College Basketball -- Two Top Guards Say They'll Attend UW

For Michael Johnson, the deciding factors were the chance to remain in Seattle and his rapport with the Washington men's basketball coaching staff.

For Dan Dickau, it was a chance to play point guard in the Pac-10.

For those reasons, the two high-school standouts announced 30 minutes and 170 miles apart yesterday that they will accept Husky scholarships.

Johnson, 6 feet 4 1/2 inches, 195 pounds, plays for Seattle's Ballard High School and is the Metro League's all-time leading scorer with 1,640 points in three seasons. He averaged 23 points last season as the Beavers (21-9) finished eighth in the Class AA state tournament. He will be a four-year starter for Ballard and last season won the state's best-player award presented by Gatorade.

Johnson, viewed primarily as a shooting guard in college but could be a swingman, had drawn interest from Kansas, UCLA and Indiana. He told those schools months ago he would either stay close to home or go to BYU.

Johnson made his recruiting visit to Washington last weekend, and President Richard L. McCormick was among the officials delivering sales pitches.

The state's high-school scoring record is 2,411 points by Travis Hansen, who graduated in 1994 from Class A Cascade High School in Leavenworth. Clint Richardson of O'Dea scored 2,121 in a three-year career (1972-75) but O'Dea was an independent his sophomore year and in the Olympic League his junior and senior years.

Richardson's scoring average of 28.28 is believed to be the highest in state history. He played at Seattle University and then in the NBA.

Dickau, 6-1, plays for Class AAA Prairie High School, outside Vancouver. He is ranked No. 15 among high-school point guards by Basketball Times newspaper.

"I'm a person who likes a challenge and I feel the best point guards are in the Pac-10," said Dickau in a telephone interview.

Johnson's coach, Al Harada, called his player's announcement "an exciting time for Ballard." Dickau's coach, Eric Hjort, said the joint commitments of Johnson and Dickau "is a great day for Washington basketball. I think it makes a statement about Coach Bob Bender and the direction of Husky basketball."

Dickau averaged 19.8 points, six assists, six rebounds and three steals for a Prairie team that finished 8-12 last season.

Johnson, who is Mormon, said Brigham Young was "a real close second," with Washington State third. Dickau chose the Huskies over Portland and Pepperdine.

Johnson and Dickau said they have met on a couple of occasions.

Dickau played against Johnson in a summer game this year and told his father, "I'd rather play with him than against him."

Dickau has a sister, Amy, who is a UW junior and transferred to the school this year from Clark Community College.

Johnson and Dickau can sign their letters of intent next month.

NOTE

Senior guard Chris Scott has not met eligibility standards to play at Washington State. The 6-3 transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M is eligible to practice but the Cougars won't allow that, preferring he spend his time on academics, Coach Kevin Eastman said.