Welcome back to the Taking The Charge Podcast. This week’s interview is with London Johnson, 2004-born guard with Norcross HS in Georgia and star of Jamaica at the FIBA U17 Centrobasket Championship 2021.
Before that … let’s take a quick look around the world of basketball with the Big Three
2:00 Story we are watching - Johnathon Givony has released the names he believes will be playing for the World Select Team at the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit. We look forward to USA Basketball and Nike making an official announcement.
4:05 - Young player of the week - Roko Prkacin, 2002-born forward, has returned to action for Cibona after missing more than three months with ankle surgery - he has the pink shoes in the highlights.
5:25 - Up-coming event we are watching - The draw for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 will be taking place on Thursday, March 17, 2022.
Before we get into the talk with London Johnson, we would like to give you a sneak peak of the Taking The Charge Prospects Podcast interview with Swedish guard Melwin Pantzar from Real Valladolid - which is part of the paid subscription section of the TTC substack.
7:55 - Sneak preview of interview
London Johnson, Norcross/Jamaica (12:30)
Here is a rundown of the interview - HERE is the link to the article written from this interview
12:55 - Favorite memories of 2021
13:45 - How he started in the game
14:55 - About his moving around growing up
17:00 - When sports began playing more of a role
19:10 - Challenges of meeting new people growing up
20:35 - When he thought he was pretty good at the game
21:20 - Who some of his basketball role models were growing up
22:20 - What it’s like to be recruited by all these schools
23:50 - What are some reasons why he will pick the college he does choose in the end
25:00 - What’s been the most fun part of the selection process and the worst part of the attention
26:10 - His thoughts about not playing with a shot clock
28:50 - How he adapted to a 24-second shot clock for the first time at the FIBA U17 Centrobasket Championship 2021
29:50 - His connection to Jamaica and how he got the passport
31:05 - How much the Jamaican culture was part of his upbringing
32:00 - How he got his first name
32:35 - How he ended up playing with the Jamaican national team
33:15 - What it was like for him to be in his family’s homeland
34:35 - Where he says he’s from/calls home
35:15 - What the FIBA U17 Centrobasket Championship 2021 was like for him
36:20 - How challenging the competition was for him - being so much better than the rest of his teammates
37:50 - How he describes his excellent shooting numbers despite all the attention from the opposing defense
39:00 - How tiring the tournament was for him
40:20 - What are some of the biggest things he learned from the tournament
40:55 - A scouting report on 2007-born Marcus McDonald
41:45 - His thoughts about 2008-born Tristan McDonald
42:50 - If he’s had communication with other players with Jamaican connections
44:25 - Rapid fire questions
46:55 - Where he sees his game and what he is working on to improve
47:45 - About playing the saxophone
48:35 - How playing the saxophone helps him on the court
50:35 - How good of a saxophonist does he think he is
51:25 - About wanting to study pre-med in college
52:25 - His thoughts on the pandemic
53:25 - How much he looks forward to the end of the pandemic - and feeding off the crowd energy
54:05 - His thoughts about the differing ways to get to the NBA - G-League, Overtime, Australia
55:25 - His thoughts about NIL (name image and likeness)
56:15 - How relieved he will be when his decision is made public
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Taking The Charge Podcast: 2004-born guard London Johnson, Norcross/Jamaica