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News Nuggets, 01.17.06
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Katrina blows friendly faces into UAB crowd

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson can look into the stands to find his mother now. She's the one wearing a T-shirt with his picture on it.

But for five days after Hurricane Katrina struck, the UAB point guard didn't know if she or other family members in New Orleans had survived.

They did. And since several have relocated to Birmingham, they've been able to see Johnson enjoy his best season yet.

"That's the greatest," he said. "You've got something to look forward to. Instead of me calling home to tell them how it went, they can see for themselves."

So far, he's put on a pretty good show.

Johnson leads Conference USA in 3-point shooting and assist-to-turnover margin and ranks second in steals and assists in guiding the Blazers to a 12-3 start. Never a prolific scorer, the 5-foot-10 guard has even boosted his scoring average from 5.0 points to 8.3.

His averages of 6.4 assists and 3.3 steals are also career-highs. And that 57 percent 3-point shooting is nearly double his numbers from last season.

Plus, he gets some good Cajun cooking and quality time with his mother, Elise Ramsey.

"He's probably one of the happiest and he feels like he's one of the luckiest guys in the world," UAB coach Mike Anderson said.

Johnson didn't feel like that after Katrina hit in August, destroying his boyhood home, rendering his mom and other family members homeless and leaving him with no idea of their fate. Like many, he was riveted to the TV news for days — and late nights — searching for nuggets of information.

Lonnie Johnson, Squeaky's older brother, was in Baton Rouge and drove to the Superdome in New Orleans. There he was told Ramsey and his stepfather, Kevin Owens, were already on a bus to Houston with others forced to evacuate.

Lonnie finally found them in Houston and called his brother to let him know they were OK. Then, a Houston church whose pastor knew UAB assistant coach T.J. Cleveland put Ramsey and Owens on a bus to Birmingham.

Now, they live with Lonnie and his son in an apartment a short drive from Squeaky.

"I lost everything, but I managed to have my life," said Ramsey, who nicknamed her son "Squeaky" as a young child. "Thank God for that."

There is one thing she doesn't like about watching her son play.

"When he falls that's when I get scared," Ramsey said. "He was accident-prone growing up, that's why I'm so scared when hits that floor. He had everything broken on him but his neck."

These days, Johnson is one of the league's steadiest point guards since transferring to UAB after spending his freshman season at Salt Lake Community College in Utah.

The senior has helped lead the Blazers to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, finishing with the nation's best assist-to-turnover ratio last season.

"I think he's one of the better guards in the country," Anderson said. "That's a bold statement, but I think he's probably one of the top five guards in the country and, I think, the most underrated.

"Ever since I inserted him in the lineup, all we've done is won. And this year's his productivity has gone up even more. He can control the game without even scoring."

He's doing more of that now, too, with a vastly improved outside shot and Anderson urging him to use it more often. Johnson made just 22 3-pointers last season, shooting 29 percent. This season he's made 21 of 37 through 15 games.

"I'm not surprised at all," Johnson said. "I always thought that I was a great pass-first point guard that never had very many stats to show it. This year I'm showing a lot of my ability. I always thought that I'd be a good player, and it definitely is showing this year."

Teammate Richard Jones isn't surprised, either. He frequently spots Johnson's car parked outside the gym long after practice is over and finds him working on his shot.

"He knows his role. He knows he's a good point guard, good ball handler, good defender," Jones said. "But with him scoring that just makes our team even tougher."

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News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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