Johnson A Rookie On The Rebound

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Flashback to last summer: One topic monopolized the conversation at every third bar stool in every pub in Charlotte. The question - how will this 6-foot-5 1/2 guy survive, much less excel, at power forward in the NBA?

Can anyone find a Hornets fan now who will admit doubting No. 1 overall pick Larry Johnson?

At his current pace, Johnson should own the Hornets' team record for rebounds (703) in a season by this weeknd.

He stands 11th in the league in rebounds (11.1 per game), and every player above him on that list, except 6-5 Charles Barkley of Philadelphia, is several inches taller.

Johnson kind of likes it that way.

"Any day I'd rather rebound against the taller guys," Johnson said. "The hardest guy for me is Barkley or (Utah's Karl) Malone because they muscle with me. I'm lower than those other guys, but it's hard for them to get around me."

NBA coaches talk about Johnson's desire when asked how he manages to rebound the way he does. Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Lenny Wilkens says Johnson is a throwback, a '90s version of what 6-7 Paul Silas did over 16 NBA seasons in the '60s and '70s.

"Paul Silas couldn't jump worth a darn, but he got a lot of rebounds because of how hard he worked at it. That's Johnson," Wilkens said. "The guy who moves, the guy who's relentless, gets all the rebounds. Johnson's big and strong, (Detroit's Dennis) Rodman is skinny, but they get the same job done because of the way they

pursue the ball."

But there has to be more than desire. There are plenty of 6-5 guys with all the desire in the world who never got beyond college ball. What sets Johnson apart? Coaches, opponents and Johnson, himself, suggested several factors.

-- Strength / Quickness: Of Johnson's 247 pounds, 225 are muscle, according to Hornets strength and conditioning coach Chip Sigmon.

Johnson is seriously sculpted - a size 50 jersey covering his chest muscles narrows to a 40-inch waist. Sigmon has measured Johnson's vertical leap at 32 inches, which is comparable to that of a major-college defensive back.

Johnson also is strong enough to keep opponents from moving him off a spot he wants on the floor.

"I'm stronger than most of these other guys. I bring something different," Johnson said. "Some 6-10 guy can jump out of the gym, but he can't be used to 250 pounds pounding on him like this. Most of my rebounds I get jumping just this high (holding thumb and index finger perhaps 4 inches apart)."

Hornets coach Allan Bristow echoed Johnson's point that most of his rebounds come well below the rim because Johnson has boxed out anyone else in contention for the ball.

"His physical presence - his shoulders, his hips, his legs - that's what strikes you," Bristow said. "If I'm around him, I'm just trying to figure out when I can get to the basketball.

"And he has tremendous agility - there's no substitute for that degree of quickness. If we ever get a big, big center, his productivity would go up even further."

-- Leverage: Former Hornet Armon Gilliam saw plenty of Johnson before he ever came to the NBA because both players starred for Nevada-Las Vegas. Gilliam says Johnson uses his weight so well that being slightly shorter than opponents sometimes works in his favor.

"It's so hard to root him out of where he wants to stand," said Gilliam, now with the Philadelphia 76ers. "Those are some shoulders, and he's got a lower center of gravity than the rest of us."

-- Technique: Silas, now an assistant coach with New York, qualifies as an authority on rebounding, with 12,357 career boards. Silas says Johnson has two skills all great rebounders share - positioning and focus on the ball.

Silas says Johnson has already learned how to avoid losing position under the rim.

"How you use your body is very important. You never see Larry pushing people with the wide part of his body, like his chest," Silas said. "He's always holding people off with his shoulder or his forearm, and that's how you retain position."

-- "Real" height: Johnson's height doesn't factor in the exceptional length of his arms. Johnson's wingspan - fingertip to fingertip with arms extended - is 8 feet 8 inches.

To appreciate just how long his arms are, fellow rookie Billy Owens, who is 2 inches taller, had his span measured at 6-9 3/4 by the Hornets last summer.

"When you combine his athletic ability with a tremendous arm span, well, you just know he'll pull the ball out of the air," Bristow said of Johnson.

Still, it all comes back to that issue of desire.

"Technique is good, but you can have all the technique in the world, and you still have to go get the ball," said Barkley. "That's what it's all about, and that's what he does. He's a hell of a player."