By John Crumpacker, WCC Columnist

It seems only fitting that someone from a town named Vista should have a good view on things. The fact that he went to a high school with "Buena Vista" in its name is all the better.

In Johnny Dee's case, his vista was a basketball hoop. Endless practice at the hoop in his front yard - at the end of an uphill driveway, no less - made him into a shooter so proficient the "D" in his last name should really stand for "Deadeye.''

As a University of San Diego junior in 2013-14, the 6-foot Dee led the West Coast Conference and the entire Division I in free throw accuracy at 94.5 percent. That's second best in WCC history behind the mark of 96.1 percent rung up by Gonzaga's Derek Raivio in 2006-07.

"I think the big thing with free throws is confidence," Dee said at WCC Media Day in Los Angeles. "I shot enough to where I felt I could make some. I shot more and more and built confidence over time."

A year ago Dee swished 120 of the 127 free throws he attempted. As impressive as that figure is, he said he started out making "only" 7 of his first 10 attempts, meaning he dropped in 113 of his final 117 attempts from 15 feet.

"It'd be disappointing not to lead the country again,'' he said. "But if my team needs two free throws, I want to knock them down. I believe I can do that. I have no idea what I'll shoot, percentage-wise. I believe I can make every one of them.''

Dee makes so many of them that the rare ones he misses tend to stick with him, like a nagging itch or a pebble in his shoe - an irritant. Like No. 48, for example. In recounting his sterling season on the line, Dee said at one point he had made 47 in a row.

"I remember missing 48 short. You can't miss short,'' he said. "That was the one free throw last year I'd like to have back. When I missed 48, one of my teammates yelled a cussword. I got texts after the game.''

The texts were all of the "Dude, I can't believe you missed that one!'' variety.

Not to worry.

"I got hot the last three weeks of the season,'' Dee said. "I didn't miss a free throw.''

As well, at no point in 2013-14 did Dee miss two free throws consecutively. His infrequent misfires were all of the solo variety.

It will be difficult for Dee to top himself in 2014-15. To do that, he'd have to be darn near perfect. He shot 85.9 percent (61 of 71) as a freshman and 88.8 percent as a sophomore before cracking 90 percent as a junior.

Add all that up and it comes out to 268 of 296 from the free throw line for 90.5 percent.

"It's going to be a good year for us,'' Dee said after the Toreros posted an 18-17 mark (7-11 in the WCC) last season. "We had a good time in Italy on the tour. As a team we have a lot of depth, a lot of guys who can score the ball.''

With 272 points this season Dee will become USD's career leader and he has a good shot at cracking 2,000 points for his career; he's currently at 1,519.

San Diego opens its season Nov. 14-15 in the Loyola Marymount Classic in Los Angeles with games against Boise State and Southeast Missouri State. The Toreros open their home season Nov. 19 against Florida A&M at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

San Diego is hardly a one-man team, even though that one man is the best marksman in the country. With Dee in the back court is point guard Christopher Anderson, a 5-foot-7 dynamo who averaged 10.3 points and dished out 6.2 assists last season.

On the wing is 6-5, 220-pound Duda Sanadze, who scored at a 12.9 clip last season. In the post is 6-9 Jito Kok, whose major contributions were in swatting away opponents' shots. His 63 blocks set a school record. He also contributed 4.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The constant is Deadeye Dee at the free throw line. He comes from a significant athletic background as his father Donnie played in the NFL for Seattle and Indianapolis in 1988-90 while his mother Jackie ran cross country at the University of Tulsa. Grandfather Don Dee was a member of the gold medal-winning 1968 U.S. Olympic basketball team.

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