With the NBA Draft Combine in full force this past week, we always end up hearing about quirky questions thrown at players in a veiled attempt to catch them off guard. One of these questions should undoubtedly be something to the tune of, “If you had to be nomadic to master the game you love, could you do it?” A lot of fringe NBA players travel the world and back in an attempt to reach the pinnacle of their sport, and the toll it takes is often unnoticed until later in each player’s life.
Clinton “Trey” Johnson III was supposed to be a baseball player. Everyone in his family before him had played baseball, including his father who was a member of the Boston Red Sox’s minor league system for a couple seasons. Trey was actually drafted in the 2002 MLB amateur draft by the Kansas City Royals, but they took him in the 30th round largely because of his increased fondness for another sport in basketball.
Johnson’s college travels were a prelude to what he could traverse in the professional ranks. He started at Northeast Mississippi Community College, moved to Alcorn State and finally landed and finished his college career at Jackson State University. Trey played both baseball and basketball until he left Alcorn State, but when he arrived at Jackson State the beautiful game had taken a front seat to America’s pastime.
So, what happened to baseball? “I got burnt out on it,” Johnson told U&M. “It was like a job for me. All of my friends in high school played basketball and I just fell in love with hoops and knew that was my path.”
Also hindering his baseball career was a ligament injury in his throwing arm, which he was told required Tommy John’s surgery. At that point, he was done with baseball and focused his full time attention on his newly-found love of a game with a slightly larger ball in play. Consequently, Johnson never got the surgery recommended on his throwing arm and ended up having a 10-year pro hoops career to boot.
Trey expected to be drafted in the 2007 NBA Draft coming out of Jackson State but wound up taking his first trip overseas when his name wasn’t announced. During his rookie season, the 6-5 wing played in the first of eight countries (including the U.S.) in his career: Serbia. He returned after that season ended and finished up his rookie campaign with the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League.
Rather than heading back overseas in 2008-09, Johnson stayed in Bakersfield and the move paid off when he earned two 10-day contracts with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his first taste of the NBA. However, having appeared in only four games for a 14 minutes of combined playing time, it was back on the plane the following season, this time to France. Then in 2010-11, it was Italy before returning to the D-League en route to 10-day contracts with the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers. In 2011-12, the New Orleans Hornets signed him to a multiyear deal only to waive him a couple months later, and that was the last Trey ever saw of the NBA.
All in all, Trey played 23 games for the Cavaliers, Raptors, Lakers and Hornets. Internationally he played in Serbia, France, Italy, Venezuela, Israel, Japan and even for the Qatar National Team. Despite what most would classify as a struggling professional career, Johnson has other thoughts on his travels: “Looking back it was great. Where I come from people don’t get to do these things. It makes you appreciate the smaller things in life. I got paid to travel the world and it made me a better man, a well-rounded man.”
Johnson played 125 games in the NBA D-League (all for the Bakersfield Jam) over parts of five seasons finishing with career averages of 20 points and 4.8 assists on nearly 48 percent shooting. He spoke fondly of the league and it’s competitiveness: “I think it’s the best brand of basketball outside of the NBA. You play with NBA rules and spots one through seven on every team are likely NBA athletes as well. The only downside to the league is it’s individuality — team camaraderie is hard to come by.”
Why, as a 31-year-old man, is Johnson looking back? Because he’s retired from the pro ranks and he’s getting to what’s really important to him — his family. It’s hard enough being in the NBA and telling your family you’ve been traded and they will have to be uprooted from their lives, but at least in that scenario you are in the same country. For much of Johnson’s career, he was gone. He was doing what was necessary to provide for his family, but the cost was missing them constantly.
Johnson now resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife and six children — five daughters and one son. What do you do as a former hooper to get more time with your kids? Start an AAU program, of course! Johnson is running his program out of Dallas and his kids are all involved.
“The experience has been great,” said Johnson. “I get more time with my children on and off the court, I get to help mold each one of them into young adults and it’s truly gratifying. I’m passionate about teaching the game. I’ve always been a high IQ player and I have a gift for breaking the game down and I want to share that with whoever I can really.”
Running an AAU program isn’t going to put food on the table, so Johnson also started his own player development company. Right now it’s a small outfit but Johnson is of the motto “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” His company is growing by word of mouth at this point with no website and no marketing. He believes that his training will speak for itself and business will continue to grow once players tell others.
“I have some clients, most are kids in the Dallas area, but I’m working with some pros too. John Jenkins, some international guys and Justin Martin just to name a few.” (Martin played in the D-League for the Texas Legends this past season and Jenkins started the season with the Dallas Mavericks before being waived and subsequently claimed by the Phoenix Suns).
The world seems smaller now than in generations past, so players are simply expected to have that nomadic mindset when chasing the NBA dream. Not everyone can be a first round pick with guaranteed millions awaiting them — chasing the money and ultimately the prize of playing and staying in the NBA is the name of the game. Trey Johnson is done chasing that dream, but now a new dream is on the horizon and this one involves his entire family, together as one.