MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette St. John Neumann graduate Alize Johnson poses for photos with family and friends during a NBA Draft Party in his honor at the Ross Room at Trade and Transit Center II Thursday.

So many emotions flowed through the Michael Ross Center Thursday night, but the overriding runs remained love and respect.

Family and friends flooded the Ross Center at the Williamsport Transit Center, celebrating at Alize Johnson’s NBA Draft party. They simply were not celebrating the great player Johnson is, but the fantastic man he has become.

Johnson, a 2014 St. John Neumann graduate, became the first Lycoming County player ever drafted to the NBA when Indiana selected him with the 50th pick in the second round late Thursday night. It was a dream come true and the culmination of a journey filled with potential pitfalls, but one that Johnson never gave up on.

And there really could no player better to represent Williamsport in the NBA than Johnson. As phenomenal on the court as he is, Johnson might be even better off it. Giving back has always been at his core. Wherever he has been, wherever he has gone, Johnson has endeared himself to the community. That was so obvious last night as family and friends seemed as excited, if not more excited than Johnson.

Yes, this area would be excited to have any player selected in the draft. But to elicit the response Johnson has over the last few weeks, one has to be truly special. That Johnson is. Ask anyone who has met him and they will tell you the same thing.

“He brings nothing but positives to a team and the community,” former AAU teammate and current Hobart center Sam Allen said. “His playing style is unselfish, but also an off the court chemistry guy. I’ve never met a person who hasn’t liked him.

Include this reporter among that group.

I first watched Johnson play as a 5-foot-9 point guard on 2-20 Neumann team during the 2010-11 season. The following season he had grown to 6-4 and Neumann’s fortunes rose just as fast. Johnson became a standout player who never stopped working, never stopped making his teammates better. I first interviewed Johnson after delivered the game-winning assist in a buzzer-beating state tournament win over Mahanoy Area.

Immediately, I was struck by Johnson’s humble, polite demeanor. As dominant as Johnson became the next two seasons and then into college, that never changed. Articulate, respectful and gracious, Johnson became the consummate player, consummate leader and consummate youth role model.

In the days leading to the draft, Johnson has signed endless autographs for children. He is a trail blazer, showing those children what is possible with a ferocious work ethic and an insatiable desire to improve. He also is showing these children how to go about doing so off the court as well.

Johnson is the oldest of seven children and has been like a second father throughout his life. No matter where he is, Johnson stays on top of things and makes sure they are doing things the right way. He knows the path to success and he wants them and everyone he comes in contact with to choose that right path.

Yes, Johnson blew me away as a player, especially his senior year when he became, in my opinion, the state’s Most Valuable Player, willing Neumann to the 2014 state semifinals. His character was as impressive as his talent and I most vividly remember him suffering a fairly gruesome-looking cut above his eye in a second round state playoff game against Phil-Mont Christian. Johnson missed a few seconds simply to be bandaged up, then was back on the court helping Neumann rally in the fourth quarter for a dramatic win.

Similar stories were produced at Frank Phillips and Missouri State where Johnson quickly established himself as the team’s best player. This is a player who will fight through seemingly everything to help his team win. Combine that with his super post skills, his sweet shot and his Super Man-like vision and one has as good a basketball player as I have ever covered.

Maybe the best compliment I can give Johnson, though, is that he blows me away even more by being the man he is. Family, community, sacrifice and giving back define who Johnson is. I think Johnson will make it in the NBA. He is a player who has pounced on every opportunity ever given and I think he could be the steal of the 2018 draft.

If, for whatever reason, that prediction is wrong, Johnson will remain a tremendous success story. Wherever this journey leads, Johnson will shine.

As a reporter, I am always asking questions. When I interviewed Johnson over the phone last January, he flipped the script. Johnson had briefly met my daughter at a 5K run between his freshman and sophomore seasons at Frank Phillips Junior College. It took all of a few seconds for Johnson to make her feel like the most important person in the world. Johnson has gone all over the country and met so many people, so I was stunned when he asked me about how Katie was doing during last winter’s interview. It was a little thing on both occasions, but it spoke to just who Johnson is and it meant a lot.

I go back to that hot, summer day when Johnson met my daughter. Katie remembers it, too. What I will tell her moving forward is something like this: “Live your life like Alize Johnson and and you will do great things.”

Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse