Utah big man Jayce Johnson has slowed down in his sophomore season — and that’s a good thing

Utah center Jayce Johnson has embraced the virtues of the tortoise.

After being in such a hurry to start playing college basketball and then spending his first season of on-court action needlessly trying to play at break-neck speed, Johnson realizes that slow and steady may ultimately be his winning formula.

Johnson, a 7-foot 235-pound sophomore, sat out the first two games of this season due to an ankle injury, but he played in Thursday’s win over Missouri. He had to knock off some rust after missing more than a week of practice on top of the two games, but he scored 10 points and hauled in five rebounds to go along with a pair of blocks in 15 minutes.

Johnson figures to be a significant factor in the frontcourt this week as the Utes head to Las Vegas to participate in the MGM Resorts Main Event at T-Mobile Arena. The Utes will open up against Ole Miss (3-0) on Monday at 10:30 p.m. MST, and they’ll play either Rice or UNLV on Wednesday night.

“The biggest thing I took from last year was, first off, I feel like I was out of shape,” Johnson said prior to the start of this season. “I need to be more in shape. This summer I was running my ... I want to say a-word, but I was running as hard as I could. I had to get my conditioning and my stamina up. That was one thing.”

Johnson graduated high school early and enrolled at Utah in January 2016. Because of that Johnson did not play his senior season of high school after attending four schools in four years (including one season at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada). While he was technically a redshirt freshman last season, Johnson still had plenty of adjustments to make and lessons to learn.

“Last year I tried to make things too fast, and the game is supposed to be fun,” Johnson said. “I’m supposed to take my time. When I’m out there now, I’m slowing down and looking for angles in different sports and the game has slowed down from last year for me.”

Asked if he thought that his early entry to Utah created additional pressure and contributed to things moving too fast on the court last season, Johnson paused pensively for a moment and acknowledged that could have been a factor, but he quickly added, “But I don’t regret any decisions because everything happens for a reason. I’m here right now for a reason.”

Utes senior center David Collette has seen Johnson’s progress first-hand, and he recognizes Johnson’s early growing pains from his own adjustment period coming out of high school.

I think [it’s] kind of how I felt as a freshman going in, the game seems to kind of speed up for you and everything is so fast,” Collette said. “I kind of feel like that’s how he was last year. Over the course of this year and just getting that experience under his belt from last year, he’s a whole different player. He plays slow and under control. I think he’s smarter and just has that experience in him. He’s come a long way. He’s going to be a dang good player for us this year.”

Collette said that a lot of times people confuse playing hard with playing fast, which can lead to playing faster than you need to. When Collette describes of Johnson slowing down, he points to Johnson’s improved patience on the block instead of forcing up a quick shot and Johnson now seeing guys on the floor and being able to make passes he didn’t before.

“That’s what I mean when I talk about slow for him, just being able to kind of relax a little bit and realize he doesn’t have to score everything or make a decision right away,” Collette said.

Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said prior to the ankle sprain Johnson looked better than he had since he joined the program. While Krystkowiak also pointed to Johnson getting stronger and playing much more under control this season, the biggest difference he’s seen in his sophomore center has simply been the natural progression that comes with time.

“I just think he’s not a freshman anymore,” Krystkowiak said. “It’s not unusual for a guy to come in as a young player and there’s a lot to learns and a thrown at you, not just on the basketball court but off the court and all the expectations and responsibilities that you have as a Division I athlete. Sometimes that’s a little bit of an overload. Maybe that’s what he faced. I’ve seen that a lot with freshman, and then you get your sea legs under you and you realize kind of what to expect.”