San Diego County High School Player of the Week : For El Camino’s Edmond Johnson, Drugs Weren’t Answer

Edmond Johnson, a guard on the El Camino High School basketball team, once made a detour on his road to success but has since found his way.

Johnson, The Times’ Player of the Week, hopes to earn a college basketball scholarship, and if his play last week--89 points and 40 assists as El Camino finished second in the Mitchell Tournament--is any indication, he’s well on his way.

But it wasn’t long ago that Johnson, 17, was heading in the wrong direction. He was involved in drugs.

“When I was younger,” Johnson said. “I admit that I did drugs before. I tried marijuana, that’s it. It wasn’t like on an everyday basis. I think I just wanted to try to see what it was like.”

Johnson said he experimented with marijuana between the ages of 14 and 15.

“I see how it messes up guys and it’s not worth it,” he said. “There’s so many people getting busted for that (drug use), and that’s how a lot of their careers ended. I don’t need it.

“I’ve known some high school guys who messed up, too. Top-quality ballplayers. A couple friends of mine from L.A. They’d rather go break into things and do drugs and all that. These guys are dropouts now. It wasn’t like they were dumb or anything, they just thought that being a hood was it. That’s the road they choose.”

Johnson, who said his experience with marijuana was trouble-free, knows which road to choose.

“I want to graduate from high school with a 3.0 (grade-point average) or better,” he said, “and get a four-year scholarship. I want to make CIF (San Diego Section) player of the year.

“It usually happens that people try it (drugs) once and they never stop. They’re not strong enough to say, ‘No.’ ”

Johnson, however, says no.

“At parties the people know me,” Johnson said. “They know I play sports and they don’t ask me. I knew if I was ever to go to college and play ball, I knew they give you tests, so I figured I better stop now.”

Johnson, who has moved a lot, didn’t base his decision to stay away from drugs simply on a year’s experimentation, but from years of seeing drug abuse.

He was born in Charlotte, N.C., and lived there for six years. He has since lived in Los Angeles, Charlotte again, Oceanside, Okinawa and Oceanside again. He lives with his stepfather, who recently retired from the Marine Corps. His natural father lives in Charlotte.

In school and on the court, Johnson has been improving. He has raised his grades close to a B average and his point and assist totals to 25 and 10 per game.

This past summer, Johnson was chosen one of the top 60 players at the B.C. All-Star basketball camp at Santa Barbara and one of the top 80 at the Superstars camp at Los Angeles. His coach, Ray Johnson (no relation) calls him “the most exciting player in the county.”

“He can do so many different things and do them well,” Johnson said. “He’s a good shooter. Great penetrator. He sees the court really well. His court awareness is excellent.”

Last year, the 5-foot 10-inch Johnson set a school record with 17 assists in one game. This season, he wants to break the school season assist record of 187. Johnson has 75 assists through the first seven games, with at least 15 games to go.

“That’s what I like doing, penetrating, drawing the defense to me and dishing off for an easy basket,” Johnson said.

Despite Johnson’s passing ability, his coach believes that the development of his outside shot has made him a complete player.

“In the offseason he worked to develop his jump shot,” Ray Johnson said. “Now if the defense comes up on him he’ll go around them, and if they don’t he’ll shoot it. It’s really tough to guard him.”

Johnson said he would like to attend the University of North Carolina-Charlotte to be close to his father, or Wake Forest University because “they don’t seem to worry about how tall their guards are because Tyrone Bogues is only 5-3.”

Johnson works out every day, running with a weight jacket in the hills near El Camino in an effort to strengthen his legs and increase his jump. However, he has his priorities in line.

“I spend a lot of time on my book work,” Johnson said. “I get that out of the way first and then I’ll go work on the other things I have to do.”

Ray Johnson knows that Edmond Johnson is aware of what is important.

“He’s a smart kid,” Ray Johnson said. “He’s really picked it (his grades) up. He realizes the importance of it. He knows now what it’s all about.”

It’s all about choosing the right roads.

Edmond Johnson

El Camino High School

Position: Guard

Height, Weight, Class: 5-10, 150, Sr.

Last Week: Had 89 points and 40 assists as El Camino placed second in the Mitchell Tournament.