expecting an offer from the University of Virginia this week.
The late bloomer played on the "B" teams in middle school, and this is his first year on Franklin Central's varsity team.
Johnson has always been tall -- he estimated that he was about 6-4 in middle school -- but the coordination and confidence didn't really come until last summer, when he bloomed playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) ball for the Spiece Central Stars with Franklin Central teammate John Ashworth.
"He's definitely gone the other route than (Lawrence North stars Greg) Oden and (Mike) Conley, who've been playing AAU since third grade," said Flashes coach Mark James. "He's been a real pleasant surprise."
Ashworth, another Division I prospect, helped Johnson get on that AAU team, which he was on. The two are close friends, and the fact that they play together year-round shows -- Ashworth, a guard, has a knack for finding Johnson underneath the basket.
"John is our best all-around player," James said. "We're not supposed to have two kids like them down here. Most of (the heavily recruited players) play north of (U.S) 40."
Ashworth, who is averaging about 15 points, five rebounds and five assists a game, is being recruited by Ball State and Indiana State universities, James said.
Johnson has been in the Franklin Central program "all the way through," James said. He lives near the Fairgrounds but has always been bused into Franklin Township schools.
"He's bused to us 45 minutes," James said. "It takes a unique kid to do that every day and still be committed to a sport. He comes from a very good family. They've always supported him, and he's just one of those kids with a great attitude."
Johnson said he gets his height and athletic ability from his mother, Rhonda Curlin, who played high school basketball at Tech. Curlin is now at games -- "She's always yelling," Johnson said with a smile -- and helping her son sort through his mountains of recruiting mail.
Johnson remembers getting his first letter from a college.
"I was like, 'Wow,' '' he said. "I couldn't believe it. Now there are boxes, probably 10 pieces a day."
Johnson said James and AAU coach Pat Mullin have helped him through the recruiting process, which was overwhelming at first. Johnson said he won't make any decision about college until at least next fall.
"There's so much promise with his long lines and his innate ability to read the ball," James said. "There's a lot of upside. I could see him being redshirted his freshman year -- he's only going to get better. He's a quiet kid, he plays hard. He and John exemplify what our program is supposed to be like."
