When sophomore sensation T.J. McConnell, along with Mike Talley and Danny Herrera decided to leave Duquesne this past off-season, Coach Ferry was left with just two potential leaders – Andre Marhold and Sean Johnson. Although not an ideal situation given the talent that walked out, it was almost a given that Ferry could count on Johnson. Last season, his first as a starter, Johnson finished second on the team with 13.5 points per game and led the team with 42 3-point field goals.
This season, as a senior, Johnson is on pace to finish with less points than he did last year. He is currently at 11.4 ppg, but is averaging 6.1 ppg in the past month. In six of his past eight games, he has failed to score in double figures.
For the man who was supposed to lead the team this year, these numbers are quite disappointing. In the past month, it seems as though the leadership role (if game performance is any example) has shifted hands completely. Earlier in the season, Johnson and Colter were each putting up big numbers in different games and different moments – now it has turned into the Derrick Colter show. Colter is averaging 13.0 ppg this season and has won Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week three times. He also leads the team in minutes played.
As the season (which is looking like one of the worst in Duquesne history) is drawing to a close, Johnson’s fellow senior Andre Marhold is coming on strong. Marhold’s 15 point, 15 rebound double-double helped Duquesne to their first conference win of the season against Temple on February 14th. Since that game, Marhold is averaging 10 ppg and it has been helping Duquesne stay close in a few games. So now that his counterpart (who isn’t even known as a big scorer) is scoring points, where is Johnson? Surely if he was performing as he did in the beginning of the season, Duquesne’s fortunes may have been a little better in the past several games.
Unfortunately, that’s not how things have happened. Against George Washington and URI, two of Duquesne’s best chances to pick up a win this February, Johnson could only manage seven total points.
But lack of scoring isn’t the only reason for concern. Earlier in the month, Johnson made two separate mental mistakes that were nearly mirror images of each other. In the second half of the GW game, Johnson was called for a flagrant foul while trying to stop a GW player from getting an easy layup. That and the ensuing scuffle behind the basket prompted Ferry to sit Johnson for the rest of the game – for good reason. But apparently Johnson didn’t learn his lesson, for he committed the same exact foul in the same exact situation the very next game against Xavier. Immediately, Ferry turned to his bench once again.
It may be plausible that Sean Johnson is in a major senior slump. His team is 8-19 and he doesn’t exactly seem to be flourishing under Ferry’s fast-paced system. But regardless of how poorly he is performing, he needs to set a better example for Duquesne’s younger players.
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Sports Report
