2 players, 2 roommates, 2 wild rides

When Mark Johnson and Ryan Tapak boarded the IU basketball ride in 2001, they didn't know what they were getting themselves into.\nThey had no idea how high the ride went or how low, or where they would end up. \nBut four years later, the ride is coming to an end, and the senior walk-on duo has experienced it like no one else.\nAlong with senior Mike Roberts, Saturday's game against Northwestern will be the pair's final home game in Assembly Hall. It will conclude a college career that has seen more than some lifetime coaches have.\n"It's unbelievable," Johnson said of playing in his last home game. "It just seems like yesterday I walked in here and had my first practice. Four years goes by real quick. It's been a lot of great memories, starting out as freshmen going to the Final Four."\nAnd that was just the beginning.\nFor Johnson, a preferred walk-on recruited by former IU coach Bob Knight, and Tapak, going the traditional walk-on route, the highs were as almost as high as a college basketball could get -- going to the Final Four and the national championship game, winning a Big Ten title and being ranked in top 10 nationally in only their first season. But their lows equal those accomplishments in an opposite way.\nThey were part of the first IU team to miss the NCAA Tournament in 19 years and the first to have a losing season in more than 30. But besides the accomplishments, just playing at IU was good enough for the pair.\n"Everybody that dreams about playing here, everything you dream it would be, it's exactly like that," Tapak said. "You go around town and people recognize who you are."\nDuring last season's Big Ten Tournament, the pair made its mark playing crucial roles in a win over Ohio State and the season-ending loss to Illinois, in which Johnson set his career high with 16 points. After those games, they looked at this season as a promising one. \nBut it wasn't meant to be. \nSidelined by injuries, both Tapak and Johnson had limited playing time.\n"I think all three (seniors), maybe not showing in games what they've meant to this team, but in practice they've done a great job for us," IU coach Mike Davis said.\nBoth had back injuries and Johnson hurt his knee. They said this year was a disappointment in terms of their health.\n"Yeah, just a little bit just from the health standpoint," Tapak said about his disappointing season. "I haven't really felt healthy all year, and that's really the only thing that's been disappointing. "\nBut for all their hard work, the pair was rewarded each with a one-year scholarship last year. \n"It just feels right," Tapak said of ending his career with Johnson. "We came in together. We live together. We've always hung out together all four years. We've kind of gone through the same situation all four years."\nWhether or not they see the court Saturday, the last four years for Johnson and Tapak have been more than what they bargained for when they came to IU as freshmen in 2001. Come Saturday night the duo will have to exit the ride and get in line for the next one.\n"It's just unbelievable what's happened and how it's happened -- playing for a Final Four, winning the Big Ten championship. Everything is unexpected. No one in a million years would have given me a chance. Everyone always said one out of 10,000 kids will play Division-1 basketball, and I just happened to fall into that one of 10,000. It's been a great ride. I've had a blast."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.