SE: D.J. Johnson Pursuing Professional Career in Basketball, Football
Apr 26, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
The level of appreciation D.J. Johnson has for Luke Sauber, the primary athletic trainer for the K-State men's basketball team, greatly exceeds the norm.
Without Sauber, Johnson is pretty sure he would not have made it back from his injuries to help K-State make a run to the NCAA Tournament as a senior. He definitely wouldn't be in his current position, pursuing not only a professional basketball career but also looking into a possible path to the NFL.
"I'm going to name my first kid after him," Johnson said of Sauber, only half joking. "Before I came back these past two seasons, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it back. Being around Luke, his positivity and him making sure that I got back to the court was just reassurance that I am capable of doing anything that I want."
Currently, Johnson isn't sure what exactly he wants to do. The NBA has always been a dream, but when the Chicago Bears reached out to gauge his interest in working out for them, Johnson was intrigued by the idea of returning to the football field.
"He got excited," K-State head coach Bruce Weber said. "The good thing is D.J. has a lot of options."
Johnson is in the process of completing his master's degree in community planning and design, presenting him with a long-term career option.
The fifth-year senior's final season at K-State earned him Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors. It included career highs in points (11.3 per game), field goal percentage (.623), free throw percentage (.700), steals (24) and blocks (52), opening the door to some pre-NBA Draft workouts.
Then there is his football background. As a standout athlete at Parkway High School in St. Louis, Missouri, Johnson played tight end and defensive end. He finished his senior season fourth on the team with 45 tackles, 27 of which were solo stops, to earn all-conference honors. His athleticism along with his 6-foot-9 frame caught the attention of a handful of NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, who Johnson worked out for last week.
So, he definitely has options.
"Basketball has taken me so far. I really appreciate the sport because it's taken me such a long way and given me a lot of opportunities, especially here at K-State," said Johnson, who set the single-season (62.3) and career (59.5) records at K-State for field goal percentage. "I love football just as much as I do basketball. I don't really have a preference. Both are great sports to play."
After the season, Johnson spent a week in New York to begin his dual-sport training. He returned with an excel spreadsheet of workouts to help him balance the preparation for both sports.
"That's going to be the hard part and that's why I'm kind of glad I went up to New York to just give me an idea on what I need to be practicing," he said. "Balancing two is going to be relatively hard, but both seem to be secondhand. I just really feel like I have a knack for football. Getting back into those drills, hopefully there will be a lot of muscle memory there."
At K-State, Johnson has begun to take advantage of his resources. He's reached out to junior offensive lineman Dalton Risner for advice and plans to work out with former Wildcat football players in Terrale Johnson and Deante Burton.
As far as a position goes, Johnson said he thinks he could handle wide receiver but would likely be slotted as a tight end. He added that he would follow whatever feedback he receives from his NFL workouts.
"They'll get back to me and we'll kind of go from there," he said. "I think my testing will show what I'm going to be capable of doing."
If football doesn't pan out and an NBA career doesn't come to fruition, Johnson said he would likely return to school, finish his master's degree and then pursue a basketball career overseas.
However, given what Johnson fought through to play at K-State — a multitude of injuries highlighted by a 16-month absence from the court because of a broken foot — he's not in the business of writing off the possibility of anything.
"I didn't want to just leave knowing, 'Oh, I possibly could have played football.' I want to give it a try," Johnson said. "I don't want to have any regrets."
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