Orange County All-Star Basketball Game : Khari Johnson Hopes to Find Team Success at Irvine

There were times, Khari Johnson admits, when he just went through the motions. There were even times when he couldn’t wait for his senior season to end.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

El Toro High School was among the top 10 teams in Orange County in most 1988-89 preseason basketball polls. Johnson, an honorable mention preseason All-American in Street & Smith’s magazine, was returning for his third season with great expectations.

But somewhere between two opening victories and a one-game playoff appearance, El Toro’s promising season never materialized. El Toro sputtered to a 13-13 record that left a lot of unanswered questions.

How did El Toro beat Dominguez and Trabuco Hills, Southern Section champions in the 4-A and 3-A divisions, and lose to San Clemente, which won only four games all season?

Why was Johnson, a strapping 6-foot-6, 190-pound senior, so inconsistent in a game that he could seemingly dominate?

Or, simply put, what was wrong with El Toro, and more specifically, Johnson, during the 1988-89 season?

Tim Travers, El Toro’s coach, doesn’t have a specific answer. He points out that 12 of El Toro’s 13 losses came against teams that qualified for the playoffs and that five of those losses came against teams that advanced to championship games in their respective divisions.

“We were 13 points away from being 18-8, and I think that was part of Khari’s frustration,” Travers said. “He wanted to win his senior year, and it didn’t happen.”

Johnson watched his close friends, Craig Marshall and Malru Dottin of Saddleback High, advance to the 5-AA division championship game while El Toro was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs as an at-large entry. El Toro had finished fifth in the South Coast League.

“The team had a lot of problems,” Johnson said. “There was a lot of selfishness on the team. We had a lot of good individuals who never jelled as a team. Coach Travers tried everything.

“We had team meetings, team meals . . . nothing seemed to work. I never thought about quitting, because I love the game. But I couldn’t wait for the season to end.”

Johnson averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 rebounds as a senior forward. He set a school record with 23 rebounds in his final high school game against Los Alamitos. But numbers couldn’t hide his disappointment.

“It got to the point where I wasn’t putting in the effort I should have,” he said. “The low point of the season was losing to San Clemente. We were never the same after that.”

Critics pointed the finger at Johnson for El Toro’s mediocre season. He was labeled a “one-dimensional player” who was inconsistent and put forth a maximum effort only when attempting one of his crowd-pleasing dunks.

Johnson rarely took an outside shot. Few wondered if he even had an outside shot. He usually posted up and waited for a pass to come inside. Problem was, the pass seldom came.

“Every time I saw him play, no one would pass him the ball,” said Bill Mulligan, UC Irvine coach. “Here was this player with all the talent in the world and he never got the ball.”

There were games in which the only time Johnson seemed to score was after he grabbed an offensive rebound. He was a 59% shooter from the field, but seldom shot more than 12 times a game.

Still, Mulligan signed Johnson during the early signing period last November. Johnson is one of three UC Irvine recruits who will participate in the 24th Orange County All-Star basketball game at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Bren Center. Johnson’s future teammates Dylan Rigdon of Mater Dei and Craig Marshall of Saddleback also will compete.

“The fact that Khari is a really good athlete, a nice kid and he qualified for our admission standards was good enough for me,” Mulligan said. “He has a long ways to go yet. It’s going to take a while for him to adjust to college ball. But I really like him.”

Johnson said he’s working to become a more versatile player before he enters UC Irvine in the fall.

“My own friends tell me, ‘All you can do is turn on the baseline and dunk.’ I want to become a better ballhandler and shooter. I’d like to become an off-guard. I know I have athletic ability, now it’s time to go to work,” said Johnson, who probably will play small forward at UC Irvine.

Johnson was impressive last Saturday in an all-star game against the top players in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. He had 22 points in a 118-115 victory, including nine dunks. He is looking forward to the challenge of college.

“I chose UCI because I wanted to take my skills to a school where I could work to reach the best of my potential,” Johnson said.

Potential is a label that has followed Johnson for three years in high school. Travers thinks his prized recruit will someday drop the label in college.

“Once Khari develops into a consistent player, you won’t hear that word ‘potential’ any longer,” Travers said.