Nottingham High School boys’ basketball coach Chris Raba doesn’t usually make rash statements, so his thoughts on Darell Johnson and Cliff Joseph make one wonder just how good the Northstar sophomores can become.
“They haven’t even tapped the potential of what they’re going to be like as juniors and seniors,” Raba said. “They could possibly be the best duo in the CVC the next two years. And the last time I ever said I could have the best duo in the CVC I was at Hamilton West, and we won the state championship.”
Raba is not predicting anything, but he suggests that it’s a possibility, provided the boys continue to improve. He did note how hard it is to project something like that.
Even with still-untapped potential, though, Johnson and Joseph are providing the spark for the Northstars. Through Nottingham’s 4-7 start—which featured a four-game winning streak after starting 0-6—the duo led the ‘Stars in scoring, as both had a 15.5 scoring average.
Raba said the two rarely come off the court.
“They have to be in the whole game for us to be successful,” he said. “Our offense goes through those two. Ninety-nine percent of the things we do goes through them. Whether it’s out of an inbounds or in a continuous offense, it all goes through them.”
Ironically, despite evolving into close friends since meeting in the sixth grade, and despite sharing basketball as a bond, this is the first time the two have been teammates in organized basketball.
Joseph said their friendship only benefits them on the court—they’re “always on the same page,” he added.
The two did not get close until seventh grade, Johnson said, and by eighth grade, they began hanging out regularly after school.
“We’re very tight because of basketball,” Johnson said. “But we actually never even played together, even in practice, because JV and varsity didn’t practice together last year. So this year was my first year ever playing with Cliff, and I agree, our friendship off the court helps us play together on the court.”
Joseph, a 6-foot-2 guard, burst on the varsity scene as one of the CVC’s top freshmen last season. He averaged 13.2 points and had 57 3-pointers.
“Cliff is probably shooting less this year than last,” Raba said. “Cliff’s a team player. In the Trenton High game (Nottingham’s first win), Darell had 21 points and Cliff had 10 points and 10 rebounds. He made some key shots and made some great passes. He can dictate a game without even scoring.”
Joseph’s sparkling freshman debut has made him a marked man this season, Raba said. Joseph noticed, too.
“I do find myself getting a lot more attention,” Joseph said. “Whenever I get the ball the other coach yells ‘Shooter!’ My teammates help me adapt to it by helping me get open shots and easy lay-ups.”
Joseph has been helped greatly by the presence of Johnson, who played JV last season. He likely could have gotten varsity minutes but since the Stars had frontcourt players, Raba felt it better that Johnson play regularly on JV.
That year on the JV squad, said Johnson, was helpful because of the playing time he saw. That might not have been the case had he moved up to varsity.
“And I had a great coach for JV (Brandon Johnson), he made work hard and push myself,” he said. “He taught me my post moves and all my skills down low. So that one year of JV at least prepared me for what I would be doing this year.”
Raba agreed, saying the change in his play is noticeable, after both a year playing JV and dedicating himself to the game over the summer.
Like Joseph, Johnson is 6-foot-2 and can do a number of different things on the court.
“Darell is very dynamic,” Raba said. “When he’s in the post he has real tricky, old time moves. He has up and under moves, you can tell he’s been playing older kids, almost adults, his whole life. And Darell can shoot from the outside, we’re not afraid to let him shoot it.”
Johnson prides himself on having an all around game, noting that he has gone from a one-dimensional shooter to where he is now.
“Coach can put me anywhere on the court, and he expects me to be just as good in the post as on the perimeter,” Darell said. “I just really learned how to be a post player. Before high school I used to like to shoot a lot. Now I have to adapt to the team I’m on so I have to go to the post to help my team.”
That’s not the easiest thing to do at his size.
“I’m not the biggest or tallest post player but I think its kind of easy to play the post,” Johnson said. “I just have to be smart with the ball. I can try to use quickness because not many people from other teams have a quick big man so I just have to play faster and quicker than the big man who is guarding me.”
The fact that so much responsibility has been put on two sophomores did not come as a surprise to Joseph. He expected it, so he said both boys were prepared coming into the season.
Considering this is his first year on varsity, Johnson had a slightly different take on the situation.
“It’s a lot of responsibility knowing that the offense runs through us,” he said. “And it’s a lot of pressure because anything that goes wrong on the offense, its our responsibility to fix it next time down. So it’s hard to handle it but it’s easy at the same time when your teammates make it easy for Cliff and I.”
Johnson added that just because they are focal points, it doesn’t mean they are the only ones putting up shots. When he gets the ball, he’s looking to attack, as well as keeping an eye out for any open teammates.
Raba, who starts five underclassmen, feels that not only do the sophomores need their teammates, they need each other.
“They play together very well, and sometimes being friends helps more than having played with each other before,” the coach said. “They’re learning on the fly. It’s also great watching them develop as leaders on the court. In the first three games, Darell didn’t even talk on the court. Now they’re the leaders talking to everyone.”
Raba had no problems handing them the leadership role. The veteran coach, who was approaching 200 wins in late January, values talent over age.
“My opinion on basketball is if you’re one of the best players in the school you play as a sophomore, or as a freshman,” Raba said. “They understand that they’re going to have to do more than any other sophomores in the county or area for us to win.”
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