UAB Blazers basketball newcomer Jamal Johnson heading back home
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The 2021-22 roster for the University of Alabama-Birmingham men’s Basketball team presents a big revamp with eight new players. Jamal Johnson, son of former NBA player Buck Johnson, is one of them.
Johnson is a Birmingham native who played at Spain Park High School and whose college career began at Memphis in 2018 before spending the last two seasons at Auburn. Now, back in his hometown, the 6-foot-4 guard is pointed out as a player that could make an impact in the Blazers’ game, especially from behind the 3-point line, where the team struggled in the past.
While at Auburn last season, Johnson was part of all 27 Tigers’ games and averaged 9.4 points shooting 36.1% from 3-point range, with 36% overall from the field. He also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He reached a career-high 21 points against Arkansas last December, which was followed by another 20-point performance at Texas A&M to start the year.
Johnson achieved those numbers coming off the bench, becoming the first Auburn player in 15 years with two consecutive 20-point games as a non-starter. Later in the season, he had 19 points against Vanderbilt in February and seven assists, a career-high, vs. Mississippi State back in June.
During his sophomore season at Auburn, Johnson played in 31 games, with a season-high 14 points vs. Lipscomb and season-high five rebounds against Georgia Southern and later again against South Alabama.
Previously as a freshman at Memphis, Johnson averaged 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in his 34 games, 27 of which had him as a starter, with three 18-point games vs. Bryant, USF and UConn. He also played 40 minutes scoring 17 points vs. Cincinnati.
With the Blazers, Johnson will reunite with Justin Brown, also a newcomer to UAB basketball, with whom he shared the team at Spain Park High School. They experienced some good moments in the school located in Hoover, having reached the Class 7A final four in 2016 with the Jaguars.
Playing at the Bartow Arena, starting with an exhibition game scheduled for Nov. 1 against Auburn Montgomery, Johnson will enjoy again the support of his family and friends in the stands. His father Buck, who played seven seasons in the NBA for the Houston Rockets and Washington Bullets between 1986 and 1992, will be cheering for him.
Next season will be the second for head coach Andy Kennedy with UAB basketball, coming from a semifinal defeat in the Conference USA Tournament 64-60 to eventual runner-up Western Kentucky. As the Blazers try to build from that and take a shot at the title, Johnson could very well make an impact for his team and in front of his home crowd.
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.
