Johnson played collegiately at Oregon State University under Naismith Hall of Fame coach Ralph Miller.

Five games into the season, however, Bowie suffered a broken leg (one of many such injuries he would endure in his ill-fated career), and Johnson was moved to the starting center role, with aging veteran Caldwell Jones replacing him at power forward.

Only a couple games later, on November 26, 1986, Johnson scored a career-best 40 points, while also grabbing 10 rebounds, during a 118–114 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

An attempt to start both players in a dual-post configuration, and the Johnson/Duckworth controversy was one of several which distracted the team in the 1988–89 season (which led to a losing record and a first-round playoff sweep).

[1] Johnson, who retired from playing and permanently settled in Portland,[2] now works with an organization called The Best of Yachting and is an investor in business in the area.