by Lyn Scarbrough
Jaylin Williams didn’t know Layton Johns.
Jaylin was born on July 26, 2000, so he wasn’t quite two years old when Layton passed away on June 7, 2002, at age 60.
They had the same hometown – Nahunta, Ga. – a place that “offers small-town charm while offering big-town opportunities,” according to its website. That certainly was the case for Layton Johns and Jaylin Williams.
Founded in 1870 as the town of Victoria, the story goes that its name was changed in 1899 to honor a local timber executive.
According to the 1950 census, Nahunta, the county seat of Brantley County in southeast Georgia, had a population of 739 people. That included the family of George and Leoa Johns and their young son, Layton. A decade later, the town had grown to 952 people and Layton Johns had become the most heralded basketball player ever to play for Brantley County High School.
In 1958, he led the Herons to the state championship before playing as a three-year starter for Auburn University. At 6-7, Johns was big at center for his day on a prep team with some height.
Williams, a 6-7 junior forward on Auburn’s 2021-2022 national championship contending team, played for the Herons 60 years after Johns finished his prep career. Williams was two-time All-State as a junior and senior when he averaged 25 points and 14 rebounds per game.
He not only didn’t know Layton Johns. He never even knew about him.
“I didn’t find out about him (Johns) until my senior year in high school,” Williams said. “I was going to get my suit for the prom and there was a framed picture of a basketball player on the wall of the store. They told my mother that it was Layton Johns from Nahunta and that he had played for Auburn.
“She told them, ‘my son has committed to play for Auburn, too!”
Johns was a team leader on the Plains. He paced the Tigers in scoring and rebounding as a junior and senior, averaging 15 points and 12.4 rebounds in 1962 and 1963. His 10.2 career rebounding average was the second highest in program history.
He led the SEC in field goal percentage in both of those seasons and his 58.4 percent accuracy in 1962 was second nationally. Auburn’s teams finished 15-7, 18-6 and 18-4 in John’s three varsity seasons at a time when only 24-25 teams played in the postseason NCAA Tournament. He was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1963 NBA Draft.
Johns was memorable as a prep star. My cousin, Larry Murray, a starter for Ludowici High School, located about 40 miles from Nahunta, remembers his team’s first game against him.
“We played Nahunta in the finals of the Savannah Morning News-Evening Press Christmas Tournament in 1958,” he recalls. “Both teams were undefeated and the game was billed as speed versus height. Layton was the tallest player our team had ever faced.”
Another player on that ‘speed’ Blue Tide team was Larry Chapman, who was MVP in that Savannah tournament and later played in the Auburn backcourt on the team with Johns, averaging about 10 points per game as a junior and senior.
Chapman went on to be head basketball coach at Auburn University Montgomery from 1976-2014, posting a 705-477 record. He had eight consecutive seasons averaging 25 or more wins, and his 1987-88 squad was 32-3, played in the national championship game and earned him NAIA Coach of the Year.
“Layton had innate size, strength and he could run, catch and pass,” Chapman remembers. “Our assistant coach Bill Lynn worked hour upon hour developing the skill set for this gentle giant. His statistics pretty much defined him as a productive player.
“He was a leader in every characteristic that defines leadership. I never met a more competitive individual on the court. Couple that with the stature and strength of Goliath and you had Layton Johns.”
Rex Frederick, a two-time All-SEC player at Auburn, averaged 14.9 points and 14.3 rebounds per game for his career. He was the program’s freshman coach when Johns started at Auburn.
“Layton had a great attitude,” Frederick said. “He was a big, strong and powerful player.”
But, Chapman feels that Johns’ greatest assets were off the court.
“He (Johns) had a captivating personality,” he said. “He valued friendship and loyalty as the bedrock of a relationship. I was honored to remain a close friend throughout his life.”
Ironically, like Johns, Williams and most of his Auburn teammates have never played in the postseason. The tournament was cancelled two seasons ago, then Auburn self-imposed a one-year tournament ban last year. Three seasons ago, the Tigers won the SEC Tournament and played in the Final Four.
“For almost everybody on this team, it will be our first time ever in a postseason game. It’ll be the first time we’ve ever touched the floor in the tournament, so we’re really looking forward to it,” Williams said.
He feels that the Tigers, the No. 1 seed in the tournament in Tampa, has what it takes to win there and advance in the NCAA field. The team has had several comeback wins during the season.
“Our depth is one of the best things going for us,” he said. “If our starters get fatigued, we all do what we need to do. We’re able to do exactly what’s needed. Every person plays his role, does what we need to do.”
Auburn enters the SEC Tournament ranked No. 4 nationally in both major polls. The team has 27 wins and of their four losses, two were in overtime, one was by just one point and one was by five points. All wins were away from Neville Arena where the Tiger finished 16-0.
Why has the team been consistent and not given up in any games despite being behind by significant margins?
“It’s a matter of being together, playing together,” Williams explained. “We pick each other up. We stand together. That has brought us back in some of the late games. That’s how we’ll be able to win the tournament games.”
Since 1999, the Southeastern Conference has honored a former player or coach from each team in its Legends recognition. They have been introduced at the SEC tournament each year. Johns, along with 13 other honorees, were to have been recognized at the 2020 tournament, but that didn’t happen due to COVID.
Others in that Legends class were Jerry Harper (Alabama), Derek Hood (Arkansas), Chris Richard (Florida), Rod Cole (Georgia), Vernon Hatton (Kentucky), Collis Temple III (LSU), Eric Laird (Ole Miss), Jerry Jenkins (Mississippi State), Steve Stipanovich (Missouri), Tre’ Kelley (South Carolina), Lang Wiseman (Tennessee), David Britton (Texas A&M) and Butch Feher (Vanderbilt).
Among the Auburn players Johns joined on the Legends list are its first inductee John Mengelt, Sonny Smith, Charles Barkley, Chris Porter, Marquis Daniels, Joel Eaves, Mike Mitchell and Frederick.
Williams realizes the importance of the SEC and NCAA tournaments, especially since members of the 2022 team, and many good Auburn teams in the past, haven’t had postseason opportunities.
“Back a lot of years ago fewer teams were invited to play, so a lot of good teams didn’t have that chance,” he said. “Now we have one of the best teams ever at Auburn and we’ll be playing in the tournaments.
“I’m excited that my family will be there. You know it’s really not that far from Nahunta to Tampa, and then not that far to New Orleans. But no matter how far it was, they would be there. We’ve just got to be ready to play. We’ve got to play with energy every game.
“I know that I do represent Nahunta. I want to play hard for my hometown. It would be great to fulfill his (Johns) dream of playing for and winning the championship. Our team is good enough to get it done.”
Small town charm … and a now big-time opportunity.
