MSUB SPORTS – It will get better.
At times it was all Glenert Brown could say to his son to reassure both of them that misfortune and adversity would only be temporary. Living in San Antonio, Texas, Brown lost his job and financial difficulties forced him into an unimaginably tough situation.
"We jumped from house to house for a bit, but we eventually ended up out in the rain," Brown said. "We were in a homeless shelter."
At times Brown and his son didn't have heat when the days were coldest, didn't have enough food when the days were longest.
Still, Brown pushed through, preaching the same sentiment: It will get better.
At times the only bright spot in the day of a teenage
Emmanuel Johnson was when he took to the basketball court, a temporary, blissful escape from a seemingly-permanent, harsh reality.
Brown himself was never a basketball enthusiast or even a player, but he knew that he needed something tangible to reinforce his promise to his son that things would turn around.
Most times, that something was basketball.
ON THE COURT Growing up on the south side of San Antonio, Johnson remembers being involved in sports from a young age. "I remember being about five and getting into a lot of different sports," Johnson said. "It was pretty much basketball from the beginning, but I really liked football and baseball early on too."
Early lessons from his father got Johnson hooked on basketball. Brown taught his son how to dribble, and shoot, and always made time to keep him active on a regular basis.
Without any brothers or sisters growing up, Johnson gravitated towards some of the older kids in his neighborhood. He quickly adopted the nickname 'EJ,' one that has stuck throughout his life. While he wasn't shy about playing with the older kids, Johnson was always more soft-spoken and utilized his ability as a strong observer.
"He was always very quiet growing up, and he never caused any trouble," remembered Johnson's grandmother Sylvia Brown. "He has always been well-mannered and a good student as well."
Without a mother figure in his life, Sylvia Brown (Glenert Brown's mother) took on that role and became one of Johnson's biggest supporters. "My grandma is pretty much the reason I am the person who I am," Johnson said. "She is really big on manners and she taught me how to treat people."
Having his grandmother as a neighbor when he and his father lived in an apartment played a big role in shaping Johnson as he developed through middle school. But despite her encouragement and willingness to help raise Johnson, she could not prevent what ended up being the most difficult time in his life.
TURNED UPSIDE DOWN A downtown bus stop awaited Johnson's arrival on a daily basis beginning his sophomore year of high school. It wasn't the stop closest to the front doors of Brackenridge High, or closest to the homeless shelter that was Johnson's ultimate destination, but the 15-minute, round-about walk to reach it was the preferred route of travel for the 15-year-old.
"It was tough being in high school and trying to keep it away from everybody," Johnson said. "I would go out of my way to catch the bus just so nobody would see me."
There were sleepless nights along the way, and moments when Johnson felt as though things couldn't get any worse. In an area infiltrated by gangs and the violence that was associated with them, not a moment passed when Johnson wasn't alertly aware of his surroundings.
An easy escape could have been for Johnson to stop going to school and turn to drugs. It would have been a convenient way out, quietly drifting off into the crowd unnoticed. But even when it felt like rock bottom, in his ear Johnson heard the voice of his father: It will get better.
"I was always strict and tough on him as a kid, because I couldn't see myself losing my only son," Brown said. "I was going through some rough things myself, but since he was born my whole life straightened up. After all we have been through and all we have lost, that young man kept his head together. He didn't join gangs or turn to drugs and alcohol, and he didn't lie to me once. I am very proud of him."
"My dad is the reason that I always see a positive side to things," Johnson said. "He believed in me when I didn't believe in myself, and he was always there to comfort and motivate me. He is pretty much my backbone."
Instead of giving up hope, Johnson kept getting on the bus every day, determined to stay in school. What he experienced that year was motivation enough for Johnson to find a passion and stick with it. "The highlight of my day was going to work out on the basketball court, and it was how I got away from everything," Johnson said.
REDEMPTION By Johnson's junior year of high school, he had begun playing on a team in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), one of the most populated competitive basketball organizations in the United States. Up until that point, basketball had been simply a game to Johnson, an activity to occupy his time and keep him active.
As he began to fill his now 6-foot-7 frame, the realization of his potential to excel with the sport began to emerge. "Playing on an AAU team, I met a coach named John Collins, who showed me what it would take to play at the next level," Johnson said
regarding a man he cites as one of his biggest mentors. "He started to broaden my game, and it expanded much further from what it was early on in high school."
Through AAU basketball Johnson had the opportunity to travel – something he had never dreamed of doing as a kid. Competing against players from across the state of Texas and as far east as Orlando, Fla., was an eye-opening endeavor for Johnson. "Being in the AAU circuit was a great experience, and it showed me a lot more than what San Antonio had to offer," Johnson said. "I started to understand how serious basketball was, and moving into my senior year I started to get very serious myself about the idea of playing at the next level."
"I first met Emmanuel in the spring of 2011 when I saw him playing in a high-school game," Collins remembered. "I thought that he had an opportunity to play college ball, but when I approached him he was skeptical at first. As time went on, he found out that he could really play."
As a junior Johnson began to get offers to play collegiately, which was somewhat of a shock before it became a routine. "I started talking to some coaches that season and at first I felt like my mind was blown," Johnson said regarding being told he was wanted by college programs. "It was a big deal telling my dad, and it gave me a taste and motivation. I wanted more."
Johnson ended up signing late at Frank Phillips College, a two-year junior college in Borger, Texas, in one of the top leagues in the nation, the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. "In high school he was the tallest player, but I told him that he would have to work on his ball handling skills and perimeter game to be successful at the college level," said Collins. "He is a very smart and skilled kid, and anything you ask of him, he will do. He is a coach's dream."
While Collins was excited about Johnson's ability to adapt his game and mature into a college player, his father reflected on what it meant for his son to finish high school strong and simultaneously continue his education and basketball career. "Emmanuel is a young man with drive and determination," Brown said. "For him to be successful and carry on like he did tells me a lot about his character, his demeanor, and what he is really made of."
MOVING TO MSUB As Johnson made the decision to attend Frank Phillips College, he did so knowing that after two years he'd have another selection to make in picking a new school. "MSUB got onto my map late in my sophomore year, and that's when I started talking to Coach (Brad) Schmit," Johnson said regarding being contacted by MSUB's top assistant. "He seemed really energetic with coaching and helping guys to get better."
Johnson first visited a school in Minnesota that he had his mind set on attending, and although he had the trip scheduled to MSUB as well, he was not looking forward to it. "My dad told me just to come to Billings and try it out," Johnson said. "When I came here Coach Schmit and I did a workout with just the two of us, and even from that he started teaching me things. My dad helped push me to visit and talking to Coach Schmit and Coach (Jamie) Stevens really sold me on it."
In perhaps the most spread out conference across all of the NCAA Division II level, the travel student-athletes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference experience is one-of-a-kind. The outer reaches of the conference footprint stretch from Fairbanks, Alaska to Billings, with landmark destinations such as Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia along the way.
Johnson is one of many student-athletes who take full advantage of the long trips, soaking in new environments and experiencing new cities. Most recently, the Yellowjackets embarked on a three-game road trip to Hawaii, by far marking the furthest west Johnson had ever traveled. "One thing that makes me truly proud is that EJ has had the chance to travel and go to cities that no one in his family has been to before," Sylvia Brown said. "His whole family is proud and happy that he has been able to travel and see things that we haven't been able to see."
Twelve games into his career as a Yellowjacket, Johnson has emerged into a starter and is leading the team with a shooting percentage of 55.6 from the field. Overall he is averaging 5.9 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds, and he has made 6 of 11 3-point field goals so far this season.
"Here he is in his third year of college, and he has come through with flying colors," Johnson's father said. "He didn't let past circumstances get to him, and he has been very dedicated as a student and as a basketball player."
"One of the things that drives me is that I really do love this game," Johnson said. "It is one of the things that helped keep me sane and keep my mind right in high school. It's just good to know that it is always there for me, and I give everything I have to it. For my grandmother and father to be able to say that their son is a college basketball player adds fuel to the fire."
MY SUPERHERO While the Yellowjackets took a mandatory one-week break from the court over Christmas, Johnson remained in Billings, passing the time in an empty Alterowitz Gym working on his perimeter game. While he could not be home for the holidays, Johnson touched base with his family, sending a sincere text message to his father on Christmas.
"He is a young man full of wisdom," Glenert Brown said. "The message he sent our family was so enlightening that I couldn't believe it came from him at first. It made me realize how much my son has matured and that he has become something that I was not. My son is really what helped me and made me the type of person I am now, and I can say that with pride and honesty."
As Johnson continues his basketball career and pursues his degree, he hopes to one day work with underprivileged families as a counselor or social worker. It is a fitting profession that Johnson aspires to pursue, as he is a living example of what it means to persevere and remain positive no matter the circumstances.
His graduation from high school, graduation from junior college, and current path he is on as a student-athlete at MSUB are all pieces of proof that his father was right all along with the words he continually poured into Johnson's ear: It will get better.
Late in Johnson's high school career, his father took a seat in the stands of a gym, watching his son compete in an all-star game. The atmosphere was electric, as some of the top talent from across the state had converged onto the same court. Parents' faces curled uncontrollably into smiles as they thumbed through the game programs and learned the favorite superheroes of the participants as listed in their short biographies.
"Hey superhero! Superhero!" It was a voice coming from several rows up that finally drew Glenert Brown to turn his head and find his brother-in-law, grinning and holding up a program. Brown picked up his own program and began turning the pages, finding Batman, Superman, and Flash Gordon listed as the popular picks for various players. When he arrived at his son's page, Brown quickly trained his eyes to the line, 'favorite super hero,' before they quickly filled with tears.
Johnson's response: My father.
