Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 49

Thursday, December 7, 1995 The Arizona Republic E5 Bruschi on AP All-America team IfflEW Fiesta Bowl-bound Frazier, George lead offense games. Tight end Marco Battaglia of Rutgers led everyone at his position in receptions (69), receiving yards (894) and touchdowns (10). The all-purpose player is Leeland McElroy of Texas who rushed for 1,122 yards, caught 25 passes for 379 yards, returned nine kicks for 208 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. Joining Pace and Graham on the offensive line are Jonathan Ogden of UCLA, Jason Odom of Florida and Heath Irwin of Colorado. Running back Darnell Autry of Northwestern, a Tempe High graduate, was on the second team.

0SABONA' COPPER WRISTBANDS GOLF ACCESSORIES ON SALE FOR CHRISTMAS Associated Press Arizona defensive end Tedy Bruschi, who tied the NCAA career sacks record, made the Associated Press All-America football first team Wednesday for the second straight season. Bruschi, the only repeater from last year's team, had 14Vi sacks to tie the NCAA career record of 52 set by Alabama's Derrick Thomas. Tommie Frazier, who led top-ranked Nebraska to its third straight undefeated regular season and an appearance for the national title against No. 2 Florida in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, led the offense. Joining him were rushing champion Troy Davis of Iowa State and scoring leader Eddie George of Ohio State.

Davis is only the fifth runner in NCAA history to! gain more than 2,000 yards in a season. He finished with" 2,010 yards, including an Iowa State-record 302 against Nevada-Las Vegas. George led Division I-A with 24 touchdowns and was fifth in rushing with 152 yards a game. Along with George, the Buckeyes had wide receiver Terry Glenn and offensive lineman Orlando Pace. Frazier was joined by Nebraska- center Aaron Graham and defensive lineman Jared Tomich.

Glenn caught 57 passes for a school-record 1,316 yards and 17 touchdowns. The other wide receiver is Southern California's Keyshawn Johnson, who set a Pac-10 mark with 90 receptions and an NCAA record with 12 straight 100-yard receiving GRIP TUBE CLfANS $0QQ THEY WUKK! 1 15f.9 Mmmm NITE LITE BALL $C99 EA. SUN MOUNTAIN AIR LIFT TEES ORBIT CARRY BAG $4 29 I PK. LIGHTWEIGHT 899? vvi i miNU 3" WRIST COUNTER ACCURATE $099 SCWE Mim wmm tfc SHn PUniNG MAT Last kiss for mom from a fallen star SPANDEX HEADCOVERS Dy $49 $5 99 Ail-American Set ot 4 Big Bertha LOWEST PRICE EVER EVEN GREAT BIG BERTHA IS ON SALE BUY 3 OR MORE AUD SAVE MORE MONEY! GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICE! GREAT BIG BERTHA AVAILABLE IN L.H. LIMITED SUPPLY -4.

jXwpnmwm a File photo In the summer of 1988, Rodney Johns' life seemed golden. The Suns took Johns (right) in the third round of the NBA draft. He was introduced to the media with other draft picks Steve Kerr (left), Dan Majerle, Dean Garrett and Andrew Lang. But the NBA dream and life slowly unraveled for the young man who led Grand Canyon University to the NAIA title. (MSMSSL 'NOOOB pnr.iir.F OA99 MAI MANY OTHER GIFT ITEMS FOR GOLFERS AVAILABLE AT ALL VAN'S LOCATIONS i 1T1I il 'I 'A I Ik ii i I 1 1 III! I II BULLET JR GOLF SETS AGES 5 TO 9 OR 10 TO 14 $(S99 ism With Over CorterisStofenaYearkiUSA You Need The Alarm System Executive Bag Dura-Lite Bag ENFORCERS ENFORCEMW System System is fj" Size Convenient Pockets Durable Weather Pmol Padded Nylon Ultimate Carry Bag Durable Rain Hood Durable 600D Polyester Construction Graphite fnenrHy miy "urapnue inenaiy ISys." 129s9 Graphite fnendly Assorted colors Easy to JT Operate! -I fl Your 3-digil code I I works on I 9-keypad system Built fn delay to I I avoid false alarms Iff Uses three I AA batteries Very loud siren Rodney lived between his mother's house and a girlfriend's, and doesn't believe drugs were in Rodney's 'system when he died.

Police are awaiting a toxicology report, according to Detective Mike McCullough, a police spokesman said. Just days ago, Sells said that Rodney talked to him about a dream ultimately coaching in the NBA. "I never sensed anything about Rodney taking his life," Sells said. "He wasn't that kind of person. "Then, when I saw his car, I couldn't believe it.

It looked like he just said, 'Forget Most of these guys don't have anywhere to go, nowhere to turn. But, with that degree, he had a lot of opportunities. A lot of times, I told Rodney, 'It's only going to get worse before it gets Many responsibilities Johns had five children through more than one woman. According to his mother, Johns owed up to the responsibilities, but financial woes, at times, got him down. He said he was quite close to his sister, Deborah, with whom he shared his deepest feelings.

Mary Johns said TOBJL1TE XL 16 BALLS (4 BALL SLEEVES) tun r-nn ir-w LAST KISS, from page El friends to Rodney Johns talk about a dark, troubling side that might have hurled him down a destructive path. "I talked to him all the time, and he wasn't doing too well," said Suns Coach Paul Westphal, who remained close to the 6-foot-2 guard after coaching him to the national title at Grand Canyon. "The last period of his life, he was not acting like himself. We were concerned." Westphal tried to help Rodney, the only member of the Johns family with a college degree. A security job at America West Arena was lined up for him.

But, according to Garrick Barr, one of Westphal's best friends and the Suns' video coach, Johns never showed up. "I still had hopes that he would get things together, and he had a lot of reasons to get going and do things right," Westphal said. "He had a chance, but he was blowing it. Everyone could see it. You can't make someone do what you want." Rodney Johns wanted nothing more than to make it in basketball.

He was a late bloomer. Bob Strong, head coach at Central High, remembers Johns turning himself from a "chunky and slow" sophomore at Phoenix Union High into a starter that led Strong's junior-varsity team to a 19-1 record in 1981. "He led the team in everything scoring, rebounding, assists," Strong said. "He turned himself around. His senior year, he was really good under Argie (Rhymes)." Johns, who was a power forward in high school, was part of Phoenix Union's final class.

The school closed in 1982, but not before Johns led the Coyotes to the 5A state semifinals. "I taught him how to dunk," said Robert Sells, a Central High assistant coach who was a year ahead of Rodney in school. "He'd say to me, 'Why can't I I'd show him the right moves and techniques, and he just exploded." Six years later, in 1988, Johns exploded into the national limelight, with ESPN cameras and Dick Vitale screaming hysterics of a Rodney Johns taking over the NAIA champipnship game. Johns scored 41 points in the title game. It was his jump shot with two seconds left in overtime that beat Auburn University-Montgomery 88-86, for the last national crown won by a four-year Arizona college.

Johns averaged 30 points in the tournament and was named the Most Valuable Player. The Suns that summer took Johns in the third round of the NBA draft. He was on top. But his dream and life slowly unraveled from there. The Suns waived him and sent him to New Zealand, where he played professionally for a year.

He ventured in some semipro leagues after that, and returned to Grand Canyon where he assisted Bill Westphal, Paul's brother, and current head coach Leighton McCrary, before leaving the school. With a criminal-justice degree, Johns was a substitute teacher in the Phoenix Union High School District, mostly at South Mountain. But, lately, he was wandering, looking to latch on to something, anything, somewhere, anywhere, Sells said. Johns visited Strong and Sells at Central High last Friday, looking for a steady job. (Tn99 COUPON -r TOMORROW 7 PM VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM Family Affordable Tickets PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS UC lAMCAC MTV DllintC mimsmm.

talked to him (Rodney Johns) all the time, and he wasn't doing too well. The last period of his life, he was not acting like himself. We were concerned. PAUL WESTPHAL SUNS COACH "There were warning signs," Strong said. "I should have responded differently.

He said when he was leaving, he was going to get his job back at Grand Canyon. He left that job. He didn't get fired. He just left. "It seemed like he was thinking the world was treating him wrong." Sells, who is hoping to deliver a eulogy at Johns' funeral, said he saw a man "crying out for help" when he came to Central, seeking employment as a security guard.

"He probably felt lonely and betrayed," Sells said. "People weren't giving in to him. He wanted to coach, but he couldn't find a place. That's sad after everything he had done for the community." Eddie Johns, who graduated from Central in 1988, said he often talked to his older brother, to whom he aspired to be like on the basketball court. He said that Rodney, however, left a lot of unspoken thoughts in his heart.

"He'd say so little on the outside, then leave so much in the inside," Eddie Johns said. "He was kind of quiet about himself." B.B. Fontenet grew up with Johns in the Matthew Henson housing project near 10th Avenue and Grant Street. He said he listened to a despondent man at times. But he doesn't believe Johns would intentionally ram his car into a wall.

"We'd talk about basketball, how he really wanted to play again," Fontenet said. "(Former Phoenix Union and NBA guard) Stevie (Colter) told Rodney that if he wanted to play, that'he'd go out and work with him. "Rodney had a (college) degree, so it wasn't like the end of the world. vusj.v mm mm vvrm-c mcT WITH COUPON- Maxfli. SLX GOLF GLOVE LIST PRICE 3" $799 EA.

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