FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Dribbling 20 feet from the basket, Joe Johnson looked inside. Nothing there. He looked again and then bolted for the right baseline. Two Florida defenders cut him off.
With the ball in his right hand, Johnson effortlessly elevated above the flat-footed defenders for a shot that settled softly in the basket.
Barely a dozen games into his college career, the 6-foot-8 Johnson has the look of the best Arkansas freshman in years -- maybe ever.
Johnson is the top freshman scorer in the Southeastern Conference, a league loaded with good freshman, and is third in rebounding. He's averaging 15.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Alabama's Rod Grizzard is the second-leading freshman scorer at 12.5 points per game.
Johnson is shooting almost 48 percent from the field, including 17-of-39 from 3-point range. He's such a good ball handler that he often winds up at the top of the circle, running the offense. On top of that, he's unselfish -- teammates pass him the ball because they know they will get it back -- and he was ineligible during the first semester.
"You have to stop and think about this, he had no preseason," said Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson. "He came after the semester, but in two days, he came in and started."
Immediately, he had to play 33-34 minutes per game because the supporting cast was lacking.
"This young man had to play himself into shape, try to learn the offense, try to learn the defense, and, at the same time, try to carry a basketball team," Richardson said. "Joe has basically taken us and put us on his shoulders and said, 'I'm going to deliver you.' I think if we had him at the beginning, along with Larry Satchell, we wouldn't be where we are right now."
Invariably, SEC coaches have high praise for Johnson during the post-game.
"I've seen enough of Joe," said Alabama coach Mark Gottfried. "He'd look great in a Bulls uniform next year.
"He's a handful for you to guard because he's got size, he can go inside-outside," Gottfried said. "Who is going to match up with him? Who has a 6-7 defender who can guard a guy like that on the perimeter? He's a great one-on-one player and he doesn't make very many mistakes.
"He's as good a freshman as I've seen in a while," he said. "He can flat out play."
Both Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury and Florida coach Billy Donovan used the word "great" to describe Johnson.
"He plays under control and never takes a bad shot," said Stansbury. "He has great size at his position. He makes baskets. He is a very skilled player."
Johnson scored 22 and "an unselfish" 30 against the Bulldogs -- his 30-point performance was the first by an SEC freshman since LSU's Ronnie Henderson scored 36 against Kentucky in 1994.
"He can create his own shot and score off the dribble," Donovan said. "He can also shoot 3s and dish the ball. He's terrific."
Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992 and did not have a player on the Knoxville News-Sentinel's all-conference freshman team in four of the next eight years. Both Scotty Thurman and Corliss Williamson made it in 1993. Thurman averaged 17.4 points per game, but he is not as well rounded as Johnson. Darnell Robinson, Kareem Reid and Glendon Alexander were picked in 1994, 1996 and 1997.
Johnson is a no brainer this year.