Centre Daily Times | 11/27/2004 | Johnson providing energy, results for Penn State:
“It’s better to be caught next to Aaron Johnson at the poker table than under the boards.
“Penn State’s demonstrative junior forward, who leads the Nittany Lions against Sacred Heart at 4 p.m. today in the Bryce Jordan Center, wears his heart on his ever-untucked jersey whether his team is up by 20 or down by 20, in games or in practices. Ed DeChellis and the other Penn State coaches have tried to get Johnson to ‘hold his cards to his chest’ this season.
“They would have better luck blocking him out.
“‘Sometimes he just gets frustrated, and we’ve talked about channeling that emotion in a positive way,’ DeChellis said. ‘Some guys aren’t rah-rah. That doesn’t mean they’re not playing hard. I think he’s channeled that in the right way.’
“Johnson has channeled his emotion to the tune of a team-best 15.8 points and 13.5 rebounds per game in his first season as a starter. The 6-foot-9, 258-pounder from Exton had 25 and 12 his last time out in a 73-64 win over Lehigh and is on pace to dwarf his career averages of 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds a game.”