As UConn men’s basketball team rolls, Samson Johnson can only be patient: ‘It’s part of the journey’

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — After the UConn men’s basketball team had played a pair of closed-door scrimmages against Harvard and Virginia in October, coach Dan Hurley came away raving about two players in particular: Jordan Hawkins and Samson Johnson.

Things haven’t gone quite as well for Johnson.

While it seems like ancient history now, Johnson was in the starting lineup for UConn’s season-opener against Stonehill on Nov. 7. The 6-foot-10 sophomore with “wall potential,” as Hurley once famously declared, scored seven points and pulled down three rebounds in 16 minutes.

The next day, however, Johnson felt pain in his right foot after practice. He’s not sure how it happened, but the Togo native had suffered a stress reaction. The injury kept him out of game action for more than two months.

“I mean, it was hard for me because I think I was in the right way of playing, trying to help the team win,” Johnson said. “It sucks, but it’s part of the journey, it’s part of sports. I’ve just got to take it, accept it, and keep working hard.”

Johnson returned to action on Jan. 22 against Butler, scoring two points in 6 1/2 minutes as Hurley tried to ease him back into the rotation. But missing the two-plus months of playing, without the opportunity to ramp up against low-major competition, made it too tough for Johnson to return in the midst of the Big East season. Especially with UConn struggling at the time.

He played sparingly the next few games, until his minutes gradually became merely garbage time at the end of games. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Alex Karaban, who came off the bench behind Johnson as the back-up four-man in that opener against Stonehill, has emerged as one of the Big East’s best young players.

Johnson may have been disappointed, but he wasn’t upset.

“I definitely understand,” he said. “I respect that. The only thing I can do is keep going hard in practice. I’m really happy for everything my teammates are doing right now. They’re really performing and helping the team win, so I’m happy for them.”

So there was Samson Johnson on Wednesday, sitting quietly in the corner of the locker room while Karaban, Andre Jackson Jr. and three players who joined him in the starting lineup on Nov. 7 —Hawkins, Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton — faced the media in a press conference.

He said he’s happy that the team has been winning, and that his foot is now “close to 100-percent.” And he is staying patient.

That is what Hurley keeps saying about Johnson, hoping he remains patient. Read between the lines and it sounds like Hurley hopes the talented forward knows there’s still a place for him at UConn, despite the lack of playing time, and doesn’t opt for the transfer portal.

“He tells me that, pretty much every single day,” Samson Johnson reported. “He tells me that with my talent, it’s just a matter of time before things get right for me. I really believe that.”

A few lockers over from Johnson, Richie Springs was talking about his own situation.

Unlike Johnson, Springs has never been in the Huskies’ starting lineup. In fact, in his four seasons in Storrs, Springs has never really been in the Huskies’ rotation at all.

The 6-9 forward sat out as an academic redshirt his freshman season. Springs played in just five games as a sophomore, eight as a junior and 13 this season — virtually all in garbage time. In four years, he’s played 75 minutes — just about the equivalent of two full games.

But he’s never complained. And never left.

“This is a great program, so I just want to do whatever I can to help,” he said on Wednesday. “Whether it be a great teammate, or help bring a good recruit in. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Indeed, his teammates have often noted what a positive force Springs has been around the program.

“I’m just a pretty positive person,” he said..

Springs was feted on Senior Night a few weeks ago. He still has one year of eligibility left, but it’s unclear whether he’ll use it — and if he does, whether he uses it at UConn.

“I’m just taking it day by day, and we’ll see what happens in the future,” Springs said. “It’s been a pretty good ride. I love it here.”

david.borges@hearstmediact.com @DaveBorges