Damian Johnson can't do it alone.
Minnesota's other senior co-captain, Lawrence Westbrook, is the team's go-to guy on offense, but his temper, trash talking and defensive lapses haven't helped a team in need of leadership.
Westbrook, the Gophers' leading scorer at 13.4 points a game, scored only five points last weekend at Ohio State and was benched for all but five minutes in the second half because coach Tubby Smith believed he wasn't playing defense.
The message, it seems, got through.
"Westbrook had a pretty good week of practice," said Johnson of the days leading up to today's game against Penn State (8-14, 0-10 Big Ten). "I've never seen him practice as hard as he has. He's been really after it on defense ... and I think that's going to help out a lot when it comes game time."
Westbrook, who had class Friday morning and wasn't available to the media, is the team's most explosive player on offense, showing it during the Big Ten home opener against the Nittany Lions, when he scored 29 points to tie a career high in a 75-70 win.
He's also the team's most emotional player. Take the in-game trash talking.
"It's Westbrook all the time," Smith said recently. "He needs to understand that he needs to keep his mouth shut and just play."
There seems to be a moment in every game when Westbrook shoves an opposing player or comes close to doing so, when someone is in his face. Although his teammates can appreciate him having their backs and his emotions can be contagious, they also need someone to help keep them calm. That's especially important now that starting point guard Al Nolen was ruled academically ineligible for the rest of the season.
The Gophers (13-8, 4-5) struggled at times with backcourt leadership even before then, with Smith at times wanting more leadership and effort from Nolen and Westbook. After the two almost got into a fight during a film session in November, Smith made them sit out the first half of the next game, a 66-65 loss to Texas AM.
Their attitude has improved, but they were benched for stretches in the second half of an 81-78 overtime loss at Indiana two weeks ago.
Smith said this week that he expects more from his three seniors — Westbrook, Johnson and Devron Bostick — than anyone else, because they set an example.
Johnson has been the team's top defender all season, and he's trying to contribute more offensively despite an injury to his right (shooting) hand. Bostick, a reserve forward, was suspended earlier this season for unspecified team rules violations, but Smith said he has since done well in class and is a great teammate.
Now it's Westbrook's turn to do his part.
"I think Lawrence works very hard," Smith said. "But it's got to carry over to performance. You have to lead by example all of the time. That's something I've worked with and tried to talk to him about most of the season. For me, it's doing the right things on the court. Making the right decisions. Playing as hard as you play, all of the time. I don't think we've gotten that as consistently as I would like or as well as I would like."
For Westbrook, it starts with playing better defense and keeping a level head. Johnson said he wasn't worried about how Westbrook would respond after what happened against Ohio State.
"Westbrook is a very confident guy," Johnson said. "Things like that just get him going. He just comes out the next game with something to prove."
