GBR - Johnson maturing at right time

LJUBLJANA (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Kyle Johnson's 22 points for Great Britain in their 75-71 overtime win against Israel to open EuroBasket 2013 is further indication that the guard could be the future leader of British Basketball.

From a bit-part player two years ago at the EuroBasket in Lithuania, Johnson's maturity began gradually at the London Olympics last year. Despite playing fewer minutes, he was more than happy just being in the team and learning more from international veterans Luol Deng and Nate Reinking, who is now GB's assistant coach.

"In basketball, you're always learning, no matter how good you are," explained Johnson.

"The Olympics was an experience that I'll never forget and despite the occasion, I was still learning, still wanting to get better and having the group of players that I had for Great Britain was really rewarding.

"I have no doubt gotten a lot better, and I am happy to prove my worth here in Slovenia."

Great Britain coach Joe Prunty admits that a lot of coaches only look at the boxscores, but with Toronto-born Johnson, you can only appreciate the work he does away from the stats as well.

Prunty was equally as pleased with Johnson's performance in the win against Israel, which opened Group A in Ljubljana with France, Germany, Ukraine and Belgium also involved.

"Kyle made big shots and big plays for us all night and again I think people will look at the boxscore and talk about his shooting and amount of points that he scored, but he did a lot of things defensively as well," said Prunty.

"He had some big rebounds for us, he competed on a high level on both ends of the floor and again his defense won't get noticed, but he did an outstanding job on that side of the floor."

Not much was expected of Great Britain to start the EuroBasket. The nation has not been able to advance past the first round in their only two appearances in 2009 and 2011. The cause has not been helped with the fact that NBA stars Deng and Joel Freeland have taken the summer off for different reasons and Pops Mensah-Bonsu took a leave of absence for personal reasons.

With Johnson and GB beating Israel, they have already answered the critics in stunning fashion by winning a game here in Slovenia's capital city.

Maybe the youth can do the job as the road to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain now begins.

For full and in-depth coverage of EuroBasket 2013, go to the official website http://www.eurobasket2013.org.

FIBA