NEW YORK — Minutes after it happened — after Wes Johnson strolled to the podium to greet NBA commissioner David Stern with his trademark smile, after he gave television interviews, and after he strolled out of Madison Square Garden’s theater past a horde of cheering fans chanting his name — Wes Johnson got a call from a familiar face.

It was Jonny Flynn.

‘I was on the phone with him before,’ Johnson said. ‘He was yelling out, ‘Teammates!’ He’s excited, too.’

Johnson was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fourth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, a pick that will reunite him with Flynn, who was selected sixth overall last year by Minnesota. Johnson sat out the 2008-09 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but was allowed to practice at Syracuse with Flynn that season.

In Flynn, Johnson sees a point guard and friend that can ease his immediate transition into the NBA.

‘We worked together really well,’ Johnson said of the pair’s time together practicing on the Carrier Dome court. ‘Just how he plays, how he passes and how he sees the court, his knowledge of the game. We went hand in hand with each other when he was there. I think we worked really well together… He’s my friend, besides a great player.’

Dressed in perhaps the most eye-opening outfit of the night — a dark blue blazer with stunning plaid pants — Johnson hugged his mother after hearing his name called. He took it all in, flashing a smile while shaking hands with Stern. As he gave television interviews, he pointed to Orange-clad fans in the arena’s theater who were chanting, ‘Wes-ley John-son!’

He took a moment to remember where his ascent to a Top 5 pick started, right here in Madison Square Garden in a 2K Sports Classic tournament in November in which he averaged 21 points and 9.5 rebounds in upset-wins over California and North Carolina.

‘When I got an opportunity to play and come back to the Garden,’ Johnson said, ‘especially after missing last year, I wanted to make the most of it.’

Johnson was talking, of course, about sitting on the bench during SU’s epic six-overtime contest against Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the 2009 Big East tournament. Ironically, it was that game at the Garden in which Flynn began his rise to a Top 10 selection.

Now, the duo was reunited in the NBA in the same arena. No one was happier than Johnson.

‘I thought about that last year,’ Johnson said. ‘When he was at Syracuse, we talked about it a lot. Now that (it’s a) reality, I think it will be good, us finally getting to play with each other.’

Flynn shared in the excitement. Though he wasn’t immediately available for comment to address the Timberwolves’ pick, Flynn took to his Twitter account to express his approval.

‘You know I’m happy!’ he wrote. ‘That’s my bro!’

Though Johnson and Flynn got plenty of reps in practice during their one season together with the Orange, few have actually seen them in action.

Enter SU assistant coach Rob Murphy, who helped mold both Johnson and Flynn into Top 10 picks in their two seasons at Syracuse. Murphy put the duo in elite company when assessing what they could bring to an NBA team.

‘Anytime you pair a great point guard and a great finisher, those two always work well together,’ Murphy said. ‘Like Magic Johnson with James Worthy, or Steve Nash with Shawn Marion.

‘Anytime you can get out on the break and a point guard feels comfortable with somebody he knows is going to finish, that’s instant chemistry. Jonny always got a kick out of throwing Wes an alley-oop in practice.’

Johnson and Flynn will get one of their first chances to showcase that chemistry in the Carrier Dome on Oct. 15, when the Timberwolves will travel to Syracuse to play the Detroit Pistons in an exhibition game.

The prospect of seeing Flynn and Johnson play together was good enough for Chris Stefanec, a senior accounting major at Syracuse University, to come to MSG Thursday night.

‘That’s why I came here,’ Stefanec said. ‘I thought he might not go (to Minnesota). I didn’t know if he was going to go so high. But I think it’s really exciting.’

In between his smiles and his heart running ‘one thousand miles per hour,’ Johnson had time to consider the situation as well.

From that season of practice, Johnson knows the possibilities. When asked if he and Flynn could be a special tandem, all he could do was flash his smile.

Said Johnson: ‘It’s going to be a lot, a lot of highlights.’

bplogiur@syr.edu

 

Sports Editor Andrew L. John contributed reporting to this article.

Published on June 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm