With Garrett Johnson coming off the bench, the ‘Dogs have aspirations of winning the WAC

After sitting on the bench as a freshman last season, Garrett Johnson has an opportunity to improve his game as a role player and being the ‘sixth man.’

Coming into this year with a year of experience under his belt, Johnson believes he will able to contribute even more to the team as the Bulldogs look to win the Western Athletic Conference championship.

Recruited out of Diamond Ranch High School by Fresno State, Johnson initially grew up in Southern California. Hailing from Pomona, the soft-spoken guard originally found playing basketball at the college level difficult and troublesome.

However, after much work and practice put in to become an overall better player, Johnson received the Most Improved Player award last season at the end-of-the-year team banquet. And for that he thanked his head coach Steve Cleveland and the staff for helping him evolve into a better player.

This year Johnson has damanding expectations not only for himself, but also for the 13 other athletes on the roster.

“My expectations for the team are that we not only win the WAC title, but go and compete in the NCAA tournament and make some noise,” Johnson said. “I firmly believe that we possess the personnel and team staff to play with the best, but we must make sure we execute well.”

Expectations are not out of the building this season as the Fresno State Bulldogs are ranked No. 66 by the AP poll.

Although this ranking seems fair, the ‘Dogs prospects for the season appear in jeopardy as they lost both their top two scorers in Paul George and Mike Ladd.

Johnson, though has a different outlook on these losses and believes that the Bulldogs will still compete with the best.

“Although we didn’t have the best season last year, don’t give up on us,” he said. “We have to keep working hard each day. I know coach Cleveland has our backs and we have to keep making improvements and we’ll be alright.”

Bringing plenty of intensity and focus on the court, Johnson off the court is a different person. Mild mannered and calm, Johnson enjoys doing many things that every young college student his age likes to do.

His basic hobbies are eating, going to church, video games and exercising off the court. He also enjoys many sports in which he has a handful of favorite athletes he aspires toward.

Besides basketball, he enjoys football and baseball and is a faithful follower of the Fresno State football team.

Through cultivating friendships here at Fresno State, Johnson has learned from many. From his buddies on the basketball team to his college friends off the court, Johnson has acquired knowledge and memories that have given him a fun and amazing college experience””and all this has transpired already within in his first two years as a student.

For himself, Johnson is loving his role as a student-athlete at Fresno State and has enjoyed every second of it.

However, when he steps onto the basketball court, his focus immediately changes and he enters a competitor’s mindset.

Johnson hopes that his teammates do the same as they begin the long journey this season, en route to challenging for the WAC crown.

Through four games, Johnson is second on the team in scoring averaging eight points an outing.