When an event takes place that defies explanation, its often called magic. Now you know where Earvin Johnson got his nickname.

Johnson performs his magic on the basketball court and the sleight of hand helped Michigan State win the NCAA championship in 1979 when he was named to the All-America team.

What makes Johnson so devastating is that he is 6'8" but handles the ball so well that he plays guard. He averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game during the Spartans' championship season, but those aren't the numbers that matter most to him. "I'll take zero (points and rebounds)," he said, "as long as I get the assists." He had plenty of them too, finishing with 219 in the 1978-79 season, just three below his own school record of 222.

Johnson subscribes to the theory of his college coach, Jud Heathcote, who said, "When you can make a pass that leads to a basket, where a receiver has to do nothing other than put it in the basket, the pass is more important than the basket."

And turning professional is more important to Johnson than remaining in college, a decision he made when he went "hardship" and decided to join the NBA for the 1979-80 season.

Johnson learned his basketball in the playgrounds of Lansing, Mich. He'd play imaginary games by himself, pitting the Philadelphia 76ers against New York Knicks. "I loved Philadelphia and I always made sure they won the game. I'd make sure I missed a last-second shot and then Wilt Chamberlain would come down and dunk it. Except, I'd lay it up."

The legend of Magic had spread from Lansing to the Michigan State campus where Terry Donnelly was one of the Spartan guards. "It didn't really hit me until I got in the backcourt with him," said Donnelly. "You're running down the court and you're open and most people can't get the ball to you through two or three people, and all of a sudden, the ball's in your hands and you've got a layup."

Johnson's play was the talk of the Big Ten as he turned Michigan State from a so-so .500 team into national champions in two years.

EARVIN JOHNSON Born Aug. 14, 1959, Lansing, Mich.

AWARDS AND RECORDS
MVP, NCAA Tournament, 1979

Photo: Sleight of hand