PHOENIX — Because he was forced to go first in an ESPN-televised slam-dunk competition Thursday at Grand Canyon University, setting a standard that was passed up too often, Keshad Johnson was out after just one round.
“I was robbed,” Johnson said. “I had some stuff (coming), too.”
Arizona’s explosive power forward, who finished second in the Wildcats’ Red-Blue dunk competition last October, this time raced straight down from midcourt, cupping the ball as he elevated and wound up for the one-handed slam.
The dunk generated a total score of 52 points out of 60 from a panel that included Phoenix Suns guard Grayson Allen as well as former Suns players Cedric Ceballos and Shawn Marion, but that wound up below the cut line for Round 2. GCU’s Gabe McGlothan was eventually declared the winner.
Johnson was over it quickly, spending most of his time at the “College Slam” competition at GCU, talking to and slapping congratulations to other competitors while mostly standing along the sideline and turning around to take pictures with anybody who tapped him on the shoulder and asked.
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Didn’t take Johnson long to shake off the ending to his college career, either. After four seasons at San Diego State, reaching the NCAA title game last season, Johnson made it only the Sweet 16 with the Wildcats despite helping lead them to the No. 1 ranking earlier in the season.
“It’s over. You can’t go on (about) it,” Johnson said. “Season’s over. It’s next step.”
The first step Johnson made after Arizona’s loss to Clemson on March 28 was to head back to San Diego for a little chilling, hanging out with former roommate Lamont Butler last weekend, staying away from basketball briefly.
“You’ve got to clear your mind from basketball a little bit,” Johnson said. “I hoped I could have taken two weeks but it was just a couple of days to get back with my guys. I needed that for my soul.”
The next step is shopping for an agent. Johnson is still based in Tucson for the time being but said he’s ready to leave and start training for the NBA Draft wherever his agent specifies.
Already, the energetic two-way play Johnson flashed during his one season with the Wildcats helped move him up to No. 42 on ESPN’s latest list of available NBA Draft prospects, suggesting he’s a possible second-round pick.
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson, seen here dunking against Cal in December, loved his season in Tucson even though it ended earlier than he would have liked.
His scoring jumped from 7.7 points in 2022-23 to 11.5 this season, while his 3-point shooting rose from 26.2% to 38.7%, though his rebounding dipped on a per-possession basis.
Overall, Johnson’s NBA stock appears considerably higher than a year ago, when he left the Aztecs after a steady four-year climb that started as a three-star recruit out of Oakland in 2019.
“I’ve been getting better every year I play basketball,” Johnson said. “Tucson allowed me to show a lot of what I can do, what I knew I could do and show it on the bigger stage.
“But I’m pretty sure I could go into NBA program and make it make an impact right away. I feel like I’m a polished veteran. I can come in and learn some stuff from a lot of NBA guys and contribute to a winning team.”
It probably helped Johnson’s marketing efforts that he accepted an offer to participate in what was officially called the Kings Hawaiian Slam Dunk Championship, part of a two-hour “College Slam” event that also included “Hanes Original Soft Touch” 3-point contests. It was shown to an ESPN audience and about 5,000 fans at GCU’s Global Credit Union Arena.
When not holed up in predraft training, Johnson will next be seen before probably a dozen or more NBA teams that invite him in to work out, while he also appears likely to receive an invitation to the NBA Combine next month.
“I’m trying to show my face as much as I can,” Johnson said. “I want to show any agency that I’m a winner and I can make something happen. … I just want to do anything to get my name in there, anything to get my name assigned to a team. I’n gonna give any team that picks me my all.”
Arizona picked Johnson out of the transfer portal last spring, upsetting some San Diego State fans, but he called himself both an Aztec and Wildcat for life. He said he “came to the right place,” expressing thanks to Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, his UA teammates and Wildcat fans.
“Once I made my decision, it was fine,” Johnson said. “Making that decision was tough. I love San Diego, spent four years there. I want to get a house there. San Diego, there’s not (many places) like it, but the love at Tucson — they welcomed me and we’re gonna keep running. I’m a Wildcat for life.”
Contact sports reporter Bruce Pascoe at bpascoe@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @brucepascoe
Bruce Pascoe
Reporter
