Johnson Stepping It Up at Bridgewater State

Sam Johnson, a Chelmsford native and senior basketball player at Bridgewater State College just wrapped up a rewarding season after the team won their MASCAC conference championship and qualified for the Division III NCAA tournament. This winter, Johnson went from a bench player to a starter.

“He’s only played two years for us,” said Bridgewater Head Coach Joe Farroba. “Given the shortness of his career, it’s been outstanding.”

Although he played high school ball, Johnson said he felt he needed time to improve on his game before going out for a college team. After two years of work, he tried out, and secured a spot as a center for the Bears.

This season, Johnson was named athlete of the week for the Mass State College Athletic Conference, following the team’s wins against UMass Dartmouth and Wheaton in December. In that week, Johnson averaged 17. 5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.

Overall, Johnson is ranked first in the Conference, with more than 70 athletes, for field goal percentage. He sinks a remarkable 65% of all shots taken. He is also fourth in the MASCAC for rebounds, averaging 7.6 each game, and second for blocked shots, with 1.3 per game. In addition, Johnson averages 9.8 points a game.

Johnson is able to outperform opponents with his high fitness level, as well as his ability to shoot.

“I'm usually much quicker and faster than the guy guarding me, so I can beat him up and down the court,” he said.

Farroba said, “He’s big, he runs the floor very well, and he can outrun our opponent’s center. He’s very athletic in that regard. Sam has had a real good season, and he deserves everything.”

Although Sam didn’t start to blossom as a player until this season, Farroba said he played well last year for someone just starting out on the team.

“He played last year, and that was the first time he came to us,” said Farroba. “The game that sticks out in my mind was at Worchester state. He had a 12 point performance that day, and was very effective.”

Johnson said he spent this past summer working out every day. He was determined to become a better basketball player this season, he said. Farroba said that was the key to his success this winter.

“I played about two or three hours of basketball everyday over the summer.  Sometimes it was games in men's leagues and sometimes I would just go down to a court by myself and work on my shooting or dribbling,” said Johnson.

Johnson also worked at basketball camps this summer to increase his exposure to the sport even further.

“Summer is very important. We’re using Sam as an example for some of our younger players, to show what hard work can do… and how much improvement (can be made) because of work in the off season,” said Farroba.

In addition to improving upon his skills, summer training gave Johnson a new level of confidence; something that carried him through the season.

“I feel like my biggest problem was confidence.  I wasn't confident with my abilities last year even though I know I had the skills.  Coming into this season I knew that I was going to play a bigger role so I played more confidently,” he said.

Farroba without Johnson, the Bears wouldn’t have been as successful this year.

“We won the league championship, and I have to say Sammy was a major contributor in that,” said Farroba. “He hasn’t played a lot of basketball, and, the two teams he’s played on now have won league championships and gone on the NCAA championship in D-III.”

Johnson said that winning the league championship was his highlight of the season.

“Winning our conference championship against Salem this year (was a highlight).  It was our third championship won consecutively but I wasn't really involved in the previous ones. Being an important aspect to the game was very special to me,” he said.

Although Johnson is a senior, and will be graduating this spring, he still has eligibility to compete because he was not on the team all four years of college. As he is looking to continue his education with a master’s degree, there is a possibility that Johnson will continue to play on the team next year as a grad student.

“I plan on coming back and being the best player on the court all the time, so this will mean a lot of time in the gym and on the courts improving,” he said.  

"Sam is a very mature kid, he’s intelligent, and he’s got a great attitude. It’s really good to see good things like that happen to someone when they put that time and effort in… we’re hoping to get him for another  year,” said Farroba