http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/1003suns10030.html
D. Johnson making his way back
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 3, 2003 12:00 AM
A couple of weeks ago, DerMarr Johnson celebrated an anniversary.
There was no cake, no champagne. But there was one gift: He was alive to see another Sept. 13.
It was on that date a year ago that Johnson's promising NBA career was put on hold when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his car, veered off a road near his home in Atlanta and crashed into a tree.
Johnson suffered four fractures in his neck and missed all of last season while recovering. The two men riding with him in the car also survived.
"I guess I dozed off because I don't remember anything about my car crashing into the tree," said Johnson, who is trying to get his career back on track in the Suns training camp with a make-good contract. "I just remember crawling out of the car and my friend kind of pulling me out.
"I didn't know how bad it was. It was like a dream. Everything was kind of blurry."
A moment longer and it wouldn't have mattered that Johnson had a broken neck.
"The car blew up," Johnson said. "It burst into flames a minute after we got out.
"Some girls came out of nowhere - they were out late that night - and 20 and ended up taking us to the hospital. I didn't know my neck was broken. I walked to their car, and I walked out of the car and into the hospital."
While Johnson was fortunate that he didn't need surgery, he did have to wear a halo brace that immobilized his head for about two months.
"It was really bad at first, but I got used to it," he said. "I actually healed pretty quick, and I was active throughout the process, doing stuff maybe the doctors didn't want to allow me to do yet. Pretty soon I was back with a ball in my hand working out."
Johnson had been a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks two years earlier after only one season at Cincinnati.
"He came out too early. We told him that," former Hawks General Manager Pete Babcock said. "But he's a great kid, and we thought he had a great upside. By the second half of his second season, he was starting and averaging about 10 points a game. He was coming on as a player."
After that season, Johnson dedicated himself to the weight room and added 18 pounds to his 6-foot-9 frame. He was looking forward to a big third season and expecting the Hawks to exercise the option on his rookie contract.
Then came that tree.
Johnson was cleared by three doctors to begin contact workouts but never played another game for the Hawks. And the team determined it couldn't gamble on exercising the option, which would have guaranteed Johnson more than $3 million this season.
Still, Johnson believed he would be back with the Hawks and says Babcock assured him that the team would give him a new contract if he came back healthy.
"Then Babcock got fired," Johnson said. "I never imagined myself being in this situation."
That situation is one of trying to make a team like a rookie again - only this time without a guaranteed contract.
Babcock confirmed that he hoped Johnson would return to the Hawks, and he said the organization told Johnson he'd have some job with the team if he couldn't play again.
Johnson played in summer leagues with Memphis, and the Suns were intrigued by what they saw from him in a camp run by Phoenix assistant Tim Grgurich.
"There's some rust there," Suns coach Frank Johnson said. "But he's long and athletic."
DerMarr Johnson believes he's a better player now than before the accident. He just wants a chance to prove it.
"Playing with Memphis (in the summer) turned out to be a bad situation because I didn't get a lot of playing time," he said. "So it kind of left me in the worst-case scenario, which is where I'm at. All I can do now is work hard and let them make the decision."
D. Johnson making his way back
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 3, 2003 12:00 AM
A couple of weeks ago, DerMarr Johnson celebrated an anniversary.
There was no cake, no champagne. But there was one gift: He was alive to see another Sept. 13.
It was on that date a year ago that Johnson's promising NBA career was put on hold when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his car, veered off a road near his home in Atlanta and crashed into a tree.
Johnson suffered four fractures in his neck and missed all of last season while recovering. The two men riding with him in the car also survived.
"I guess I dozed off because I don't remember anything about my car crashing into the tree," said Johnson, who is trying to get his career back on track in the Suns training camp with a make-good contract. "I just remember crawling out of the car and my friend kind of pulling me out.
"I didn't know how bad it was. It was like a dream. Everything was kind of blurry."
A moment longer and it wouldn't have mattered that Johnson had a broken neck.
"The car blew up," Johnson said. "It burst into flames a minute after we got out.
"Some girls came out of nowhere - they were out late that night - and 20 and ended up taking us to the hospital. I didn't know my neck was broken. I walked to their car, and I walked out of the car and into the hospital."
While Johnson was fortunate that he didn't need surgery, he did have to wear a halo brace that immobilized his head for about two months.
"It was really bad at first, but I got used to it," he said. "I actually healed pretty quick, and I was active throughout the process, doing stuff maybe the doctors didn't want to allow me to do yet. Pretty soon I was back with a ball in my hand working out."
Johnson had been a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks two years earlier after only one season at Cincinnati.
"He came out too early. We told him that," former Hawks General Manager Pete Babcock said. "But he's a great kid, and we thought he had a great upside. By the second half of his second season, he was starting and averaging about 10 points a game. He was coming on as a player."
After that season, Johnson dedicated himself to the weight room and added 18 pounds to his 6-foot-9 frame. He was looking forward to a big third season and expecting the Hawks to exercise the option on his rookie contract.
Then came that tree.
Johnson was cleared by three doctors to begin contact workouts but never played another game for the Hawks. And the team determined it couldn't gamble on exercising the option, which would have guaranteed Johnson more than $3 million this season.
Still, Johnson believed he would be back with the Hawks and says Babcock assured him that the team would give him a new contract if he came back healthy.
"Then Babcock got fired," Johnson said. "I never imagined myself being in this situation."
That situation is one of trying to make a team like a rookie again - only this time without a guaranteed contract.
Babcock confirmed that he hoped Johnson would return to the Hawks, and he said the organization told Johnson he'd have some job with the team if he couldn't play again.
Johnson played in summer leagues with Memphis, and the Suns were intrigued by what they saw from him in a camp run by Phoenix assistant Tim Grgurich.
"There's some rust there," Suns coach Frank Johnson said. "But he's long and athletic."
DerMarr Johnson believes he's a better player now than before the accident. He just wants a chance to prove it.
"Playing with Memphis (in the summer) turned out to be a bad situation because I didn't get a lot of playing time," he said. "So it kind of left me in the worst-case scenario, which is where I'm at. All I can do now is work hard and let them make the decision."
