Like many star high school guards, Chaise Johnson has speed, court smarts and a keen shooting eye.

Unlike most, he also has a former NBA first-round draft choice as his longtime tutor.

The Steward School all-time scorer credits Cory Alexander — San Antonio’s first-round draft pick in 1995 — with advancing his development.

“Cory’s been a significant part of my life. I consider him my mentor and like a father figure,” said Johnson.

“We’ve had lots of one-on-one sessions over the years, especially at the Virginia Home for Boys & Girls” on Broad Street in Richmond.

A four-year starter at the private Steward School in Henrico County, the whippet-lean Johnson opened this week with nearly 1,600 career points. His buckets are well divided between three-point splashes and daring, bouncy drives to the hoop.

“I like to think I have a balanced attack,” says Johnson, nicknamed “Quatro” due to his No. 4 jersey.

It helps that the 5-foot-10 Spartan has a 6-foot-1 wingspan and can dunk with both hands.

Johnson averaged 10 points per game as a freshman, 18 as a sophomore and 26 as a junior.

“If we put the ball in Chaise’s hands at the end of the game, we’ll win,” said Coach Jamiel Allen. “But just as importantly are his character and leadership skills.”  

This season, with more help, he has averaged 23 points for a 12-2 squad that aspires to make noise in the Virginia Independent Schools Division II State tournament.

“Chaise can pump it (from a distance), and going to the basket, he’s about as slippery as a greased eel,” said Steward Athletic Director Bruce Secrest.  

Johnson first met Alexander about six years ago at a clinic the former University of Virginia star was conducting at Faith Landmark Ministries.

Alexander resides in Goochland County and is currently an ESPN college hoops commentator.

Johnson is the son of Teresa Brown, a special education instructor at Hanover High School, and Sonnelius Johnson, a former John Marshall High School quarterback who is now an IT specialist for Capital One. The family resides in the Henrico High School district, but Chaise attended Hanover County elementary and middle school because of his mother’s employment.

In deciding on a high school, he considered his neighborhood school, Henrico High, and also Hanover High and several private schools. Steward School, founded in 1972 in a leafy section off Gayton Road, became the winner.

“I came here for a visit and felt like I was visiting family,” he said. “It was the right place for me.”

His mother drove him to school before Chaise was old enough for a driver’s license. He helped fund his own Camry with a part-time job selling sports shoes at DTLR in Virginia Center Commons.

Johnson is just Steward’s fourth 1,000-point career, following Mike Edwards in 2003 and Pat Branin and Adjehi Baru, both in 2011.

While the school is predominantly white, Coach Allen, a Steward School and Roanoke College alumnus, is African-American, as well as his five starting players.

Johnson is joined in the lineup by Jordan Pointer from Chesterfield, Marvin Cannon and Terran Evans from Henrico and Kamron Smith, who moved to the area from Colonial Beach.

Steward School does not have football — another sport dear to Johnson’s heart — but it does have lacrosse. Using his all-round athleticism, he has become an All-State lacrosse defender for the Spartans.

Soon he will make a decision on colleges. Virginia Military Institute, Virginia State University, Washington & Lee University, Guilford, Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon colleges are under consideration.

Johnson’s parents will help him with the decision. He’ll also seek input from his longtime adviser and coach, Alexander.

“We’re close enough that I could call Cory at 3 a.m. if I needed to,” Johnson said.