By Steve DiMiceli
It seems like there was a rash of disappointing senior seasons this year around the league. Sean Johnson was among them. I give Sean credit for toughing this season out and keeping his head high even down to the end. This wasn't his coach nor was it truly his team. He lost his starting job to progress.
What we will miss
Sean had a down year for sure, but he could fill it up at times. Sean has always had a scorer's mentality and it showed for his entire career. He was one of three players on the team who could ball handle well enough to beat the trap and was one of a handful who could create shots for themselves consistently off the bounce. While others seem to lament the "Sean at the point experiment," I didn't mind it. He wasn't exceptional there but in a pinch he could play out of position at the one or the three.
What we won't miss
He was a streak shooter that got as hot as anyone in the last 10 years of Duquesne basketball when he was on. Consistency has always been the problem and when he wasn't shooting well, he wasn't adding any value. His off the ball defense was pretty bad from day one and he particularly struggled in the man. He couldn't switch or work through screens quickly enough and would lose his man after helping to often. Sean was also hot headed at times particularly this season and let his frustration show with a few flagrant or intentional foul calls.
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I don't think that Sean went out the way he was hoping and sadly he was a victim of circumstance. I hear a lot of "we won't miss Sean next year." I even thought it myself at one point, but we heard a lot of we won't miss BJ Montiero either. 1200 point scorers don't grow on trees and they certainly don't at Duquesne when players have to come off the bench for the couple of years before starting. Sean wasn't the show stopper we saw glimpses of, but reflecting on his career, he wasn't someone you'd gladly caste away either. He will be missed on offense especially if Jeremiah Jones remains the reluctant ball handler and Jim Ferry fails to recruit at least one more strong ball handling combo guard.
I suspect Sean will turn up in a smaller European league next year.
