Former K-State star DJ Johnson is pro basketball player, real estate extraordinaire
D.J. Johnson has been plenty busy since the end of his Kansas State basketball career.
Not much has changed on the court, as Johnson still has his signature dreadlocks and plays with the same level of passion, energy and hustle that made him a K-State fan favorite. That much was on display this past weekend in the Supplement World Off-Season Classic, as the 6-foot-9 center helped KC Elite win the $8,000 cash prize in Sunday’s championship game at Friends University in Wichita.
But what many don’t know is that as Johnson continues to pursue a professional basketball career — he played last season in the NBA G League — the 28-year-old earned his master’s degree from Kansas State in May and works part-time as a realtor in Kansas City.
“I want to play ball until I can’t play anymore, then work on my dream of being a real estate agent on the side,” Johnson said. “That’s always been my dream and I’m just blessed with the right brokerage that has always supported me and believed in me playing ball for six to eight months out of the year.”
Because of a redshirt season during his K-State playing days, Johnson was able to finish one year of the two-year master’s program in regional and community planning back in 2017.
While playing in Michigan for the Grand Rapids Gold, the G League affiliate of the Denver Nuggets, Johnson finished up his school work during down time and road trips to graduate in May from the College of Architecture, Planning and Design. He said his professor, Stephanie Rolley, was vital in pushing him to finish, while dean Tim de Noble also provided the flexibility to work with his schedule.
“I’m so grateful for the College of Architecture for working with me,” Johnson said. “I set a goal to finish this in 2022 and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make that deadline, but I did it thanks to my amazing professor who stayed on me and was supportive all along the way.”
Johnson was also appreciative of the Nuggets, as the NBA organization helped work with the NBA Players Association to cover the costs for the final 20 hours of his school. Grand Rapids coach Jason Terry was also supportive in the process, Johnson said.
“We had some down time in between games and some guys spend that time differently or are into other things,” Johnson said. “For me, I really wanted to complete my degree, so I put all of my energy into that. It was something I wanted to do and I was passionate about and I had a lot of support in Grand Rapids.
“Unfortunately, K-State athletics backed out of what I thought we had agreed upon. I enjoyed my time at K-State and I’m appreciative of everything they did for me. When they backed out, by the grace of God, the NBA stepped in and paid for it, so I think it worked out how it was supposed to.”
Johnson moved to the Kansas City area two years ago and has been working as a real estate agent for Better Homes and Gardens (“All of my clients are K-Stater’s,” Johnson quipped) while also training in basketball. He has also stayed close with former teammate Martavious Irving, who has also become a realtor in Wichita.
Johnson, a St. Louis native, has found a new home away from home in Kansas City and specifically the Spence League, an up-and-coming pro-am league in KC, which is where he met many of his teammates on the KC Elite team he won a title in Wichita with this past weekend.
True to its name, KC Elite is essentially an all-star team from the Spence League that features almost entirely Kansas City-area hoopers, led by Neil Watson (Sumner Academy), A.J. Spencer (Shawnee Mission Northwest), Anthony Woods (Park Hill South), Kyle Wiggins (Leavenworth), Jake French (Blue Valley West), Clayton Holmberg (Mill Valley), Luke Sealer (Lee’s Summit) and Bryce Foster.
Watson (Southern Miss), Spencer (Long Beach State) and Johnson (K-State) were all successful former Division I players, while Woods helped Northwest Missouri State win its first NCAA Division II national championship in 2017.
After losing in the championship game of the double-elimination tournament also hosted at the Wichita Sports Forum last summer, KC Elite finished with a perfect 6-0 record, capped by a decisive 63-46 victory over Fort Worth-based F.I.R.M. in Sunday’s final.
“When you’ve got teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Virginia, Iowa, Nebraska, there’s a lot of bragging rights to say that this year Kansas City has got the best basketball,” said Watson, who was named the tournament MVP. “We have a lot of talent in the Spence League and guys play really hard. Nobody on our team had an ego and that was key for us. All nine guys had the same mindset.”
Johnson isn’t sure yet what comes next for him in his basketball career, as he said he will explore possibilities of remaining in the G League and also returning overseas again (he played his first pro season in Greece).
But he has peace of mind because regardless of what comes next in basketball, Johnson is ecstatic about a new job in his other professional field.
He is set to begin soon for Shockey Consulting in Overland Park, where Johnson will work closer to fulfilling his dream job.
“I’ll be working as a lead for community engagement events and working in planning and growth development for a lot of cities in the Kansas City area,” Johnson said. “This is what I’m passionate about: planning for economic growth around cities and redeveloping them.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
.jpg)