Kamani Johnson likely won’t finish in the top six or seven on the Arkansas roster in minutes played.
But the 19 he was on the court Wednesday were of massive importance in the Razorbacks’ 78-74 overtime win over San Diego State in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational.
Johnson, a 6-foot-9 forward, is the kind of player from the old school. He’s a rough-and-tumble post player who won’t take many jumpers – or many shots at all – and whose value comes from battling on the block.
Those kinds of players aren’t en vogue in basketball, but Wednesday showed there is still a place for them. Arkansas coach Eric Musselman leaned on his big man in the late going, with Johnson’s toughness and leadership proving paramount for a Hogs team with only two returners.
Let’s take a look beyond the box score at how Arkansas came away with the victory.