The passion for basketball that involves several classmates pushed us to look for a meeting with Justin Johnson, US champion of Rbr, the team that reached the playoffs in the A2 basketball championship. Thanks to the availability of the Rimini club, some of us attended a team training session at the Flaminio and then had the opportunity to converse – in English – with the player. The emotion was so great that we barely managed to say a word, but Justin was available, he gave us autographs and took a photo with us, scoring several ‘triples’ in our hearts. We left this meeting full of joy.
Justin, how did you get to Rimini?
“I started with the Lakers in the USA, but I broke my hand. I arrived in Italy: Cagliari, Pistoia, Reggio Emilia, a year in Germany and then now in Rimini where my wife and I get along very well. We have two children, aged 3 and a half years and 1 year”.
Is life in America very different from Italy?
“I’m here for work and I only go to America two months a year, mostly to meet friends, take care of my interests and play golf. But here there is the sea, it’s very beautiful.”
How did you get so good at basketball?
“Thanks to my dad: he was a very good player and started training me when I was four years old. At your age my parents put me on a plane and sent me all over the world to do basketball camps. I trained every day days and that’s how I achieved my goals.”
Which basketball player did you like the most?
“Dennis Rodman”.
What was your favorite subject at school?
“Mathematics”.
Have you ever been rejected?
“Never”.
At the University?
“I forged ahead: in three years I graduated and in two I got a master’s degree in Business Management which I put to good use in the real estate market, in which I am preparing what will come after basketball.”
What value does school have?
“Education is very important: for example, even though my daughter is only three and a half years old, she is already attending the international school in Rimini. She is learning Italian and much more: when I call her she replies ‘enough! enough!'”.
What matters in life?
“Being respectful and a good person is worth much more than many things. My father always told me: ‘Today in basketball you are the best, but one day it will end and you will have to be a good person. No one will remember that you were a player, but that you were a good person'”.
Do you have any advice for us?
“Whatever sport, whatever you do in life, always try to be the best. Always give 100% in everything you do.”
Ivan Kulakov, Maxim Kukurudziak, Alexander
Di Marzo, Simone Mina 2 F
