When NAU senior forward Shane Johannsen gets the ball in his hands, it's almost never a wasted opportunity.
Throughout his four-year career, Johannsen has been the Lumberjacks basketball team's reliable presence in the paint. From rebounding to defense, he's been a fixture at the post position as a three-year starter and when he's asked to score, he's making sure his shot goes in.
Entering his final regular season home game against Portland State tonight, Johannsen's 69.6 career field goal percentage (340 of 488) is the top mark in the NAU record books and second in the Big Sky Conference.
This season, Johannsen is shooting 73 percent from the floor, averaging 9.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
"He's always been a really high field-goal percentage shooter -- not because of the plays, he's pretty good around the basket," fellow senior Cameron Jones said.
The Arizona native, who played at Chandler Valley Christian, has been perfect from the field seven times this season, including an 8-for-8 performance against Montana State on Feb. 3.
Granted, Johannsen's not making long-range jumpers like some of his other teammates; instead, he's capitalizing on almost every chance he gets and it has resulted in a career-high 73.3 percent field goal percentage this season.
Still, like Jones said, Johannsen's always been a steady offensive presence. He's improved the most this season on defense, where he's averaged 2.4 blocks per game. His 66 rejections are the second most in NAU for a single season, behind Dan McClintock's 70, and tied for 10th all-time in the Big Sky.
"Defensively, he's real good too. He has a knack for getting blocked shots on the weak side," Jones said. "Sometimes I rely a bit too much on him. I'll let (the guy I'm guarding) slip by me, so I know he's going to go around and block it."
He's not one to be intimidated, either.
"He doesn't back down from any big (man) he plays," Jones said. "Whether it's (former 6-foot-10 Wildcat and current Houston Rocket) Jordan Hill a couple years ago or anybody in our league, he plays everyone the same way."
Even when it's his coach, Mike Adras, Johannsen isn't one to back down. When reflecting on the careers of Johannsen and Jones at practice this week, Adras smiled when remembering all the times he's butted heads with his two star pupils, who are also roommates. Often, the two feel they're incapble of being wrong.
"I don't know if that's a good flaw or a bad flaw. It's really hard sometimes to convince him in practice that, 'You didn't do that right, Shane,'" Adras joked. "They want to justify it with themselves. I can't imagine what it's like in their apartment when they start having a discussion about something because I don't know if either one of them can convince the other one they're not correct."
It wasn't always such a task to have teachable moments with Johannsen. As a freshman, he relieved senior big men Kyle Landry and Ryan McCurdy and played only a handful of minutes per game. But even then, Johannsen made the most of the opportunities given to him.
"When he got in, he did some things that you're like 'Wow, maybe that guy's going to be able to help us in the future,'" Adras said.
After the two seniors departed, Johannsen was thrust into a starting role and had to develop quickly to help the Jacks.
"It was a huge adjustment," Johannsen said. "I didn't play very much my freshman year. We lost both our bigs and I had to start -- it was much different game from playing three, four minutes a game to playing 20 plus.
"I think I was nervous for the first game, but other than that, I took it in stride one game at a time."
Halfway through that sophomore season, he settled into the starting role and has been improving ever since.
As his career comes to a close, and his name is entrenched in the NAU record books with his consistent effort, Johannsen's looking to extend his season beyond Saturday's first round of the Big Sky conference.
Even still, his mind's focused on what's immediately in front him, hoping to make the most of his one and only senior night and his last regular season basketball game in Flagstaff.
"Both wins," Johannsen said his only two assured games remaining. "That's all I'm really worried about now."
Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.
