Chaney Johnson is Auburn basketball’s hardest worker. Could he be AU's postseason X-factor?
Adam Cole- Auburn basketball player Chaney Johnson's journey to the Plains was unconventional, starting at the Division II before getting to the SEC.
- Johnson is known for his tireless work ethic, with Bruce Pearl and several teammates often echoing those sentiments.
- Despite a recent slump, Johnson's performance is often a bellwether for Auburn's success, with the team winning most games where he makes significant contributions.
AUBURN — Chaney Johnson is Auburn basketball’s hardest worker, and that title’s not self-imposed.
Coach Bruce Pearl has said it at nearly every mention of the reserve forward since his arrival in 2023. His teammate, Dylan Cardwell, said Johnson’s only competition in that regard over his five-year Auburn career was Jabari Smith, the former McDonald’s All-American and 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year.
But for a testament to the words, look to Johnson’s mornings. They’re as indicative of his work ethic as his nights.
Johnson played a sizable role in Auburn’s 67-60 win over Arkansas on Feb. 19. He had 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Between playing and postgame, Johnson’s evening wrapped up in the 11 o’clock hour.
At 9:35 a.m. the next morning, Johnson was back on the Neville Arena hardwood, working out with Auburn assistant coach Ira Bowman. Freshly removed from his performance against the Razorbacks, in which he put up 13 shots, he put up another 417 in a 61-minute span.
Sweat glistened on the foreheads of both player and coach, with hardly anyone around to see it. A commercial floor cleaner hummed on one end of the court. The scrape of a broom echoed in Neville’s lower bowl. Their operators were among the dozen or so eyes in view.
It was an encapsulation of Johnson, who proceeded to practice with the team that afternoon before getting in another workout with his personal trainer that evening.
His rise has been meteoric, playing Division II basketball two seasons ago and now contributing to the success of one of the nation’s best teams in the midst of the SEC’s best year to date.
This is the story of how Johnson got here, just what it means to be a stellar basketball team’s hardest worker, and why, come NCAA Tournament time, he could be one of the Tigers’ biggest X factors.
How Auburn basketball’s Chaney Johnson found his way to Division II
If it wasn’t for LeBron James, Johnson may not have wound up at Alabama-Huntsville.
Well, that may be a little hyperbolic. There’s no tie between James and the university, nor James and Johnson. But there’s truth to it.
After the coronavirus pandemic hit, John Shulman, then coach at UAH, was at a loss for how he’d recruit. He couldn’t travel or get face-to-face. But one of his assistants, Anthony Komara, had stumbled on some film of a 6-foot-5 combo guard from Thompson High School in Alabaster.
It was Johnson, and Shulman and his staff gradually became more and more impressed. Then came another video.
“It was a Taco Tuesday video,” Shulman told the Montgomery Advertiser. “He thinks he's LeBron, and he's going, ‘It's Taco Tuesday.’ He's going crazy on this Taco Tuesday video.”
Shulman’s oldest son, Max Shulman, was a player for UAH. He was in the room, and he turned to his father amid Johnson's best LeBron impression during family dinner.
“Dad, we’ve got to get him,” Max said.
John took a beat. He wasn’t sure what his son meant.
“Dad,” Max continued, “He’s got juice. He's got energy. And if he can play at all, dad, we’ve got to get him.”
What it means for Chaney Johnson to be Auburn basketball’s hardest worker
It hasn’t mattered if Johnson was playing college basketball in Huntsville or Auburn. His growth has revolved, in part, around personal trainer Chris Thomas.
Johnson met Thomas at UAH in 2020, and whether workouts have been in person or over FaceTime, Thomas has been there for the past five years. That was the case two days after the Arkansas win, when Johnson met Thomas at Neville Arena that morning for another workout, fresh off a lift, and with team practices that afternoon.
It’s emblematic of the consistency Johnson has displayed since he reached college even though he was two inches shorter and 45 pounds smaller than he is now.
“That version of me really did enjoy basketball,” Johnson told the Advertiser. “I’ve always loved basketball, so I was willing to do whatever it took to reach my goals. But also, that version of me was still a little immature.”
To Johnson, maturity has granted focus. As he’s aged, so have his habits.
Then? Johnson was working out two to three times a day. He still does on occasion, but now, he listens to his body. He takes care of it, too.
“It's a lot of off-court things,” Johnson said. “Like, you can work hard, but are you working on your mind as well?”
That means eight hours of sleep a night. It means eating right. It means watching game film. It means Bible studies.
“And I still feel like, the point I'm at right now, I'm still not as focused as I know I can be,” Johnson said.
Why Chaney Johnson could be Auburn basketball’s X factor in March Madness
It’s no secret Auburn has slumped of late. Last week, it closed its titanic run through a star-studded nonconference slate and stacked SEC with back-to-back losses for the first time all season.
Subsequently, Johnson has slumped, too.
The reserve forward was red-hot for much of February. In a five-game span, he averaged 14.8 points and 5 rebounds. Each was above his season averages, and that coincided with him shooting 62.5% from the field. His final five games of the regular season, however, saw a dip.
He scored 27 combined points in those contests and grabbed just 12 rebounds. Pearl attributed it to foul trouble, as Johnson's been whistled for at least three fouls in his past seven games.
"When he is not flying around and being one of the best athletes on the floor and using his athleticism, his speed, his power, his physicality — which, sometimes, you don't do when you get in foul trouble — it lessens his effect on the game," Pearl said Thursday.
But Johnson’s no stranger to stepping up. In the four games where national player of the year front-runner Johni Broome has been sidelined or absent with injury, Johnson averaged 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. There’s a simpler trend that shows an even simpler fact.
When Johnson has scored at least 10 points this season, Auburn is 14-1. When he’s grabbed five or more rebounds, it’s 16-1. When it has lost, he's averaged just 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds.
Johnson’s success is Auburn’s success. It’s clear that, with the NCAA Tournament coming full view, the Tigers will need him now more than ever.
"I'm anxious to, obviously, find ways to get that back," Pearl said. "Nobody's in the gym more. Nobody's working harder. Nobody deserves it more than Chaney."
Adam Cole is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email atacole@gannett.com or on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@colereporter.