THE COWBOY WAY-JERMIAH JOHNSON
CONNORS STATE
Freshman Jermiah Johnson comes to Connors State this fall as a member of a unique class for Hall of Fame coach Bill Muse. After last season’s trip to the national tournament semifinals, several players had opportunities to move to the next level while others chose not to return to Connors including the surprising move by standout center Buddy Hammer to conference rival NEO.
“In all the seasons I’ve coached I’ve never had a season when I didn’t have at least one returning starter back,” said Muse, now entering his 33rd year at the helm, “and I’ve never had a starter transfer to another conference school.”
So Johnson is one of eight freshmen and three transfers that make up this year’s roster. Jermiah (or Miah as his teammates have labeled him) comes from a standout program at Tulsa Edison where he won three area tournament titles and went to state twice and says it was knowing former Cowboys that helped guide his decision to come to Connors.
“My athletic director knows Junior (Connors assistant coach Bill Muse Jr.) and I played with Mason Alexander who went to Connors and also know Bradyn Hubbard and Ty Frierson, both former Cowboys, so I knew it was a quality program.”
The senior Muse says that Johnson comes along at just the right time for the Cowboys.
“Jermiah comes from a solid program at Edison. We were looking for someone with a college-ready body which he has, he’s an efficient player who knows his own strengths and weaknesses and has a great upside. He’s the type of player that fits the Cowboy Way because he’s solid on the court and off, does a great job in the classroom, wants to be successful and has a great work ethic. Whether he starts or not, he’ll see a lot of playing time for us this year.”
Growing up Jermiah and his brother Antwan always had a basketball in their hands and played a lot on the hoops at home. And while Jermiah attended Edison, Antwan ended up going to Rogers which led to a couple of head-to-head confrontations over the years.
“We played against each other twice. We beat them by 15 or 20 the first time at their place. At our place, the ref didn’t know we were brothers, and I got a “T” for clapping in his face, and we ended up losing the game, I think, because I had to sit out a lot of the first half,” Jermiah laughed.
Johnson acknowledges the challenge of bringing 11 strangers together in a short time to form a team.
“I think things are going better than expected. We’re all trying to work together because we know it’s a whole new team and we’re looking for leaders and it’s still a work in progress,” said the talented left-hander.
