Johnson rolling with punches

Elijah Johnson's homecoming wasn't about putting up big numbers. Rather, it was about one short sentence uttered by his coach.

The former Cheyenne High School star guard had eight points and two assists Friday in helping sixth-ranked Kansas roll past Ohio 98-41 in the 10th annual Las Vegas Invitational at the Orleans Arena. But Jayhawks coach Bill Self looked beyond the numbers and liked what he saw from the 6-foot-4-inch sophomore.

"He's coming around," Self said.

For Johnson, those were comforting words. Since his arrival at Kansas a year ago, he has been in an uphill battle to adjust to the college game, life in the Midwest and Self's demanding style.

"Hearing that, it means a lot," Johnson said after the Jayhawks' win that saw Marcus Morris score 26 points. Kansas will play Arizona at 7:30 tonight in the championship game. "It means that I'm on the right track and I'm doing things the right way."

Self said he believes Johnson, who has averaged eight points off the bench this season, could develop into a star. But Johnson has to be consistent with everything he does, on and off the court.

"He can be so good one day, and the next day he can undo all the good," Self said. "If he can just develop consistency, there's no telling how good he can be."

Johnson was being touted before the season as a starter in the Jayhawks' backcourt. But when his father, Marcus, lost his job as a valet parking attendant at Paris Las Vegas this month, Elijah Johnson might have lost his focus on basketball and his studies.

Self did not play Johnson in Kansas' first two games. Some players might have revolted and gone into a funk. Johnson realized it was up to him to get his act together and accepted responsibility.

"It definitely had an impact on me," he said of his father contributing to the state's nation-high unemployment rate when he got laid off. "He's my best friend, and when he hurts, I hurt. I was frustrated because things were happening back in Vegas and I was so far away from home and there was nothing I could do to help."

By getting his act together, he helped his dad by giving him one less worry. But he did give his family and friends cause for concern a couple of times during Friday's win when he went down hard.

The first came with 1:39 left in the first half when Johnson was going for a dunk and was tackled by Ohio's Ricardo Johnson. As he lay on the floor, his teammates rallied to his defense, and a skirmish almost broke out. Ohio's Johnson was ruled for a flagrant intentional foul and ejected.

Elijah Johnson's second scary moment came with 12:06 to play. He was backpedaling on defense when he was hit from behind in the back, and he went down in a heap. No foul was called, but he was in obvious pain and gingerly left the court.

He returned for the final 6:47 and should be ready to play tonight against Arizona. He finished the game with a couple of highlight-reel dunks to show everyone he was OK.

"Things happen," Johnson said. "I guess some teams don't like getting dunked on and being embarrassed, so they did what they did."

But Johnson handled everything well, from not getting overly emotional in his homecoming to not losing his cool.

"Each day is a learning experience," he said. "I'm just trying to listen to what Coach says and do what he tells me, and everything's going to work out fine."

In Friday's other games at the Orleans Arena:

■ Arizona 82, Santa Clara 59 -- The Wildcats (5-0) advanced to tonight's championship against Kansas by using an early 11-2 second-half run after the Broncos (4-2) kept things close the first 20 minutes to trail 34-28 at halftime.

Derrick Williams led Arizona with 22 points and Solomon Hill added 20 as the Wildcats shot 47 percent from 3-point range (9 of 19) and forced Santa Clara into committing 24 turnovers. Marc Trasolini led the Broncos with 19 points.

■ Valparaiso 76, Northern Colorado 61 -- The Crusaders (3-2) forced 23 Northern Colorado turnovers and were led by Howard Little's 18 points. Despite getting 23 points from Devon Beitzel, the Bears (2-3) squandered a 32-26 halftime lead.

■ Texas A&M Corpus Christi 69, Bethune-Cookman 65 -- Demond White had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Islanders (2-4). C.J. Reed led the Wildcats (2-3) with 23 points.

Contact sports reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.