When people think of the best prep basketball stars that the Kansas City Metro has to offer, some may not talk about Northeast Senior Boys Basketball standout Landon Johnson right away. But, this budding star is quickly turning heads in the metro area.
So, when Hy-Vee and the 41 Action News crew showed up, at the Vikings basketball gymnasium, to present Johnson the Hy-Vee 41 Five-Star Athlete of the Week Award, needless to say, he was incredibly surprised.
"I feel exceptional," Landon said. "I think that it's a really good award to win and I didn't think I was gonna be able to win it."
"[Winning the award] actually shows his dedication on and off the floor, dedication to the program," Northeast Boys Basketball Head Coach Ralph Williams said. "He has really worked hard to deserve this. This is big for Landon. But, this is also a celebration for our team as well, and for our community and for our school."
Last week, Johnson averaged 27.6 points per game in three contests and helped lead the team wins in two of those games - one of which was against African Centered Prep. The second win occurred on Senior Night against Van Horn last Friday night.
His 32-point performance helped the Vikings earn a hard-fought 71-68 victory over Van Horn. Despite making play after play, either at the rim, or on the perimeter, Johnson gave most of the credit to his teammates.
"It meant everything to me because I wouldn't be nowhere near this without them. They made defensive plays that I never thought they would be able to make. It's all types of stuff they did for me," Landon said.
Landon has been on the Vikings basketball team all four years of his high school career. It's clear that he's the team leader. Coach Williams says that Landon is a great teammate and that his character has grown since he's started coaching him two years ago.
He knows Landon is a great talent. But, Williams says he wants to keep his star player grounded and focused on the bright future ahead.
"In order for him to be successful and going to college, it's gonna take just more than playground basketball," Ralph said. " He has displayed, not only taking it from the playground now to actually a system, [he's been] able to advance his skill."
Landon has fully bought in to the idea of positively doing whatever it takes to win. It definitely shows on the court.
"My skill set got better. I got [better]," Landon said. "I actually bought in to the defense and everything. I'm jumping on the floor, all types of stuff like that."
NOTE: The Hy-Vee 41 Five-Star Athlete of the Week segment airs every Thursday night during the 10 p.m. sportscast for the entire school year.
