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Seated courtside next to each other for the Jan. 12 game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Connecticut Huskies, headphones on, UC radio play-by-play announcer Dan Hoard couldn’t help but point out his new partner’s old wound. Former Bearcats guard Kevin Johnson had already worked as a color commentator alongside Hoard for a few non-conference games earlier in the season, so when Hoard’s usual sidekick Terry Nelson came down with the flu, Johnson filled in, putting him up close and personal with the team and player that spoiled his signature moment.

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“(UConn guard) Jaylen Adams ruined a shot by Kevin that would have been one of the more memorable plays in Bearcats history,” said Hoard, recounting the scene. “And there he is, standing right over there.”

In a 2016 American Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals matchup between the two sides, Johnson – a junior at the time – cooly drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 0.8 left in the third overtime of an already ridiculous contest, only to have it negated a split second later, when Adams (a then-freshman and current senior) banked in a three-quarter court heave to send the game to a fourth overtime. The Huskies eventually prevailed, 104-97.

Read the Best of The Athletic Cincinnati’s first year

Johnson, a young but consummate professional, took Hoard’s playful reminder in stride on the broadcast that night. It helps that the local Summit Country Day product had quite the decorated four years in red and black. He was never a prototypical stat-stuffer, but he did help to lead the Bearcats to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances with a relentless effort and defensive attitude that embodied the program. He finished his career in 2017 with 101 wins, tied with Sean Kilpatrick for third all-time.

The Athletic Cincinnati caught up with Johnson to discuss his recent venture into broadcasting, reminisce about his favorite Bearcats memories, and weigh in on the Kilpatrick-vs.-Cumberland comparison.

What made you want to get involved on the broadcast side?

Honestly, man, when I was thinking about career options, I was just thinking about my top attributes as a person – I like people and I like sports. With the help of (assistant athletic director) Andre Foushee and Mick Cronin, a little conversation went on, and I think Andre talked about how well I used to do back in the day when I would do player interviews. So Andre reached out to Dan (Hoard), and Terry (Nelson) was going to do some TV this season for Fox Sports, so it gave me an opportunity to fill in with Dan on the radio. And from there I’ve just been branching out. I did some stuff with Sports Rock on WLWT as an analyst, talking about the Bearcats. I did some cool little demos for them as well as a sports anchor, so just kind of jumping out there, and I enjoy it, I enjoy talking about my school. It’s giving me an opportunity to push in a career that I feel like I can go far in. Hopefully, I can find a solid job in it, whether with 700 WLW or some of the other opportunities around here.

You’re a Cincinnati kid – how important was staying home and becoming a Bearcat when you were deciding where to play basketball after high school?

I love the city of Cincinnati. My family is here, I’m a big family guy, I have major support here, so when the opportunity came to play at UC, it’s a great school, but honestly, it was a no-brainer for me. My family got to be there through the ups and downs of it, and I met a lot of great people in a place I can call my city.

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When you committed to the Bearcats, it was early in this resurgence under Cronin and the current string of NCAA Tournament appearances. Aside from being your hometown, was there anything in his recruiting message that resonated with you?

The proof was in the pudding. The year I started getting recruited they went to the Sweet 16. Plus, being in the Big East, as a young basketball player you always had the dream of playing in that conference, and I was able to be here and go to some of those games and see how great that competition was.

Right, I talked to your guy Troy Caupain a few months back, and he was saying how excited he was to play in the Big East, and then obviously for you two, you came in right when the conference realigned, which I’m sure was disappointing.

I know, I know. It was extremely disappointing. But it happens. The American ended up working out pretty well for us that first year (when we won the regular season conference title), but it was nothing like the good ole Big East.

Yeah, the team played really well your freshman year, and I remember you hit a big shot in the conference tournament. Was that a turning point for you personally?

Oh yeah, you always want those moments as a young basketball player. It was a big-time shot, I was able to put my name out there to our fans and the world.

Coach Cronin often mentions you as a player who embodied “Bearcat basketball” and was willing to sacrifice for the team, whether that was starting fewer games during your junior year, playing defense, playing with toughness, giving up shots for other players. Was that always part of your game, something you were aware of and took stock in?

Yeah, pretty much. I just listened to coach, and he believed in me when I was young. Getting to play with Sean Kilpatrick, Justin Jackson, Titus Rubles, they were good leaders and you learn some good intangibles along the way, and I was able to use those in my own game. But also, that was just me. It was the same way when I played at Summit, so I just embraced it. It was something that came up in my recruitment, and it fit me – I try to have a solid attitude, gritty, want to defend and just play basketball. Ultimately, it just matched up. Must be a Cincinnati thing.

Something Coach Darren Savino always says is that it’s rare to have guys who lace up their shoes and think about playing defense. But you were always that guy who was guarding the other team’s best player and counted on as a defensive stopper. How did you stay in that mindset every night, knowing that your primary focus wasn’t necessarily on shooting or scoring, but shutting someone else down?

It’s a pride thing for me. I don’t want anybody to score on me. We can check up any basketball – on the playground, a real game – I don’t want you to score on me. I’m just not with that whole situation. But with that being my role with the Bearcats, I just embraced it. I love the game, my teammates, the culture of winning. I’m a winner. I do what it takes to win.

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OK, I want to ask about some different teammates you played with. I know Troy Caupain was your boy – you guys came in and played together the whole way – so let’s start with him.

Just a great, great guy. Great energy and great vibes. He’s about his team, about brotherhood. With that kind of guy, it’s easy to get along and do some fun and cool things together. That’s him in a nutshell: great guy with a great family. We knew each other coming in together, so a lot of things were already in motion with us being friends and understanding what we were coming in to do together.

It always felt like you guys had to be mentioned in the same breath because of the way you both played early on and contributed all four years.

And if you know us, we were always together. Brothers from another mother, that’s how that all worked out. On the court, we were a great one-two punch with each other, we enjoyed playing together, but it all started off the court. When you’re friends, it makes being on the court that much more fun and easier.

Tell me about Sean Kilpatrick. You played with him your freshman season.

SK was a really, really good player. Having to guard him every day is why I became a really good defender, and it started right away. He was on the black team, I was on the red team, and every day of practice my freshman year we would go at each other, and my only goal was to stop SK. Make SK have a bad practice day, that was my goal. He taught me a lot of things, how to compete and defend at a high level. He was a good dude, and the success he’s had is something I got to witness up close.

Did you ever shut him down in practice?

Uhh… we had some good times. I mean, he might not want to agree, but ya know…

You got him a couple times.

(laughs) You know it. You know it. Gotta get the older guys when you can.

That same season, Jackson and Rubles were the other two seniors, which you mentioned. Those are two or the more prototypical intense, hard-nosed Bearcats in recent memory.

Those are my brothers, and that was the culture. They were a big part of everything that we had. People don’t always mention those people when talking about the success of the program, but they were a big reason we won the regular season that year. We were way undersized, but those guys were solely about winning. So I learned a lot from them, they were great big brothers for me to realize how to do things the right way. Being young, you have to learn from someone, and I learned culture and what the Bearcats were all about from all three of those guys.

Everyone knows how intense Jackson was, but I’ve heard Rubles was the guy you didn’t want to cross.

At all. Not at all. You do not want to do that.

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What about Gary Clark?

He was a problem, man. Nicest guy in the world, but he was a problem though. Gary was special the day he came in, and he helped us win in a lot of ways. He’s a good dude and I love his family, and playing with him was just easy. Great teammate, great player. Things just made sense – one plus one equals two, and that’s what Gary was for us. And shout out to Gary, because he just got me some Houston Rockets tickets about a week ago when I was down in Houston. Thank you to my brother.

You played with Jarron Cumberland for one year as well.

Teddy! My young boy Teddy. Man, great player. It’s so cool to watch Teddy now. He was just Young Teddy to us, but he was good the day he walked in too. Great scorer with a great scorer’s body. What he’s doing now is to be expected in a way, but it’s cool to see him focused and having a great season. I think he has a great chance to do something special with the game. Just keep watching.

Everybody always mentions how quiet he is – I’m guessing he was that way even with you guys, at least as a freshman?

Yup, 100 percent. That’s just his personality. Teddy, he talks… sometimes. But most of the time, he’s just quiet. That’s his nature. And if you get to know him, he’ll talk.

This debate has come up with fans, and I think you have a unique perspective on it: SK or Jarron? How do they stack up to each other? You know them both pretty well.

It’s no disrespect – both players have done really well – but I honestly don’t think that’s a fair comparison right now. SK is the second-leading scorer in school history. And I’m not saying the competition isn’t good now, but I watched SK close out games in the Big East – go to Louisville with Montrezl Harrell and Russ Smith and win, or beat a UConn team with Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright that won the national championship. SK was tough. Jarron’s tough too, though, and he still has to have his book written. So we’ll see. And Jarron was in a different role when I played with him.

Do you think if he’s back next year that he can end up with a career that rivals what Kilpatrick was able to do?

Well, I don’t know, because I hope he goes to the NBA.

Do you think he’ll leave after this year?

I mean, he’s averaging like 20 points, he might as well. It’s tough to do much better than that. He’s my brother, I’d rather see him go get rich. I want to see him get paid. Go get paid, Jarron! I think he’s going to go to the NBA. I would give it a shot. My thing is, how many people come back to college basketball after scoring 20 points and have another big-time season like that? He’ll be super scouted. No team will let you drop 30 on them, he’ll be double-teamed – this is the year. He’s scoring and he can’t be stopped right now.

You have any good Cronin stories for me?

(laughs) No, I don’t think so, other than the ones you’ve probably already heard about him cursing us out or something. But it’s great because we keep in contact, and that’s the (Bearcat) culture, and now with the broadcasting we have an opportunity to do some business with each other.

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Fans always seem obsessed with how much Cronin yells at players, but it never seems to bother you guys too much.

I mean I don’t like being yelled at, I’m definitely not about to agree with that, but you can either take it and understand that it’s loud, but also just listen to what he’s actually saying to you.

What about your new teammate, Dan Hoard?

Dan is the man. He’s the best at it, the best, and I’m blessed to be next to him doing it and learning. I can definitely say that. And Terry Nelson has been really supportive through all of this as well, giving me advice and opportunities.

Do you get jealous calling games in this fancy new arena?

Oh yeah, it’s sad. But I had a lot of fun in the old Shoe. It was rocking, and I was the last team to play in the old one. We didn’t lose at home that year, so we left it real nice and ready. But it’s fun to be back in there and see how different it is. This program really deserves it.

Are you surprised at all at how the team has performed this season?

Nah, not at all. I know what the expectations are around the Bearcats. Doesn’t matter the season or who’s on the team, you better win games. If you don’t win games, it’s going to be a bad life. So they were always going to figure it out, that’s one thing I knew. They’re getting into a rhythm, growing into themselves, figuring out who they are this year, and they’ve done a good job. A lot of people are stepping up, and I’d love to see them do something special that people didn’t expect us to do. There’s no predictions besides winning.

(Top image: Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports)

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