EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Brandon Johns had a choice last summer.
He could leave East Lansing to further develop his game at a prep school. Or he could stay and chase his state championship dreams with his friends.
Johns chose the latter. And he contributed to another strong season for East Lansing’s boys basketball team.
Johns played a big part in a second straight perfect regular season for the Trojans and heads The Associated Press Class A All-State squad as the Player of the Year.
Joining Johns on the Class A first team are North Farmington’s Amauri Hardy, Clarkston’s Foster Loyer, Grand Rapids Christian’s Xavier Tillman, Kalamazoo Central’s Isaiah Livers, Saginaw’s Henry Speight, Greg Elliott and David DeJulius of Detroit East English, Holland’s Demetrius Lake and Wayne Memorial’s Rashad Williams.
Flushing’s Adam Smith is the Class A Coach of the Year.
Johns, a 6-foot-8 junior forward who is regarded as one of the nation’s top 50 prospects in the 2018 recruiting class, averaged 20.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for an East Lansing squad that finished 24-1 and spent the entire season ranked in the top 10 in Class A.
“I thought I had a lot of stuff to bring to the team just to help us be successful,” said Johns, who surpassed 1,000 career points this year and has helped the Trojans compile a 47-2 record the last two seasons.
“I think a lot of stuff I did in the summer really helped me out for my confidence and just my game in general. I thought it helped out a lot for our team. Plus, I had great teammates.”
East Lansing coach Steve Finamore said Johns had a fantastic season and helped dig the Trojans out of holes on a few occasions this season. He also noticed growth from Johns.
“His off the ball defense improved a lot,” Finamore said. “A lot of times (in the past) he would just guard his man and think his responsibilities were over. Defense is played by five guys and he helped a lot this year. He would not only block shots, but he would alter shots. I have images in my head when someone would drive to the basket and Brandon would come over and the guy would change his shot.”
Johns believes his growth defensively helped him evolve into a more complete player this season. But he is on a mission to do even more next season after East Lansing’s quest for a title was ended with a regional final loss to Kalamazoo Central.
“It’s been really hard because I know I didn’t play to my full potential (in the regional final),” Johns said. “I knew I was due for a bad game, but it was just bad timing and everything just went downhill from there.
“I’ve been thinking about (that loss) for the past few days, but I’m trying to use that as motivation, for stuff to work on in the summer and just to get bigger and better and stronger. I’m going to try to be an animal when I come out next year.”
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