BY DONALD HUNT
It’s always good to have a quality point guard who can score and get to the ball to the open man and run the offense efficiently. Arcadia University’s men's basketball team has a terrific playmaker with Nas Johnson who has exhibited some great all-around skills. Johnson, a 6-0, 155-pound junior, is averaging 15.0 points a game. The former Father Judge High School star, who in his senior year became the second in Father Judge history to achieve 1000 points, has also handed out 42 assists while guiding the Knights to a 13-8overall and a 6-4 record in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom.
“I think I’m doing a good job of putting guys in spots and just being a leader out there,” Johnson said. “Any chance I get I try to get penetration. So, I kick the ball to open shooters. I trust my guys to make shots. My [head] coach [Adam Van Zelst] gives all of us confidence. Ever since I came here he gave me freedom to play my game. My coach believes in me.”
The Knights have been playing some good basketball.
“We’re getting better and better every game,” Johnson said. “We got a tough schedule coming up. I feel confident going into this stretch the second half of conference play. I think all of our guys are getting more confident. We just keep building every day.””
A year ago, Arcadia University won the MAC Freedom regular season and conference championship and landed a spot in the NCAA Division III tournament. They lost to Case Western Reserve University, 82-76, in the first round. The Knights have a number of outstanding players back from that team including star forward the team’s leading scorer and rebounder Jalen Watkins (17.0 ppg, 11.8 rpg), guards Justin Money (9.1 ppg), Darius Isaac (7.9 ppg), guard/forward Joshua Okocha (6.7 ppg) and guard Dominic Vazquez (5.8 ppg). Johnson likes the makeup of the team, which has a lot of local players.
“We have a lot of guys from the Tri-State area -- Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware,” Johnson said. “We have good crowds at every game. They don’t miss a game.”
Johnson would like to see Arcadia University put together a strong conference run over the next month. He knows how important it is to take some momentum into the conference tournament.
“It’s a brotherhood,” he said. “Everybody in the locker room really cares about each other. We got to go on a [winning] streak. I think we can do it.”
Nahseer Johnson became the 2nd player in Father Judge history to score 1000 points. He accomplished this record in his senior year of 2021. (Photo by Geneva Heffernan for PSD)
Arcadia point guard Nahseer Johnson. (photo/ Arcadia Athletics)
Nas Johnson continues to be a strong leader on the court. (Photo/ courtesy Arcadia Athletics)
Johnson and the Knights seem to be moving in the right direction.