Justin Johnson hit one 3-pointer all of last season. The Western Kentucky forward made that one 3 count – it was a game-winning shot to beat Eastern Kentucky at the buzzer.

Johnson instead did his best work around the basket, leading the Hilltoppers with 14.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

But new Hilltoppers coach Rick Stansbury spoke with Johnson soon after taking the job and told the rising junior he wanted him to expand his game.

“All I’ve wanted him to do all spring long was this: ‘Don’t play to your strengths. Don’t work on your strengths,’ ” Stansbury said Wednesday. “Everybody knows what his strengths was, around that block.

“ ‘Don’t work on your strengths. Work on your weaknesses.’ From March to October, that’s when players are made. ‘Work on your weaknesses. Get out there and work on that 3-point shot. Work on that jump shot.’ ”

The mechanical points of Johnson’s shots needed some work, Stansbury said. But he said more than anything, he wanted the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Johnson to change his mindset.

Stansbury wanted Johnson to build a mid-range and perimeter game that could complement his work on the low block.

By developing those aspects, Stansbury said Johnson can lure bigger defenders away from the basket and open up space for his teammates to get looks at the rim.

“When you’re on the block against a bigger, stronger guy, you can bring that sucker away from the basket some,” Stansbury said. “Well, he ain’t gonna come away from that basket unless you’re going to shoot it. Now you get him away and (it) opens up so much more for you.”

Johnson went to China in recent weeks for a trip with the Sports Reach program, an evangelical group. The Hazard native hit a combined 17 3-pointers during the games on that overseas trip, Stansbury said.

“I like his ability to shoot,” Stansbury said. “… He’s a guy that I see as a versatile guy that we can do a lot of things with.”

Building confidence key for Lawson

Stansbury said Wednesday he sees “a lot more good than bad” in forward Ben Lawson. He said he liked the 7-1, 230-pound Lawson’s ability to run the floor, jump and shoot.

But the key is playing to Lawson’s strengths, Stansbury said. The Hitchin, England, native saw a variety of roles last year as a junior and finished averaging 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with a team-best 66 blocks for former coach Ray Harper’s WKU team.

“I think if you look at his stats last year, he didn’t have a lot of stats,” Stansbury said. “But being around him, he didn’t have a lot of confidence, he didn’t feel any type of role or need or purpose.

“My first thing with him is get him believing. Get him walking around here and believing, ‘Hey, you can be a player, man.’ That don’t mean you’re a power player, don’t mean you’re a block player. That’s not who he is.

“Play to his strengths. His strengths is he can run, he can jump and he can make a shot. Well, let’s put him in a situation to utilize who he is.”

Stansbury mentioned several roles where Lawson could be a factor, including taking shots from outside the paint.

That doesn’t mean Lawson should be parked on the perimeter shooting only 3s, Stansbury said. But he wants the big man to play in roles that feature his “quickness and athleticism.”

“Our job is to put him in situations to utilize who he is,” Stansbury said. “I like who he is.

“I think we’ve made some progress in Ben believing who he is a little bit. We’ve got to keep working on that. So I like Ben.”

Carmichael showing Stansbury he’s ‘a gym rat’

Willie Carmichael spent the 2015-16 season on the sidelines, sitting out an NCAA-mandated year after transferring from Tennessee.

Now the 6-8, 210-pound forward is set to take the court for WKU this season as a redshirt sophomore. Stansbury said he’s appreciated Carmichael’s efforts this offseason as he gets ready to finally suit up for the Tops.

“One thing about Willie, he stayed around in May and he’s a gym rat,” Stansbury said. “… He’s shown us some abilities to get in that gym and work.”

Similar to Johnson, Stansbury wants Carmichael working on his skills outside the paint. He recalled facing Tennessee in 2014-15 when Carmichael was a freshman forward for the Volunteers and Stansbury was an assistant at Texas A&M.

Carmichael, an Apopka, Fla., native, averaged 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in his lone year at UT.

“I remember playing against Willie when he was at Tennessee,” Stansbury said. “He stood in the middle of the 2-3 zone and put his hands up as a 5 guy.

“Well, he’s got to expand his game too. He’s got to get more consistent and he’s got to get away from that basket.”

– Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @Stephens_Brad or visit bgdailynews.com.