‘The wisdom man’: Cheese Johnson’s special bond with Wichita State basketball players
Wichita State men’s basketball players, both past and current, from all ends of the spectrum have made it a ritual to make time to return to Wichita in the offseason to come see a man they call “The Wisdom Man.”
Simply known as “Cheese” to Shocker fans, Lynbert Johnson is not only a man of many nicknames but the former Shockers basketball standout from 1975-79 has been an influential figure to many of the recent Shockers.
Johnson, as affable as they come, has carved out a role as a mentor to players who come through the Shockers’ program. It’s been a natural role for the New York City native and one that’s important to him since he’s made his new home in Wichita.
“You’ve got to be in the giving-back mode in life, that’s just the way I was raised,” Johnson said. “The most successful people, somebody helped them get there. So when you can give that knowledge back to someone behind you, that’s the true blessing. You can’t save it. What are you saving it for? I’m trying to build these kids up.”
One of Johnson’s most special relationships is with Jamarius Burton, who played at Wichita State from 2018-20 before transferring to Texas Tech for last season. The 21-year-old is now on the move again, this time to Pittsburg, but Burton has maintained a close bond with Johnson since leaving Wichita.
In fact, Burton went out of his way to drive to Wichita this past weekend just to meet with Johnson in person. After a year away from Wichita, their bond is still as strong as ever.
“It doesn’t matter what uniform I’m in, Cheese Johnson is always going to support me and I’m always going to support him and I appreciate that,” Burton said. “It was a great time just catching up and listening to his wisdom. You can learn something new from him every day. That’s why that relationship is important to me.”
But the two share a deeper bond that just that.
Some might remember that Johnson, 63, had a hospital scare last January, but few know that Burton was the first person who noticed something was wrong before Johnson suffered a heart attack.
Johnson had come to Koch Arena to watch a Shockers’ practice, but the team had wrapped up early that day. When he walked back to his car, Johnson said he felt a dizzy spell come on. Meanwhile, Burton had just walked out to his car in the same parking lot and noticed Johnson just standing outside of his car, which Burton thought was peculiar.
“I saw (Burton) from the distance and I tried to duck my head down, but he saw me and drove over,” Johnson said. “He asked if I was OK and I said, ‘I’m just trying to cool down.’ But he had that look in his eye. He knew I wasn’t really telling him the whole story.”
After Johnson was admitted to a hospital and had quadruple bypass surgery, Burton and his entire family were among the first visitors to Johnson’s hospital room.
A player and their family usually don’t drop everything to rush to the hospital for someone who is a supporter of the basketball team. Burton and his family came to Johnson’s side in his time of need because Johnson invested in Burton as a person, not just as a basketball player.
Even after leaving the WSU program, Burton considers Johnson to be one of his biggest mentors. “Life don’t stop after you leave Wichita,” Johnson pointed out.
“The biggest thing about Cheese is that he instills confidence in you, whether that’s in basketball or in life,” Burton explained. “Whether I had a good game or a bad game, it’s always him lifting me up. I know I can call him at any time and receive positive feedback. He’s been very beneficial to my development as a basketball player.”
Current Shockers like Dexter Dennis, Morris Udeze and Tyson Etienne all have a similar relationship with Johnson.
He fills a valuable role in their lives, being a different voice and a sounding board they can turn to that isn’t their family or their coach. Being a highly accomplished basketball player, dating back to his New York City days, Johnson has plenty of basketball knowledge to share. But he says WSU players usually want to talk about life rather than basketball. Johnson is happy to oblige.
“The biggest thing I always tell them is to try to figure out what you want to do in life after basketball,” Johnson said. “Find your passion because the air will come out of that ball some day, so what are you going to do? Some guys like Fred (VanVleet) are lucky and sign a big contract, but there’s not too many people like that. So what you have to do is prepare yourself and meet people who can help you get to where you want to go. My main concern is that they have the academics together because that will take you further than sports will take you.”
With Johnson’s help, Shockers — both former and current — are on path to do just that.
“Cheese is one of a kind, that’s for sure,” Burton said. “I haven’t met anybody else like him.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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