BENTONVILLE -- When basketball coaches want to share some sort of number concerning one of their players, it usually pertains to some statistic that player has compiled throughout the season.
Tom Halbmaier went a completely different route when he wanted to brag on Maren Johnston. Bentonville's girls basketball coach went to his desk and took a sheet of paper, and on it was not how well his players did on the court, but in the classroom last semester.
At A Glance
Maren Johnston
School: Bentonville
Class: Junior
Height: 5-10
Notable: Averages 5.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game through the Lady Tigers’ first 14 games this season. … Recorded her second double-double of the season Friday night with 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 58-49 win over Fort Smith Southside. … Her season-high performances include 21 points in a Dec. 9 game against Alma and 15 rebounds in a Dec. 4 game against Russellville during the Crabtree Invitational.
Johnston finished with a 4.67 grade point average. The 5-foot-10 junior forward had straight A's and did it while she took four advanced placement classes, which caused her grade-point average to vault well above the 4.0 scale.
"I've had some straight-A kids, but I don't think they had a GPA like that," Halbmaier said. "And the good thing about it is she's competitive too.
"What I like about Maren is she has the capability to make adjustments. She doesn't over-analyze stuff, which would make her slow down. She doesn't second-guess herself. She has the best of both worlds because of her mind and her work ethic, and she's also a dadgum good kid."
Her basketball numbers aren't as mind blowing, but she had made a significant contribution to the team this season. She started 7A-West Conference play on a good note with her second double-double of the season, recording 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds in Bentonville's 58-49 win Friday at Fort Smith Southside.
Johnston has found that perfect balance between academics and athletics throughout her career and makes sure one doesn't interfere with the other. She admits she gets herself in trouble some times when she tries to think too much when she's on the court.
"The good grades give me confidence because I don't have to sit there and worry about school or academics," Johnston said. "It also helps because I have worked so hard in one area, and now I can bring that same kind of determination on the basketball court.
"When I start thinking on the basketball court instead of letting it be more instinctive, I end up messing something up or over-analyzing something. It doesn't work out well."
With academics out of the way during the summer, Johnston didn't take the most popular route to improve her game. While other players find travel teams, she stayed in town and worked on her shooting that way.
She could be found on most occasions at the high school, where she spent a lot of time working on different facets of her game. If the school wasn't open, she would then use the time inside the gym at her church.
"I would try to go and work on my shooting every single day I could, except Sundays," Johnston said. "I would spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours there, and I worked a lot on 3-point shots because one of my coaches told me he wanted me to pop out and shoot it because the other team's post wouldn't be able to defend it.
"I would work on rebounding and free throws, as well. I feel like I'm a pretty stable defender, but one of the coaches said I needed to bring more offensively. I went to five different spots on the perimeter and shoot until I hit 30 shots, then I would some different post moves until I hit 10 in a row. Then I would shoot free throws until, at first, I hit 9 out of 10 and moved it up to 10 out of 10."
Johnston's work ethic didn't go unnoticed. Halbmaier noted that he saw Johnston working up a sweat during some of her workouts, then other players got involved to a point it became a contest to see who could hit more shots.
It's allowed her to reap some of the benefits of her work this summer. Johnston has had five games where she has grabbed 10 or more rebounds, and her offense came through with a season-high 21 points in a win over Alma last month.
"Maren is a self-made player," Halbmaier said. "When she was in the eighth grade, she wasn't even on our radar. She was just one of the kids.
"Then she has continued to get better and better, and look at where she is now as a junior. She has a knack of, when the ball is in flight, she can get herself in that good position for a rebound. She has become a more complete player."
Henry Apple can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAHenry.
Sports on 01/13/2015