It was a mere nine days before the collegiate baseball season started that Jackson Johnson made a choice that had been weighing on him for a long time. He decided to lay down the leather and exchange it for a lifelong dream to play basketball. As of last week, Johnson is one step closer to achieving his dream as he has now officially made Tulane’s basketball team.
Johnson suited up as a freshman in 2015 for the Green Wave’s baseball squad and served as an outfielder and one of the team’s pitchers. However, he only tossed 2 2/3 innings during his freshman campaign and it got him thinking hard about what he really wanted to do.
“Basketball always had been my favorite sport,” claimed Johnson, per the St. Augustine Record. “I was forced to choose pretty early; I think I chose too early. I couldn’t get basketball out of my head.” It was with this weighing on his mind that Johnson decided to give up his baseball scholarship and attempt to walk on to play Tulane basketball.
As far as the basketball squad goes, Tulane is about halfway through its eight-week summer program and thus far the coaches have been impressed with what they’ve seen from Johnson. Anthony Wilkins, a Green Wave assistant coach, said recently about Johnson’s progress, “He’s doing well. He brings a competitive edge… he brings an energy to our group.”
Johnson’s baseball time told Tulane basketball coaches a lot about him as an athlete and a competitor. He was on the baseball team when they made it to the NCAA’s regionals last year. More telling is the fact that he started in left field as a freshman. Coaches could see that he was indeed competitive, a trait they anticipated he could carry over onto the court.
The coaches have also commented on Johnson’s basketball skills and all have recognized that he has a knack for the game. It took new head coach Mike Dunleavy all of five minutes watching Johnson before he knew. “I recognize talent when I see it,” he said.
For Dunleavy and company, he is a nice addition. With the team, Johnson will work out as a point guard. The 5-foot-9 junior will try to bring that edge that assistant coach Wilkins spoke of into the regular season come November.
Going into the 2016-17 season Tulane will be in need of spark to come from somewhere after losing playmakers like Dylan Osetkowski. Perhaps that spark will come from a kid who was wearing baseball cleats a year ago.
For Johnson, the journey doesn’t end with simply making the team. He now wants to earn playing time when the season finally does roll around, but his ultimate goal is a basketball scholarship. Last week saw a first step towards that ultimate goal come to fruition and it was a mutually-beneficial first step.
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