Men's Basketball | March 6, 2018
PHILADELPHIA - La Salle senior men's basketball standout
B.J. Johnson earned a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team and was one of five players named to the All-Academic Team, it was announced by the league on Tuesday.
Johnson is the first La Salle player to garner academic honors since Steve Weingarten in 2011, and is one of only four student-athletes to earn the distinction since the Explorers joined the league in 1995. He is also the 11th player in school history to be named to the Atlantic 10's first or second teams.
A 6-7 forward who has the ability to score both inside and out, Johnson ranks third in the league in both scoring (20.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.5) and has used his advanced offensive repertoire to register 17 games of 20 or more points this season.
Over the first three contests of the season, the Philadelphia native averaged 21.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game in leading La Salle to a 3-0 start. His top game over that span came against South Alabama, when he scored 30 points and grabbed 11 boards in an 81-73 victory.
Towards the end of the non-league season, Johnson came up big in a home win over Big 5 rival Temple. Facing an Owls squad who entered the game with the No. 1 RPI in the nation, Johnson went for 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting to help the Explorers to an 87-83 win.
Despite a mid-season ankle injury that held him out of the first five games of Atlantic 10 play, Johnson bounced back and had eight games of 20 or more points the rest of the way. The highlight was a 29-point, 23-rebound effort against nationally-ranked Rhode Island at Tom Gola Arena on Feb. 20.
That performance earned him Atlantic 10 weekly honors and the rebounding total stands as the second-most in Atlantic 10 single-game history, one shy of the record held by George Washington's Yinka Dare. The 23 boards also ranks second on the single-game list among NCAA Division I players this season.
Academically, Johnson has been a standout over the course of his three years at La Salle. A finance major that holds a 3.10 GPA, he will graduate in May with a bachelor's degree. Johnson is the only player in the Atlantic 10 to earn all-league and all-academic honors in 2017-18.
Davidson's Peyton Aldridge and St. Bonaventure's Jaylen Adams were named Atlantic 10 Co-Players of the Year, while Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley was bestowed Coach of the Year accolades.
Johnson and the Explorers begin the 2018 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, March 7, beginning at 6:00 p.m. La Salle (13-18) will face Massachusetts (12-19) at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The game will be broadcast live on Stadium Network. Check local listings.
2017-18 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball End-of-Year Awards
Co-Players of the Year - Peyton Aldridge, Davidson Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure
Defensive Player of the Year - Yuta Watanabe, George Washington
Rookie of the Year - Kellan Grady, Davidson
Chris Daniels Co-Most Improved Player - Luwane Pipkins, Massachusetts LaDarien Griffin, St. Bonaventure
Sixth Man of the Year - Tarin Smith, Duquesne
Coach of the Year - Dan Hurley, Rhode Island
All-Atlantic 10 First Team
Peyton Aldridge, Davidson
Jared Terrell, Rhode Island
Jaylen Adams, St. Bonaventure
Matt Mobley, St. Bonaventure
Justin Tillman, VCU
All-Atlantic 10 Second Team
Kellan Grady, Davidson
Otis Livingston II, George Mason
B.J. Johnson, La Salle
Luwane Pipkins, Massachusetts
Shavar Newkirk, Saint Joseph's
All-Atlantic 10 Third Team
Josh Cunningham, Dayton
Yuta Watanabe, George Washington
E.C. Matthews, Rhode Island
Grant Golden, Richmond
James Demery, Saint Joseph's
All-Academic Team
Joseph Chartouny, Fordham
Prokop Slanina, Fordham
Patrick Steeves, George Washington
B.J. Johnson, La Salle
Jeff Dowtin, Rhode Island
All-Defensive Team
Joseph Chartouny, Fordham
Yuta Watanabe, George Washington
Stanford Robinson, Rhode Island
Javon Bess, Saint Louis
Justin Tillman, VCU
All-Rookie Team
Kellan Grady, Davidson
Jalen Crutcher, Dayton
Eric Williams, Jr., Duquesne
Grant Golden, Richmond
Hasahn French, Saint Louis
