About Coach Johnson

My basketball journey is very much just that, a journey. I’ll start with my high school experience where I transferred from a public school in southern Maryland to a private school(Southern Maryland Christian Academy). The team went on to finish #13 in the country and my role was to expand my senior year. At that point, my conditioning was terrible, my basketball IQ was 0, but I was a tremendous athlete. My senior year being a 6’4 225 pound guard, very few could jump with me. I knew that big things were coming my way my senior year, until the school decided to disband the team before the year got started. Yep, our varsity team, with players from all over the country was disbanded. That same day, Coach Regala, drove me, Jimmy(Akron university, D1) and Jack(Youngstown St, D1) to rival school, National Christian Academy. The year before, this team was loaded. KD(Brooklyn Nets), Deron Washington(Detroit Pistons/Virginia tech), J Sapp(Georgetown), Chris(New Mexico st), Abdulai(St. Joseph’s, JMU), and a few others as well; which is no wonder why they went 27-0 the year before. After coach Regala spoke with  NCA coach Brown, we were on the team, but we were outcasts. Although we were all on the same team, we were still “those southern Maryland dudes!”. Jimmy and Jack were the ones who eventually were more accepted at NCA, as they were the more talented of us three. My game was still evolving; this is the time where Patrick Robinson, aka Pat the Roc, and I hooked up and started training hard everyday. Although I didn’t land the offer that I wanted, I received interest from some d2 schools who wanted to give me a full ride. Instead, chasing my division 1 dreams, I opted to go to Coppin State is a preferred walk on. As far as raw talent, I would still argue to this day that I was one of the most talented guards on campus. The other guards knew it as well! However, I still didn’t understand the game, and I was mentally weak. I quit the first practice; which was one of the biggest regrets that I have to this day. I handed Coach Fang my jersey and walked off the floor. It was over.

After a week or two, I decided to fight back and really invest in my game. I bought as many dvds, books, and anything else I could find so that I can learn the game. I was sneaking in the gym constantly, still working out with the team and it’s coaches. Things were looking up again. However, I decided to transfer to a junior college so that I could get more game experience, then transition to the school that meets my needs. That brought me to Chesapeake College; another regrettable decision. I went there with a fixed mindset and struggled to conform to playing the 5. I wondered how could coaches see what I could do if I’m playing the 5. Unmotivated to play, I decided that I was going to go to Prince George’s College. I  developed appropriately and was a key member that helped guide us to #9 juco ranking in the nation. From there I was recruited to Virginia Union; a historic D2 school that has produced a few NBA hall of famers and overseas professional players. Unfortunately, I went there with a fixed mindset again. Coach Coker wanted me to play the 4 because of my strength and because I could jump out the gym. At 6’4, I had no interest in fighting against 6’10 guys, however my jump shot was still inconsistent and, although my iq was improving, I still did not know what I needed to know to be successful. Enter Kent Greenway. Greeway invested in me the way no other coach would. Everyday, I worked with him on game shots, pick and roll, reading defenses, conditioning, etc. After working with him for 2 years, I was ready to make some money! I was a big point guard by most standards at 6’4”, 195, and, at this point, I was receiving a lot of interest. I received so much interest that I was able to get invited to an overseas basketball camp(global basketball summer league). I did well at the camp and was on my way to making money overseas. However, it wasn’t the money that I was expecting to see and, I was at a place where I was making decent money elsewhere( non-profit sector and schools).

Although my story didn’t end the way I wanted it to end, the moral of the story is that dreams constantly evolve. Even now, I am still extremely passionate about the game and instead of me dreaming to play in the league, I want to be able to coach YOU to maximize your own goals. For the past few years, I have been training athletes of all ages, supporting them in their endeavors, and I want to do the same with you! My mission is to develop you to your potential and train players at all levels!

Be different to be different