Johnsonhappy, healthy

BUFFALO — Wes Johnson's right hand has been scrutinized as closely as any body part in Central New York over the last six weeks.

Was it still hurting? How was the injury affecting his game? Did he need to sit out a couple of games to let it heal?

The Syracuse junior transfer, who burst onto the scene and drew national attention for his spectacular play early on, grew tired of answering questions about the hand as his game turned from super to mediocre.

But he continued to smile even as he finally found something that could slow him down.

Johnson started coming around in the final Big East game of the season when he scored 18 points against Louisville, his biggest output since Jan. 23.

He followed that up with a monster effort (24 points on 10-for-17 shooting) in SU's Big East quarterfinal loss to Georgetown.

And if there was any doubt about Johnson's health, they were dispelled here this weekend. The Corsicana, Texas, native was his old self, scoring 18 points versus Vermont on Friday, then netting a career-high 31 points Sunday as SU polished off Gonzaga by 22 points to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second straight season.

"When you have an injury, you start thinking a lot more about every aspect of your game," said Johnson, who made 11 of 16 shots Sunday, including going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers. "But even when I wasn't shooting well, I tried to do the other things to help the team like rebounding and playing defense. Now that it's 100 percent, I'm just playing again."

Johnson was only 7-for-25 on 3-pointers during his poor five-game stretch. Over his last four games, he is 11-for-18 and has really opened up the offense again, giving Boeheim another perimeter threat to go along with Andy Rautins.

"Wes is a great player even when he isn't making shots because of all the other stuff he gives us," said Rautins, who made five 3-pointers himself on Sunday. "When he was hurt, he still kept working hard on other facets of his game and was determined it would not slow him down."

Gonzaga coach Mark Few said he can see now why NBA scouts are so enamored with the 6-foot-7 small forward.

"When you see him live, he's almost unguardable," Few said. "He shoots it well, he's a tremendous rebounder and has developed into a really good passer. He's a matchup nightmare for almost any team."

Johnson made his first shot, a 3-pointer, on Sunday, then another three in the opening minute of the game. He said that boosted his confidence immediately.

"The first one going down is like game of Horse," Johnson said. "You absolutely believe you're not going to miss after that."

And Johnson's smile was never bigger than when he backed down a Gonzaga defender and drilled a fade-away 15-footer during SU's early second-half spurt that broke the game open.

"We're on the biggest stage you can find, so why not really enjoy it," Johnson said. "Two years ago (when he transferred from Iowa State), I always dreamed about what it would be like playing in the NCAA Tournament. Now that we have a chance to go all the way, it's like a fantasy."