Rewind to 1993. Pollyanna Johns - a tall, lanky freshman on the Michigan women's basketball team - was sitting in an office in Schembechler Hall. Across the desk was Greg Harding, officially a special adviser to the athletic director and unofficially an adviser to athletes.
Johns had just told Harding that she wanted to leave school. She couldn't handle it - the classes, the homework, the basketball. Especially the basketball. She didn't get along with Trish Roberts, her coach. To Roberts, basketball wasn't a game, but
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| FILE PHOTO Pollyanna Johns, who almost left Michigan three years ago, has emerged as the star on an up-and-coming team. Johns was named to the all-tournament team in both of the tournaments in which the Wolverines played. |
Fast-forward to Tuesday, dec. 25, 1997. Johns, a tall, strong senior on the Michigan women's basketball team, is again sitting behind a desk, this time in the Crisler Arena media lounge. But now, there is no adviser sitting across from her, but rather a room full of reporters
This time, instead of looking troubled and overwhelmed, she was confident, clad in her maize-and-blue uniform. This time, instead of being at odds with her old coach, she sat beside her new coach - not Roberts, but Sue Guevara.
Oh, and her team is one of the conference's up-and-coming squads, ready to contend for its first conference title.
Could two pictures of the same person be so different?
"Freshman year, I was overwhelmed with basketball and budgeting my time," said Johns, a Jamaican native. "I wanted to leave. It was horrible for me."
Into the picture steps Harding and his bag of tricks. Out of that bag, he pulls a prayer.
"It's a serenity prayer," Johns said. "It's asking God for strength and the wisdom to know the things that I can't change. That one prayer was one of the reasons I stayed."
So Johns stayed, and blossomed into one of Michigan's best players. By her sophomore year, she was a regular starter averaging 14.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. But she was still at odds with Roberts.
"I enjoyed the coaching staff and my teammates when I first met them," Johns said. "But when I got here, it was a total different story. It was totally different then what I expected."
Roberts didn't look out for her players, according to Johns. She didn't care about their welfare, their happiness, but just about the bottom line - winning. And she didn't even do much of that, winning only five conference games in her four seasons as Michigan's coach.
This time, it was Guevara's turn to step in.
"Guevara's coaching staff made the game fun, instead of being all about work and sweat," Johns said. "When they make it fun, you really want to play for them and practice for them."
Guevara took over the team and immediately began to reshape it. And at its centerpiece - Pollyanna Johns.
"I knew she could be a pivotal person in the program," Guevara said. "It was just a matter of getting her to play consistently and developing a strong work ethic."
Her junior year, the first under Guevara, Johns got a taste of success, and she liked it. She averaged 15 points and 10.4 rebounds, and was named second-team all-Big Ten, as the Wolverines won eight conference games.
And that brings us to the present - to the Johns who is sitting in the Crisler media lounge, a room full of reporters ready to jot down every word she says. The Wolverines just beat Illinois State and are 3-0. Johns is averaging 19.3 points and 10 rebounds per game. She is ready to go farther.
"My senior season means a lot to me," Johns said. "This is my last year, and I don't want it to end after the Big Ten tournament. I want to go to the Big Dance."
And to reach that goal, Johns has played through pain.
In August, Johns suffered from planar frischitis - an inflammation of the ligament that holds the arch of her foot together. It won't go away until Johns stops playing ball, something Johns doesn't plan on doing any time soon.
"When I wake up, I can't just jump out of bed," Johns said. "I have to sit and take my time just to stand up. It feels like pins and needles are sticking in my feet. It hurts whenever I walk or play."
Johns suffered the injury while running on the concrete floor of the Crisler concourse, where the team conditioned over the summer. It started in her left foot, then spread to both of her feet.
But she plays through it, and never complains.
"She's a driven woman," Guevara said.
Respect has been a problem for Johns. Last year, she was named second-team all-Big Ten, but that wasn't good enough for Johns.
"I know she was disappointed," Guevara said.
Last weekend, in the MSU-Felpausch tournament, Johns averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds a game, yet was mysteriously skipped over for MVP honors in favor of Michigan State's Kristen Rasmussen. Rasmussen scored only 12 points before fouling out in a losing effort in the championship game.
But Johns did not get upset over the apparent hometown favoritism.
"I was just happy for the win," Johns said. "We got the trophy. I played my best and everyone saw it. It really didn't bother me."
With an attitude like that, Johns can take her team a long way. Johns got a taste of success, and she liked it. She averaged 15 points and 10.4 rebounds, and was named second-team all-Big Ten, as the Wolverines won eight conference games.
And that brings us to the present - to the Johns who is sitting in the Crisler media lounge, a room full of reporters ready to jot down every word she says. The Wolverines just beat Illinois State and are 3-0. Johns is averaging 19.3 points and 10 rebounds per game. She is ready to go farther.
"My senior season means a lot to me," Johns said. "This is my last year, and I don't want it to end after the Big Ten tournament. I want to go to the Big Dance."
And to reach that goal, Johns has played through pain.
In August, Johns suffered from planar frischitis - an inflammation of the ligament that holds the arch of her foot together. It won't go away until Johns stops playing ball, something Johns doesn't plan on doing any time soon.
"When I wake up, I can't just jump out of bed," Johns said. "I have to sit and take my time just to stand up. It feels like pins and needles are sticking in my feet. It hurts whenever I walk or play."
Johns suffered the injury while running on the concrete floor of the Crisler concourse, where the team conditioned over the summer. It started in her left foot, then spread to both of her feet.
But she plays through it, and never complains.
"She's a driven woman," Guevara said.
Respect has been a problem for Johns. Last year, she was named second-team all-Big Ten, but that wasn't good enough for Johns.
"I know she was disappointed," Guevara said.
Last weekend, in the MSU-Felpausch tournament, Johns averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds a game, yet was mysteriously skipped over for MVP honors in favor of Michigan State's Kristen Rasmussen. Rasmussen scored only 12 points before fouling out in a losing effort in the championship game.
But Johns did not get upset over the apparent hometown favoritism.
"I was just happy for the win," Johns said. "We got the trophy. I played my best and everyone saw it. It really didn't bother me."
With an attitude like that, Johns can take her team a long way.
12-01-97
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