Sidiki Johnson arrived at New Jersey national power St. Benedict’s Prep with an enhanced view of himself.
He was an all-city caliber forward from New York City with a scholarship from Arizona neatly tucked away in his back pocket.
Once practices began, his ego took a hit. .
“At St. Benedict’s, it’s another level,” the 6-foot-8 junior said after scoring 20 points to lead Manhattan past Queens, 83-81, in the Wheelchair Charities HS Basketball Classic at LIU Monday night. “There were just bigger and better players. I was going up against guys as big as me and as strong as me.”
Johnson also spent much of the season coming off the bench as a role player, an unfamiliar spot for a player that started at St. Raymond as a sophomore.
He had to get used to his new surroundings at St. Benedict’s, which went 20-1 and finished fourth in USA Today’s national poll. There were adjustments to the system and the daily workouts, living on his own in the school’s dormitories.
Most of all, he had to get acclimated to his new coach, Danny Hurley, who recently left the New Jersey program to be the coach at Wagner College on Staten Island.
“He expects the best from you every day and if you give anything less, you don’t play,” Queens native and St. Benedict’s senior Mike Poole said. “Some people take days off. At St. Benedict’s, there are no days off.”
Johnson’s mentor, Bernard Bowen, has seen a difference in him as a player. He is thinking the game more, not just relying on instincts. His ego, once oversized, has been reduced.
“He became more focused playing the game of basketball. Physically he’s gotten stronger and mentally he’s more prepared. He knows how to play,” Bowen said. “It was a wakeup call. He said to himself, ‘I’m not as good as I think I am.’ Sometimes great players need a reality check.”
Johnson is glad he made the decision to leave his comfortable life at home in Harlem and at St. Raymond in The Bronx for St. Benedict’s. Despite Hurley’s absence, he plans to stay, depending on the next coach. He ruled out a return to New York City, because of the distractions of fans, friends and the media.
“It’s like a college prep school; it prepares you for the next level,” he said. “Everything we do is just like college. I learned how to work harder, how to outplay my opponents. It was worth it.”
Johnson has also started to play to his strengths – as a rebounder and low-post scorer – more. Talent evaluator Tom Konchalski remember him as a “wannabe perimeter” player shooting 3-pointers. Now, he parks himself in the paint and looks to dominate off the glass.
“He’s trying to be closer to the basket and use his size more, which I think is smart,” Konchalski said. “He realizes what his win is. He’s starting to understand who he is, and that’s the first step on the road to success.”
St. Benedict’s Prep, Johnson said, steered him in that direction. While the program’s future may be uncertain because of Hurley, Johnson, a year from the Pac-10 and Arizona, wants to say on the right track.
“I’ll be there,” he said.