He’s triple trouble

Hard work does pay off, and Hawaii shooting guard Zane Johnson is the proof.

Every time the Rainbow Warriors lace it up against an opponent, the senior is offered another opportunity to show his work — usually from 20 feet, 9 inches and beyond.

How’s this for numbers? Johnson has 165 3-pointers in his two-year UH career. After leapfrogging Alika Smith (161) and Carl English (162) with five triples in UH’s win at San Jose State on Saturday, the UH captain needs only 13 more to equal Predrag Savovic’s school-record 178.

Savo did it in 85 games over three seasons. Johnson is on pace to do it in 57 over two.

While everyone waits and watches for the inevitable, Johnson is going to do his best anteater impression and stick his head in the sand.

"I just don’t want anybody to tell me or talk about it until I get it," he said, smiling. "I don’t want to be jinxed. I just want to play normal basketball and help us win. And then when it happens, it happens, if it does happen, great. I’ll be happy. But as long as I can do it and it’s helping us win, is the main thing."

UH (13-9, 5-3 Western Athletic Conference) will need another big game from Johnson if it is to gain ground on WAC leader Nevada (19-4, 8-1) in a "Black-Out" game on Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The ‘Bows’ top scorer (15.7 points per game) took a similar hands-to-the-ears, la-la-la approach last year in setting the UH single-season 3s record of 98, and again earlier this season when he broke the UH consecutive free-throw record with 29 makes. Both got tougher the closer he got to the previous marks of 97 and 28.

So while Johnson is rightfully reluctant to start a premature celebration, his UH teammate, center Davis Rozitis, will gladly do it for him.

"It’s unbelievable," Rozitis said. "He put himself in position to break this record. It was all achieved through hard work. I’ve seen him every day in the gym, knocking down 3s, coming off the flares, shooting with managers. He has made himself a record holder. He just came here, saw it, and just took it."

Of Johnson’s 101 field goals this season, 67 have been 3-pointers. He’s eighth in the NCAA in 3s per game at 3.19, making them at a .372 clip.

At that pace, he will need around four games to do it, which would be the BracketBusters matchup at Montana on Feb. 18. But there is a chance he could do it during the team’s upcoming three-game homestand against Nevada, Fresno State (Saturday) and New Orleans (Tuesday). Johnson had a nine 3-pointer game last season and this year went for seven once and six on three occasions.

"Shooters are not born, they’re made, and he’s gone and made himself a real good shooter," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "He’s got a good work ethic, spends a lot of time putting up shots. Improving his shot. That’s the reason. He’s not lucky. He’s earned it, so I’m glad to see that he’s got a shot to achieve that."

While Johnson might no longer pack the physical explosiveness he enjoyed as a star at Thunderbird High in his native Phoenix (he recently dunked for the first time in a college game), it’s that kind of rapid scoring punch that puts him at the top of opponents’ scouting reports. The Arizona transfer’s smooth form, 6-foot-6 height and ability to square up quickly coming off of screens or in transition makes him a tough cover.

Johnson, despite being one of the taller players on his high school team, was encouraged by his coaches to stay on the perimeter and cultivate his shooting. By his senior year, he was considered one of the top marksmen in the country.

Johnson reserves special thanks for his trainer, former Thunderbirds player Jeff Kirkeby, and his maternal grandfather, Ben Charlet, in making that possible. Hours and hours in the gym and thousands of shots are testament to it.

Believe it or not, Johnson is not all about the 3-ball. Though his jersey bears "3", that number is in honor of his biggest fan, Charlet. His grandfather was there every summer to rebound, and was repaid with a special honor when Johnson transferred to UH.

"He asked me what number he should be out there, and I said ‘3′ because that’s my lucky number and that’s my birthday (Nov. 3)," said Charlet, 70. "I lot of people thought he probably did it because of the 3-point shooting, but no, that wasn’t the case." He laughed. "That really made me feel good. That really means a lot to me."

While the frontcourt tandem of Joston Thomas and Vander Joaquim has played a large role in UH’s success, the Rainbow Warriors need Johnson to deliver on a nightly basis, especially from long range to open up the floor.

In that, he’s come a long way from Arizona. He played his first two seasons as a 3-point specialist for the Wildcats, then transferred out after a parade of head coaches left him disgruntled. Bob Nash gave him a fresh start at Hawaii, but by the time Johnson was eligible to play at UH, Nash too was gone.

Good fortune gave Johnson a familiar face in Arnold. Arnold tried to recruit Johnson to play at USC, unsuccessfully, but the connection was ready made. Sort of.

"I thought I had a corner shooter. I mean, it’s not like when we were at SC our scout was trying to stop Zane Johnson," Arnold said with a laugh. "He was deep on the scouting report of guys … but I knew I had a guy who could hit a 3 if left open, and I knew we needed to continue to develop his game. And he’s done just that."

Johnson became a passable defender and worked on being a vocal leader as a tri-captain this season, things that will help him in his future career playing pro ball.

Johnson’s next goal is to play professionally — D-League, Europe, you name it. After that, he wants to return to Hawaii to be a general contractor, in the place he now considers home.

His degree in sociology is already in hand. If he has his way, a WAC championship will be next. And the record? Gravy.

"I learned that I could do it and that anything I set my mind to I can do. And that hard work pays off," Johnson said. "That’s the biggest thing."

Let the 3-point countdown begin.