Hoping Things Click : Sacramento’s Johnny Rogers Is Learning the Ropes as He Fine-Tunes His Game

As Johnny Rogers reaches the apex of his jump, he arcs the ball toward the basket with a firm flick of his wrist. As the ball leaves his fingertips, Rogers’ legs come together and the heels of his shoes touch. Click.

Swish. The ball settles into the net without touching the rim.

“Bring ‘em outta that zone, Johnny,” a spectator squeals. “Wooo-weee, the big guy is hot. Get that man the ball!”

Click. Swish.

The Sacramento Kings have finished their morning workout, but rookies Rogers, Harold Pressley, Bruce Douglas and starter Otis Thorpe have stayed for a game of two-on-two. Winners outs.

The fan doing the cheering is a friend of Thorpe’s. Thorpe is guarding Rogers.

Make that trying to guard him.

“Wooo-,” Thorpe’s friend shrieks as Rogers goes up for another shot, “whaaam!” as the ball swishes in.

“Whoo-,” click, swish, “whaaam!”

Rogers hits six in a row. “You’re destroyin’ him, Johnny!” Thorpe’s friend shouts happily.

Pressley and Douglas crack up. Even Thorpe manages a slight smile. What else could he do?

Johnny Rogers is a shooting guard disguised in a 6-10, 230-pound body. When he’s in rhythm-- click, swish-- there’s not much an opponent can do but watch and admire.

Joe Axelson, general manager of the Kings for 15 years, says Rogers can shoot a basketball “as well as any man alive.”

And it doesn’t take a Basketball Jones to figure out why.

Rogers’ jump shot looks as if it’s right off of an instructional video. His body is square to the basket. His jump is straight, right elbow tucked, and the ball comes off his fingertips with just the right amount of backspin.

Rogers has been known as a great shooter ever since he was a star at La Quinta High School in Fountain Valley. He led his team to a championship, won or shared the Southern Section’s award for 3-A Player of the Year twice and led Orange County in scoring as a junior and senior.

He was quite a phenomenon back then--a center who was as cozy at the three-point line as he was at the free throw line.

“I always figured,” Rogers said, “that it was easier to make an open 20-footer than it was to make a five-footer with someone all over me.”

There is some logic to that, but Rogers has heard his share of criticism from people who thought tall redheads were supposed to concentrate on swatting shots, rebounding and sticking their elbows into the ribs of any opponent who dare enter the key.

After high school, Rogers got a reputation as a shooter and nothing else. Critics said he wouldn’t wrestle with other big men for rebounds and didn’t play defense.

Tom Davis was one of them.

Davis was hired at Stanford in the spring of 1982, shortly after Rogers had been selected as the Pac-10’s Freshman of the Year. He had averaged 12.5 points a game for the Cardinal, although the team was 7-20.

Davis didn’t care how well Rogers played outside. He wanted more Doc Blanchard and less Glenn Davis. When the next season started, Rogers was on the bench.

And when the next season started, he was at UC Irvine.

Coach Bill Mulligan liked to run and Rogers liked to gun. A perfect match.

As a senior, Rogers averaged 21.2 points and 9 rebounds and led the Anteaters to upset victories over Nevada Las Vegas and UCLA.

Sacramento drafted Rogers on the second round in June. He was the 34th player selected.

Axelson didn’t care much about Rogers’ reputation for being soft.

“Guys that tall who can shoot like he can just don’t come around that often--even in the NBA,” Axelson said.

It’s difficult to get a shot off from the bench, however, and so far that’s where Rogers has spent most of his time this season. In Sacramento’s first 15 games, Rogers played only 84 minutes. He is averaging 3.3 points a game.

But the fact that Rogers probably won’t make a significant contribution to the team this season doesn’t seem to bother anyone.

“Very few rookies take this league by storm,” Axelson said. “We expected Johnny to come in, work hard in practice, learn and fill in when he had to. He’s done that. The first year is a learning process for most players.”

Said Kings Coach Phil Johnson: “The best way for a rookie to learn is to play in spots, practice hard and watch absolutely everything.” The bench being a good vantage point.

Rogers knows this. He says he never expected to come in and play all the time. But once in a while sitting the bench hurts him in places other than his derriere.

In a recent game against Milwaukee, Rogers didn’t get in until 54 seconds were left. With the Kings trailing, 105-97, he was brought in after a timeout to attempt a three-point shot off an inbounds play.

The designed play never developed, however, and Sacramento lost the ball. Exit Rogers. Playing time for the night: three seconds.

“I thought (Johnson) had more confidence in me than that,” Rogers said afterward.

He didn’t even mention that Johnson putting him in cold off the bench to shoot a three-pointer was a little, uh, unorthodox.

“Johnny makes those shots in his sleep,” Johnson explained.

The incident hurt Rogers because it came at a time when his confidence was already at a low. During previous weeks a quote attributed to Axelson had been circulated in, oh, a few dozen newspapers and magazines.

“Rogers. That’s with no ‘D’--either in name or on the floor,” Axelson had reportedly said. That ‘D’ meant defense.

The critics strike again? Not quite.

Axelson says he never made such a remark. “I would never rip a player,” Axelson said. “Because the worst guy ever to play in the NBA is still four times better than me.”

Axelson even went so far as to say that Rogers plays good defense. At least for a rookie.

“He needs to work on it, but I’d say the same thing about just about every rookie coming into the league,” Axelson said.

A shoulder injury to veteran forward Mark Olberding at the start of the season provided Rogers with the opportunity for extensive playing time early.

“It was a roller-coaster ride,” he said.

Rogers played 27 minutes in a game at Houston. Two days later, against Cleveland, he made the game-winning shot. The following night at Denver, he played his worst game of the season. He has played sparingly since.

“He was getting beat some, but that was to be expected to a certain extent,” Johnson said. “Basically, we’ve decided to go with a veteran player over him for now, but Mark is getting toward the end of his career and we feel Johnny could be the one to step in.”

Johnny Rogers--Mr. Perimeter--an NBA power forward?

“My outside game got me here, but I’ve always known I could play inside and if that’s what will keep me here, that’s what I’ll do,” Rogers said.

“When someone puts a label on you, it usually sticks. But anyone who has been here will tell you you can’t play in the NBA if you’re not physical.”

Johnson readily admits that Rogers is tougher and a better rebounder than he expected. “He has a lot of things going for him,” Johnson said. “The greatest of which is his willingness to learn.”

And there is much to learn.

Kings players say Rogers will have to fine-tune his game on offense and defense.

“On defense, he’s not going to outquick many players, so he has to learn how to position himself,” said Derek Smith, who starts at guard.

Thorpe, the Kings’ starter at power forward, says the rookie could also improve on offense.

“He needs to be able to put the ball on the floor and go if he gets the ball and he’s covered,” Thorpe said. “Watch Terry Cummings. When he gets the ball, it’s one step--whoosh--he’s gone to the basket. Johnny has to learn to do that. He has to be able to create his own shots.

“We all know what happens when he’s open.”

Click. Swish.

Thorpe, of course, had just been reminded.