Class of 2011 recruit Nick Johnson skies above the rest with college coaches observing, seated to the right. (Photo by TucsonCitizen.com/Javier Morales)

Random thoughts, July Evaluation period style:

The highest profile recruits abide by the rules. While waiting for his mother in the lobby of the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman gymnasium last weekend, Nick Johnson came face to face with Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford. It was an obvious awkward moment, but Johnson was as cool as he was on the court. NCAA rules dictate that a coach can not communicate with prospective recruits at evaluation events such as the Fab 48 in which Johnson and the Oakland/Drew Gooden Soldiers competed. Ford walked by and the two exchanged only a smile. Minutes later, after media entered the lobby, Johnson, a high-profile Class of 2011 recruit from Henderson (Nev.) Findlay reportedly favoring Arizona, said in an interview that Oklahoma State was one of his suitors. Say this for Ford: He made himself seen. Did he time his walk-by with Johnson? Maybe so, but does it really matter? …

At one of the late-night games in Las Vegas that started at 9 p.m. last week, a trio of former UA assistant coaches sat next to each other and reminisced about old times, including the 1997 NCAA championship. Late nights for coaches generally mean film sessions, and these three coaches put enough time together with former UA coach Lute Olson to learn their craft. UTEP assistant coach Phil Johnson, Stanford assistant coach Rodney Tention and Memphis head coach Josh Pastner sat side by side and shared some laughs. “It was like old times,” Tention said with a smile. “Brought back a lot of memories.” …

Johnson is adjusting from coaching in the metropolis of Los Angeles to what many of his peers consider an outpost in El Paso. “I’ll tell you this: It’s a lot harder to get kids to come through for unofficial visits than it was at USC,” Johnson said. “We had the same type of problem at Arizona, but more kids made the effort to go to Tucson because of how successful Lute made that program.” …

Johnson believes UTEP can regain the glory it had under the late, great “Bear” – Don Haskins — with Tim Floyd as head coach. “UTEP was more prestigious of a program than Arizona in college basketball before Coach Olson arrived,” he said. “We believe the program can become successful like that again.” …

New St. John’s coach Steve Lavin, the man who paved the way for Ben Howland to become a headache for Pac-10 schools at UCLA, charged his cell phone next to where I sat at the Bishop Gorman media room. Before I could idly chat with him, a camera man took the longest time selling himself to produce a video for Lavin. They exchanged phone numbers and Lavin took the time to listen to this guy and genuinely seemed like an engaging person. He even thanked me for letting him charge his cell phone by where I sat. I then had to split to do more important things, like observe Johnson and his Soldiers teammates Josiah Turner and Brandon Ashley dominate another opponent. …

(more…)