Coach K called Markell Johnson ‘an elite guard.’ How he lived up to that hype against Duke.
N.C. State guard Markell Johnson didn’t mention Tre Jones by name but he knew who was matched up with on Wednesday night.
Jones, Duke’s sophomore point guard, is one of the front-runners in the ACC player of the year race. Johnson has been going through an up-and-down senior season.
“I just wanted to challenge him and go at him,” Johnson said.
Johnson did just that in the Wolfpack’s 88-66 home win over the Blue Devils. He made 10 of 19 shots, including five 3-pointers, for a career-high 28 points. He also added nine rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes.
It was a personal challenge, Johnson said of the matchup with Jones — who finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists — especially after Duke’s former point guard, Derryck Thornton had bested Johnson in Sunday’s matchup at Boston College.
Thornton, a grad transfer for the Eagles, had 22 points and led BC to a 71-68 win over the Wolfpack. Johnson had just four points, his low in an ACC game this season.
Markell Johnson has been practicing well
N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said he noticed a difference in his point guard in practice on Monday and Tuesday.
“He has practiced well the last couple of days and it carried over to the game,” Keatts said. “He was a leader.”
Figuring out when “Good Markell” is going to make an appearance can be a bit like trying to predict the “Pick 3” lotto. But junior forward D.J. Funderburk, a fellow Cleveland native and one of Johnson’s best friends on the team, knew Johnson was eager to face off with Jones.
“I knew on the bus, he was just hype about this game,” Funderburk said.
Johnson has a knack for playing his best in the biggest games. The problem is finding consistency. He was benched before the Syracuse win last week for being late to practice. He has had five ACC games where he has scored in single-digits.
It’s always a good sign for Johnson when he goes to the basket early in the game and looks for his shot. Johnson made an acrobatic layup just 1:50 into Wednesday’s game. He also made a couple of key, stepback 3-pointers, a la James Harden. Then there was his third halfcourt shot of the season right before the halftime buzzer.
Keatts has been frustrated at times by his senior point guard this season but he wasn’t ready to admit there was a “Bad Markell.”
“You know, Markell is always good,” Keatts said. “There’s not a ‘Bad Markell.’ There’s a great and a good. He was great tonight.”
DJ Funderburk knows how to motivate Johnson
Funderburk embracing his role as a “Markell whisperer” is probably Keatts’ best chance at getting Johnson to be more consistent. Funderburk said he knows how to push the right motivational buttons with his friend.
“We talk to each other a certain way,” Funderburk said.
Whatever Funderburk said about Jones and stepping up to the challenge of Wednesday’s matchup, Johnson listened.
“In my eyes, a lot of people don’t give Kell the credit he deserves,” Funderburk said. “He’s very special.”
Count Duke hall-of-fame coach Mike Krzyzewski among Johnson’s believers.
“When he plays like that, they’re an elite team because he’s an elite guard,” Krzyzewski said.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 1:40 AM with the headline "Coach K called Markell Johnson ‘an elite guard.’ How he lived up to that hype against Duke.."
