Connecticut’s own Dewayne Johnson has found his love for basketball again
HAMDEN, Conn. (BVM) — When Dwayne “D.J.” Johnson showed up to St. Rita’s Catholic School basketball tryouts in cut-off jeans and his everyday Chuck Taylor sneakers, he was the only kid not wearing a full basketball outfit. He felt like a fish out of water, even with the school only four blocks from his home of Queensbridge Houses in Queens, N.Y., and he was unfamiliar with the fundamentals of organized basketball. Despite this, he made the team.
Those 1973 tryouts marked the start of Johnson’s passion for basketball at just 11 years old. Twenty-three years later, that passion had long faded and he retired from professional basketball to move back to the United States.
“When I first started playing basketball at the age of 11, I was told by a good coach that if you don’t have the love of the sport anymore, if you don’t feel like practicing, if you don’t want to work on your game, you should just give it up because then you end up injuring yourself,” Johnson said. “I still have the love for the game. But my body knows that I can’t go out there and play. 1996 is when I decided I was done.”
Before the 6-foot-6 forward attended Marquette University, Johnson played at Rucker Park, played streetball tournaments throughout New York City parks, and played AAU Basketball for the iconic New York Gauchos. He also played organized basketball at Oak Hill Academy.
After he graduated from college he went overseas to play professionally, which lasted for 11 years in countries including Spain, Venezuela and Portugal. He retired from basketball at 34 years old.
“Ever since I was 11 years old, even younger when I was just playing in the playground, basketball was always my life. From 10 years old, up until I retired at 34, all I did was basketball,” Johnson said. “When I walked away from the sport, I can honestly say I did not miss it. I enjoyed watching it on TV, but I didn’t miss going to practice. I didn’t miss the games, the crowds. I was able to walk away and just start a new chapter in my life.”
Johnson views things that are taken for granted, such as eating fast food or having a consistant home, as an influence on his decision to retire.
“It’s not for everybody,” Johnson said of playing overseas. “I got tired of living out my suitcase. I was never really homesick, but I just knew it was time for me to change what I was doing.”
Johnson didn’t bother renewing his passport once he returned home. He spent so long overseas, that it made him want to stay local to the U.S. in his future travel.
Later that year Johnson became a father. He found a consistent home in Columbia, Maryland. In addition to working a normal job, his focus pivoted to raising his daughter.
Johnson avoided the basketball world for the first five years after retiring, but when his daughter said she wanted to play basketball, his love for the game came back, this time in the form of teaching.
“In the 22 years that I played the sport and at the level that I played at, I had a lot to share and give back,” Johnson reflected. “You learn the tools of the trade and how to relate to others. To interact with my daughter and spend time with her while teaching her the right way to play the game and the basic fundamentals at an early age was so important to me.”
By 1996, he spent two thirds of his life playing organized basketball, but lost his love for the game and retired to enjoy everything else life has to give. He didn’t dislike the sport, but he disliked the aspects that went into having a career in it.
While Johnson stopped formally coaching his daughter five years later once she entered the organized AAU circuit, his positive and lasting rebound back into the world of basketball served as a true conclusion to his passion.
“I realized that my passion to continue being a part of the sport was because of my daughter, so coaching was short lived,” Johnson said. “I never regretted retiring from basketball, because then I became a father and I got married. I had other focuses in life than basketball. That stayed true, even when I was coaching.”
