END OF THE MAGIC ERA : In Magic’s Hometown, Shock and Concern : Lansing: Fans and friends have been loyal to Johnson all his life and announcement doesn’t change that.

Magic Johnson’s hometown was buzzing Thursday night as it struggled to get over the shock of the basketball star’s announcement earlier in the day that he was infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

To his loyal fans here who have followed his basketball career from high school until its sudden end Thursday, Johnson is both a famous hero and a familiar neighborhood figure--a double identity that made today’s news all the more striking.

Johnson returns home frequently and married his high school sweetheart at a local church on Sept. 14.

“He’s just like us,” said Yahri Lyon, a sophomore at Michigan State University in nearby East Lansing.

Lyon said she would like to get Johnson to come speak about AIDS at his alma mater.

“It hit real close to home, and it scared a lot of people,” she said. “It scared me.”

At Sparty’s bar in East Lansing, the crowd fell quiet when the 11 o’clock news was on, even though, Lansing resident Marlon Williams said, they had all heard it “about 10 times already.”

“He used to play basketball with my uncles a long time ago,” Williams said. “They were all on the phone to my grandmother today when we heard. It’s real sad. I just hope he’s OK.”

At Michigan State, where Johnson 12 years ago led the Spartans to an NCAA championship, Johnson was a hot topic in the TV lounges and cafeterias.

“It’s going to make people want to wear (condoms), that’s what I think,” said Craig Thomas, a junior football player from Pittsburgh.

Thomas, who had met Johnson at Magic’s summer basketball camp here, said the team was shaken when the players watched the 6 o’clock news together in their training room after practice.

“It was kind of shocking,” he said. “We all sat and talked about it for a while. You know, he’s our favorite player and everything,” Thomas said.

Attempts to talk to the Johnson family were unsuccessful. A woman who answered the door at their home on Lansing’s west side looked strained and weary as she refused a reporter’s request for comment.

“Please, we have to go to sleep like everyone else,” said the woman, who would not identify herself. “It’s been a long day.”

Michigan State basketball Coach Jud Heathcote, who recruited Johnson for the East Lansing school, was saddened by the news. Johnson led Michigan State to the NCAA title in 1979.

“This is a sad day for all of basketball, including Spartan basketball,” Heathcote said. “I’ve always said, when Earvin retires from the game, he will go down in history as the greatest guard ever to play the game. That is the case today. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”

George Fox, who coached Johnson at Everett High in Lansing from 1975 through 1977, said he was devastated by the news.

“It’s unreal, what happened,” Fox said. “He was a dream come true, a product of Lansing, just a beautiful person that bettered everyone that came in contact with him. We’re in shock here at the house. Anybody that knew him has got to be devastated.”

“The community loves the man, loves his family,” Lansing Mayor Terry McKane said. “I just know the community is going to lift him and his family up in prayer and in love.”

The former Michigan State player’s self-control impressed viewers as much as his amazing basketball skills.

“I thought it was incredible,” said Charles Franckowiak of Grand Rapids, a 1989 Michigan State graduate. “I don’t know how anybody could gather the courage to go before the entire world and explain a personal tragedy without a quiver in his voice. It just shows what a tremendous person he is.”

Jennifer Fenrich of Plymouth, Mich., a junior at Michigan State, said she worked at Johnson’s wedding reception and was awed at seeing the star.

“He’s had a life most of us could only dream of,” she said. “Now he’s living a life most of us would fear.”

Dr. Charles Tucker, who met Johnson in high school and has been a close friend and adviser ever since, said he was saddened by the news, but confident that Johnson would be strong in facing the problem.

“Heroes continue to carry on, even though their back is against the wall,” Tucker said. ‘His back is against the wall now, but he’s a hero. He’ll go on and help people in other ways.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.