What’s changed for Isaiah Johnson since becoming a starter
- Mason Vogel
- Jan 27
- 3 min read
Freshman guard Isaiah Johnson has brought back a spark of hope for Colorado, which finished last in the Big 12 just a year ago.
The former three-star recruit has been the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team’s leading scorer all year, averaging 16.2 points per game. He is also the steals leader, averaging one steal per game.
Despite this, he spent the first 17 games coming off the bench. Johnson could’ve been a starter a lot earlier for the Buffs, but head coach Tad Boyle liked what he brought to the court coming off the bench.
“I like to bring strength coming off the bench,” Boyle said, “whether it’s energy, whether it’s scoring, whether it’s rebounding, whatever, and that’s how I feel like with Isaiah.”
Johnson enjoyed coming off the bench because he learned about the other team before entering the game.
“I was just able to watch the pace of play, learn what the defensive coverages were doing out there,” he said.
The bench play for the Buffs has definitely changed since Johnson became a starter. On Saturday against the UCF Knights, the Buffs' bench was outscored by the opposing bench for the first time this season. Johnson even scored five more points than CU's entire bench did. Boyle was not pleased with the lack of reserve scoring.
“You guys always ask me why I brought Isaiah Johnson off the bench,” Boyle said. “Well, now I’m starting him, and our bench can’t score.”
Outside of that, not much has changed for Johnson while shifting from bench player to starter since he was already playing starter’s minutes before.
“It’s nice to have that title, but you know nothing has really changed for me much,” Johnson said. “My minutes are kind of the same.”
Since becoming a starter, Johnson's goals for himself have remained.
“My goals are pretty much the same, just win games, be the best version of me,” he said.
Johnson doesn’t think much has changed, but starting junior guard Barrington Hargress believes that Johnson being a starter has helped the offense out a lot.
“Our bigs trust him to be in ball screens just as much as myself,” Hargress said of Johnson.”So it gives us a lot of fluidity on the offensive end and another guard that’s able to be aggressive and get his shot.”
One of the biggest changes for the Buffs since Johnson became a starter is that he is getting more minutes than former starter Felix Kossaras. Both players have different styles of play that they bring to the court. Hargress plays alongside both guys as a guard, and he changes up his playstyle to fit the way that each of them plays.
“Isaiah is just a little bit more offensive, and he can generate his own shot a little bit more, so I give him a little bit more space and a little bit more coverability, and it gives me my opportunity to be off the ball and get catch-and-shoots,” Hargress said. ”Whereas Felix, I’m more on the ball and a little bit more ball dominant, trying to find him for catch-and-shoots, and he’s trying to guard and be more imposing on the defensive end.”
Johnson got his first start on Jan. 17 against the West Virginia Mountaineers. The Buffs ended up losing, but Johnson still enjoyed it.
“It was a great experience, hearing my name being called,” Johnson said. “I always dreamed about that as a kid growing up.”
Not only was his first start a loss, but all three games he’s started have ended up being losses. Despite this, Johnson believes better days are ahead for the Buffs.
“There’s a whole bunch of basketball left to play,” Johnson said. ”We could really go on a good run and win a lot of games.”
In spite of the losses, Johnson has done well so far as a starter. He’s averaged 17 points per game since becoming one and even scored 20 points on Saturday against the UCF Knights. He will look to get his first win as a starter on Thursday as the Buffs take on the No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, Iowa.
Cover photo by Nick Rauscher/Sko Buffs Sports
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