Western Kentucky freshman forward Justin Johnson has played at least 20 minutes in each of the last three games.

It’s the most minutes he’s played in three consecutive games this season, and coach Ray Harper said it’s no coincidence.

“It’s the first time in three consecutive games that he’s played as hard as he needs to play,” Harper said Monday on his weekly radio show. “It’s that simple. I’ve been on him to get out of the box. At this level, you can’t jog from offense to defense. It has to be a sense of urgency. He has to get back to the paint and eliminate easy baskets.

“The plain and simple truth of it was when he was in the game, we were giving up a lot of rim shots in transition. When we’d watch it on tape, a little harder sprint would’ve eliminated it.”

Johnson, a 6-foot-7 forward from Hazard, averaged 21.9 points and 17.6 rebounds as a senior at Perry County Central High School.

He was a dominant prep player – so dominant, in fact, that Harper said Johnson developed some bad habits as a result.

“He was one of those guys who was probably always the best athlete on the floor when he was in high school,” Harper said. “He got away with being the best athlete. When he walks on the floor now, he’s not the best athlete. He’s still a good athlete, but he’s a 6-foot-6, 6-7 good athlete that’s seeing some 6-9 athletes. He has to play harder than those guys and continue to do some things, and he’s starting to figure that out.”

Criticizing Johnson for not playing hard enough might come as a shock to some WKU fans, many of whom have lauded the newcomer for his hustle.

But that can be deceiving, Harper said.

The coach used the team’s three-man weave drill in practice as an example. When Johnson’s the one in line to get the dunk in the drill, “he looks like an Olympic athlete running the floor,” Harper said.

“It’s not like he can’t,” Harper said. “It has to be a mindset. I just don’t think it’s something he ever had to do in high school, and we had to break some habits. He’s a great kid. It’s not that he doesn’t want to do it, but sometimes the mind can play funny games with you, especially when you think you’re a little tired.”

After becoming a regular contributor off the bench, Johnson went through a six-game stretch where he averaged just 9.7 minutes per contest.

Since then, he’s played 21 minutes at Middle Tennessee, 20 minutes against Florida Atlantic and 23 minutes against Florida International.

In those last three outings, he’s totaled 20 points and 15 rebounds.

“That’s usually what happens,” senior forward George Fant said Tuesday. “As the season progresses, the younger guys start to understand things and start to know if they do certain things, they get the benefits of it. He’s finally starting to understand and it’s clicking for him, and we’re happy to see it.”

— Zach Greenwell