[Lzen]

Excerpt from Jason King's new book: Beyond the Streak. Elijah had some serious motivation in his memorable Weatherwax game:

Elijah Johnson: “Leading into that game, I’d had some crazy experiences at Iowa State, stuff you couldn’t see on TV. Some of their fans lost their cool more than a couple of times. Our team knew about it and the coaches knew about it, but that was about it. “The year before, in 2012, when they beat us up there, they stormed the floor and hurt a referee. He was bleeding from his head. That same game, one of their fans spit in my face as I was running up the tunnel before the game. There was a guy in the stands that was trying so hard to get my attention. He didn’t get it, but he got the attention of the person next to me. I believe it was Merv Lindsay. Merv looked up and said something smart to him, and he started grabbing the rail and lunging at us—and then another guy spit toward us. I happened to look up just as that spit was coming down and it hit me. I turned around and lunged in his direction, but then I thought about what was happening, and I regained my composure.” Assistant coach Joe Dooley: “The spit hit him right in the face. I was right behind him when it happened, and I was amazed that he kept his poise. He was definitely pissed off, and I was scared he was going to run into the crowd. I remember thinking, ‘How could someone do something like that?’’’ Elijah Johnson: “I got to the locker room and lost my cool. I was the last one in the locker room and Tyshawn was already giving a speech. I walked right past him and Ty said something, but Merv was like, ‘Someone just spit in his face. Leave him alone. He’s mad right now. He’s real mad.’ Then we went out there and they beat us. They rushed the court and wouldn’t let us off, and then they hurt that referee. The KU people helped take him to the locker room. My blood boiled about that night for a whole year. I couldn’t wait to go back up there.”