MILWAUKEE, Wis. — At 19 years of age, Ervin Johnson was bagging groceries at the local A&P in Baton Rouge, La.

Today, he is the starting center for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. How does a guy go from the question of “paper or plastic” to the question of whether to front Shaquille O’Neal?

The journey that brought Johnson to a starting position in the NBA was an interesting one, and one that has an important Iowa State connection.

In high school, the 6-foot- 5 Johnson was the tallest person in his class, but resisted the urgings of coaches and family members alike to play varsity basketball.

However, “E.J.” sprouted to 6-foot-11 over the next two years, and soon decided to take advantage of his height.

Nearby, Tim Floyd the head coach of the University of New Orleans basketball team was not looking forward to beginning the season with a 6-foot-4 post player. Articles about Floyd’s vertically-challenged team even appeared in local newspapers.

A liquor salesman in the area took notice of one such article and, on his next swing through the A&P, told Johnson about the team. At that point, Johnson had already been turned down by coaches at Louisiana State University, whose inside game was already solidified by future NBA standouts O’Neal and Stanley Roberts.

With nothing to lose, Johnson decided to give UNO a shot.

Initially, Floyd said he thought the big man had been sent to him as a joke, but he quickly realized that the giant was for real. Floyd signed him to play on the spot, without so much as a single workout. From there, the careers of these two individuals have blossomed, as has their personal relationship.

His true freshman year, Johnson was the definition of a “project.” Weighing only 198 pounds, he was out-muscled on the inside and couldn’t handle the ball well enough to play on the perimeter.

However, Floyd saw nothing but promise in the youngster.

“He could always run and rebound,” he said. “Those were not things that we had to teach him.”

“Also, he was willing to work so hard. He went from 198 pounds the start of his freshman year to 245 at the end of his sophomore year. That development was mostly by hitting the weights hard and really working to improve himself,” Floyd said.

Johnson, meanwhile, began realizing his own abilities. And if that wasn’t enough, he said his coach was always there to remind him of the things he needed to do in order to reach the next level.

“Coach Floyd was always telling me to get in the weight room, and just keep working hard, and eventually I could one day be in the league. He helped me out a lot — in all aspects of my life,” Johnson said.

Johnson kept improving, and by the time his senior season rolled around, he was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and led New Orleans to the NCAA Tournament.

After his stellar showing, he was selected by the Seattle Supersonics in the first round of the NBA draft. He is currently in his fifth season, now with the emerging Milwaukee Bucks.

The relationship between Johnson and Floyd goes much beyond player-coach, however.

“We talk about once a week,” Johnson said. “He has always been there whenever I needed advice and has been a valuable friend through it all.”

Johnson was not Floyd’s only reclamation project, however. After Johnson emerged as a star, one of Floyd’s assistants traveled to Texas to check out a hot high school prospect. When he got there, however, it wasn’t the 6-foot-4 guard he was supposed to be recruiting that caught his eye. Once again, it was an unproven big man.

“There was a 6-11 guy [Michael McDonald] running around the gym blocking shots and our assistant asked him where he played, and the guy said ‘Nowhere,'” Floyd recalled. “So we put him up at a community college in Utah, and he eventually came and started two years for us.”

McDonald had a successful college career and also took his talents to the professional ranks.

After starring in the Continental Basketball Association, he received the opportunity to play with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets this season.

Closer to home for Cyclone fans is the story of Kelvin Cato. Cato started his college career at South Alabama after not having played high school basketball. One game during Cato’s freshman year left a lasting impression on Floyd.

“We played him our last game of the year at New Orleans, and he blocked seven shots against us, could run and appeared to have the same type of athletics — maybe even a notch above — Ervin’s,” he said. “You could see the potential — that he had a real chance, but he was still crude and still learning.”

Cato finished his freshman year at South Alabama, and when he decided he wanted to transfer, ISU was among the first schools to call. Cato ended up in Ames and was the team’s starting center for a year and a half.

In 1997, he was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks and now plays for the Portland Trailblazers.

ISU fans will get an up-close-and-personal look at Floyd’s next project, Duane Johns, during the 1998-99 schedule. Johns is a 7-foot-2, 290-pound center out of Kokomo, Ind., who is currently enrolled at Eastern Utah Community College.

Floyd anticipates big things from Johns, starting next year.

“I see him being able to come in and contribute right away, at the very least being a defensive presence for us in the middle,” Floyd said.

Floyd indicated that not only was his relationship with Johnson beneficial to each of them individually, but it also opened a few doors for raw recruits to come under his watchful eye.

Floyd said, “Anytime now we hear about a tall guy who hasn’t played, for whatever reason, we’re always checking him out and trying to encourage him to get involved in the game of basketball.”

Eight years after their chance encounter, Floyd says he would not be where he is today without Johnson’s help. In turn, his former player says the same about Floyd.

This relationship has not only been mutually beneficial, but it has had long-lasting effects on Coach Floyd and many of his athletes. No one can see this more clearly than Cyclone fans who have watched Floyd compile an 81-45 record and build the ISU basketball program into a force to be reckoned with.