"It really is crazy," Johnson said Thursday by phone from his Emory office. "But it's fun."
Using a 3-point-heavy run-and-gun attack, Johnson's team aims to take 100 shots a game - including at least 50 3-pointers. His defense is designed to force turnovers - a full-court trap that drops back into a half-court press. Defensive rebounds don't matter. The offensive glass is key. On an average night, 17 players see time for E&H.
As a result, the Wasps score more points (104.6 per game) than any other team in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, but also give up the most (105.1).
They're last in team rebounding margin, last in field-goal percentage, last in 3-point percentage and last in free-throw percentage.
They're first in assists, steals, turnover margin and, of course, 3-point attempts and makes.
With 1,551 shots from beyond the arc, Johnson's team has taken over 1,000 more 3's than the next most shot-happy team in the ODAC, Roanoke (460 attempts).
They've made more (438) than anyone else except Roanoke has even attempted. Sure, they've only connected on 28.2 percent. In Johnson's perfect world, they'd hit on 32 percent, but he's not about to reign anyone in.
"In our case, the only bad shot is the one you don't take," Johnson said. "We're going to get shots. Nobody's stopped us from getting shots. If you make shots, you're going to win."
Although E&H averages 62 3-point attempts a game - and makes 17.5 - it tried 97 in an 147-136 loss to Guilford in its ODAC opener this season.
The bottom line: Emory & Henry went 14-11 and 10-8 in the ODAC during the regular season and is the fifth seed in this weekend's conference tournament. The Wasps play fourth-seeded Guilford at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Salem Civic Center.
"I wouldn't have gone into this thing if I didn't think it would work," Johnson said.
Why did the 59-year-old Vietnam veteran, with a 356-322 career record, make the switch?
"I got tired," he said. "I got tired of going in and grinding every day. Every practice, every game was a visit to the dentist's office."
So Johnson, who's always wanted to play more uptempo, turned to a hybrid of David Arsenault's scheme at Division III Grinnell. Arsenault has been running his attack - which he describes as "perfecting chaos" - for a dozen years. This year, Grinnell went 14-7 while averaging 118 points a game and surrendering 110.9.
After making his switch, Johnson heard Grinnell speak at a basketball clinic in Illinois last year. While the Wasps' attack is very similar in concept, Johnson said he's tweaked it in some areas, turning it into a hybrid assault.
The system, he said, all but eliminates cold shooting nights. Even if three or four players are off, there are 13 or 14 more getting on the floor to make up for it.
But Johnson's new approach doesn't allow for the emergence of individual stars.
His leading scorer is Cain Landreth, who averages 12.6 points a game, 10th in the league. Korey Townsend (12 ppg) and Shavar Bland (11.6) aren't far behind.
Minutes are spread just as evenly as points, as 14 different Wasps average between 11 and 17 minutes a game.
Johnson admits none of his players will likely receive all-league consideration and none will be heavily considered for the ODAC Player of the Year award. Johnson doesn't care and he says his players are learning not to, either.
"Just in the past two weeks, they're starting to play with a freedom and a joie de vie that I hadn't seen."
At least one veteran ODAC coach has nothing but praise for Johnson's unorthodox game plan.
"I'm glad he's done it," said Bridgewater's Bill Leatherman. "I think its added excitement to the league. I wouldn't do it, but I'm glad he's done it. He's having fun with it and we had fun playing against it.
Johnson knows he has critics. He can name only two other coaches in the nation using similar systems - like him, both are in Division III. He said he's aware some parents might grumble their kids don't get the minutes they would in more traditional systems. He knows other coaches think he's crazy for employing a system that, in their minds, can't possibly work.
"I hear rumors," Johnson said. "People don't talk to me face to face. They never have."
Johnson has thought about this switch for the better part of a decade. In the mid '70's, he said, his Springfield College freshmen team averaged 106 points per game. But he caved to conventional wisdom at Emory, running more traditional sets. He'll turn 60 in August. The years were taking their toll. A self-described "lifer" in the coaching profession, Johnson needed something to invigorate him.
He's apparently found it.
"I'm having the best time I've ever had. ... It's been hard and fun,"
Johnson said. "And it's been liberating."
Section: Sports
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Record Number: 4232